Tom Brady’s close friend (and Chinese medicine specialist) Alex “Mr. Miyagi” Guerrero, helps keep him fit–and injury-free–during the NFL season. Tom Brady also works with quarterback guru Tom House to perfect his throwing motion.
Tom Brady’s workout is created by personal trainer, Gunnar Peterson. Brady started working out with Gunnar, after he severely tore his ACL in 2008. Gunnar Peterson praises the NFL quarterback, Tom Brady, and his work ethic saying:
This guy is year-round. No wasted movement. No plays off. No days off. Everything is purposeful. That Includes The People around Him.
Tom Brady Upper Body Workout
Here’s the Tom Brady Upper Body workout routine:
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dumbbell Chest Press | 1 | 10-12 | 15 secs |
| Dumbbell Flys | 1 | 10-12 | 15 secs |
| Overhead Shoulder Press | 1 | 10-12 | 15 secs |
| Dumbbell Curls | 1 | 10-12 | 15 secs |
| Lateral Dumbbell Raises | 1 | 10-12 | 15 secs |
| Cable Pressdowns | 1 | 10-12 | 15 secs |
| Triceps Extensions | 1 | 10-12 | 15 secs |
| Turkish Get Ups | 1 | 10-15 | 15 secs |
| Crunches | 1 | 10-15 | 15 secs |
| Reverse Crunches | 1 | 10-15 | 15 secs |
| Medicine Ball Push Ups | 1 | 12 | 15 secs |
| Stability Ball Crunches | 1 | 12 | 15 secs |
| Stability Ball Climbers | 1 | 12 each leg | 15 secs |
| Planks | 1 | 30 secs | 15 secs |
| Repeat Circuit | 2-3 | more | times |
Gunnar Peterson workouts are all about circuit training. Do one set of each exercise, rest one minute. Then, repeat the circuit 2-3 more times. After the circuit training is done, Gunnar Peterson usually has Brady do High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) on a cardio machine.
About his own personal work ethic, Tom Brady says that being a NFL quarterback is a big responsibility. He told Men’s Health:
When you choose to be a quarterback, you take on a lot of other things. you can’t ask people to do things or set expectations for them without doing those things or setting even higher expectations for yourself.
Tom Brady Lower Body Workout
Here’s the Tom Brady Lower Body workout routine:
| Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wide Dumbbell Squats | 1 | 10-12 | 15 secs |
| Forward Lunges | 1 | 10-12 | 15 secs |
| Side Lunges with Twist | 1 | 10-12 | 15 secs |
| Skater Lunge | 1 | 10-12 | 15 secs |
| Stability Ball Leg Curls | 1 | 10-12 | 15 secs |
| Cable Lat Pulldowns | 1 | 10-12 | 15 secs |
| Dumbbell Rows | 1 | 10-12 | 15 secs |
| Dumbbell Bicep Curls | 1 | 10-12 | 15 secs |
| Close Grip Bicep Curls | 1 | 10-12 | 15 secs |
| Crunches | 1 | 10-15 | 15 secs |
| Reverse Crunches | 1 | 10-15 | 15 secs |
| Mountain Climbers | 1 | 30 sec | 15 secs |
| Repeat Circuit | 2-3 | more | times |
Do one set of each exercise, rest one minute. Then, repeat the circuit 2-3 more times. Tom Brady finishes with cardio, or goes outside and does quarterback drills.
Changing Things Up
Changing things up helps Tom Brady prepare for the NFL season. Gunnar Peterson alternates between these two workouts, but adds a higher degree of difficulty. He does so by changing the planes of motion of each exercise.
One day you might be doing a movement on a bench press, the next day on a decline, and the next day on a stability ball. Squats, for example, may be done with wide stance one day, and a narrow stance the next.
Tom Brady wants to continue playing football for a long time. His workout is based on doing the right things to get him there. He says:
There’s nothing else that I enjoy like playing football. I want to do if for as long as I can.
Recently, Tom Brady has been using more resistance bands in his workouts. This helps to even further change the range of motion Brady uses. When you change the planes of motion, you help work other areas of each muscle.
By constantly changing the planes of motion of each exercise, Gunnar Peterson helped strengthen Tom Brady’s entire body. Changing the planes of motion also helps the smaller muscles adapt and get stronger. Gunnar Peterson explains how he does so in his book, The Workout.
Tom Brady’s work ethic stems from being ultra competitive. Whether in the gym working out, or on the field, Brady says:
I was never the best player on any team. That taught me to work harder. I learned all about mental toughness on the practice field. If things weren’t working out for me, my solution was always to work harder. That way, whenever I get the opportunity, I’m prepared.
Tom Brady NFL Workout
During the season, the Tom Brady NFL workout is run by his close friend, Alex Guerrero. The duo work out at Tom Brady’s club, TB 12 at Patriot Place.
The club was created by Brady and Guerrero to help aspiring athletes to be the best they can be. Tom Brady gave an interview to CNBC about the Patriot’s success, and said TB 12 Sports Therapy is about:
How to prepare your body for competition…It’s for any competitive athlete who wants perform at a high level at any age. It’s a bunch of crap that people think as you get older, you get worse…I’ve Tried to Make improvements every year.
The goal at the club is to maximize potential, while performing injury prevention techniques. Tom Brady has every intention of playing NFL football into his 40’s.So, the NFL workout Brady uses during the season is all about staying healthy. Brady says that he must take a unique approach, if he wants to play for a long time:
I love the game, and I want to do it for a long time. But, I also know that if I want to do it for along time, I have to do things differently than the way that other guys have done it.
Alex Guerrero, Brady’s trainer and friend, is known as the “Mr. Miyagi” (Karate Kid) of the NFL. He gets that reputation not only from having a degree in Chinese Medicine, and tending to Brady’s wounds with “magic hands,” but also from explaining that his method for Brady:
Relates to being physically fit, emotionally stable and spiritually nourished.
Guerrero is known for helping multiple players get healthy from recurring injuries. Guerrero is known as Tom’s “Body Coach” as he massages his injuries away after a game (channeling Mr. Miyagi, of course).
On non-game days, “Mr. Miyagi” or “The Wizard” continues to work on Brady’s body twice a day. To keep him in great shape, Alex Guerrero had to get Tom Brady to stop lifting so many weights. He would find Tom trying to beat everyone else into the weight room in the morning.
Now, they focus on pliability and range of motion, rather than brute strength. When you’re constantly lifting weights, Guerrero says your tendons get smaller and more contracted. This hurts an NFL quarterback’s ability to throw the football like he wants to. Tom Brady explained this to NY Times columnist Mark Leibovich saying:
If there’s too much pressure, just constant tugging on your tendons, you’re going to get hurt. Like with a kid when they fall, they don’t get hurt. Their muscles are soft. When you get older, you lose that.
Now, they mainly focus on resistance bands and bodyweight exercises. They also use resistance drills and work on flexibility. Alex Guerrero says his goal is to keep Tom Brady playing well into his 40’s, as he says:
Brady is a quarterback who’s daily schedule is mapped out clearly into his 40’s. Every day of it is micro managed: treatment, workouts, food, recovery, practice, and rest.
Learn More about Tom Brady’s workout with throwing guru Tom House on the next page.
Helo- I’d like some info on the resistance bands that Tom Brady was using- pre- game- I’d like to hear where you can get them- thanks very much