The TB12 Method: How to Achieve a Lifetime of Sustained Peak Performance

by Tom Brady

there can be a variety of opportunities that may not be obvious in the moment but that through hard work, preparation, and persistence can present themselves over time and make you better.

Every day during practice I was competing as hard as I could, because I knew that if I didn’t, there was no guarantee anyone would ever allow me to see any game time. I thought: If I don’t treat practice like a game, there’s no way the coaches will let me play in an actual game.

If I don’t treat practice like a game, there’s no way the coaches will let me play in an actual game. So I’m always going to treat practice like a game. It’s a rule I still live by today.

Lacks a really strong arm. Can’t drive the ball down the field and does not throw a really tight spiral. The report ended by calling me a “system-type player who’s not what you’re looking for in terms of physical stature, strength, arm strength, and mobility,” and “Could make it in the right system but will not be for everyone.” And these reports were right. I needed to get better in a lot of areas.

I have to believe this had a positive effect on my teammates, who thought, Oh my God, this guy wants to practice, he wants to compete; there’s no entitlement here, this is all about the team.

But lifting more weights isn’t the solution.

The core problem is an imbalance among strength, conditioning, and pliability.

Playing football for a living was like getting into a car crash every Sunday—a scheduled car crash—and I began developing a whole new understanding of what I was putting my body through every week, and the amounts of

I wasn’t a victim of my injuries and that I was a very active participant in my own health and wellness, I

Not least, by limiting their risk of injury, pliability increases their ability to practice. In the NFL there are one hundred practices per season. I take part in almost all of them—let’s say ninety. The average would be seventy. If practice makes perfect, this means I have a 20 percent advantage to improve through practice, and more opportunities to get ahead of the competition.

“The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.”

PLIABILITY IS THE MISSING LEG OF PERFORMANCE TRAINING—AND THE MOST UNDERUTILIZED AND LEAST UNDERSTOOD.

HOLISTIC AND INTEGRATIVE TRAINING.

PROMOTE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES IN THE BODY. Anything that reduces inflammation in our bodies, including hydration and nutrition, maximizes pliability and accelerates recovery. Try to avoid self-inflammation—whether it’s in your mind, body, or spirit.

At TB12, about 90 percent of the time clients work out with resistance bands. Most are surprised to find that resistance bands work their bodies functionally better than weights do in terms of elasticity, resistance, versatility, and efficiency.

A lot of people work out with resistance bands or do water aerobics or practice tai chi.

Why would a body be chronically inflamed? Simple: Dehydration, poor nutrition, poor recovery, and tight, dense, stiff muscles.

As I said, we are all born with optimal pliability. We had to work on strength and conditioning. Which came first? Pliability. We need to be pliable first.

At the TB12 Sports Therapy Center, we recommend that everyone, even nonathletes, consume at least one-half of their body weight in ounces of water every day.

From my perspective, eating well means eating mostly plant-based whole foods, foods rich in fiber and essential fatty acids. No processed or fast foods, sugars, or fats. Minimal amounts of caffeine and alcohol.

Find what works best for you.

More important than formal meditation is developing a positive mind-set that allows you to achieve everything you want to achieve.

My general discipline and pattern is to sleep from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., which gives me nine hours of uninterrupted therapy and regeneration.

The mistake comes when you believe that by working hard and being able to run and jump, you’ll become better at your job, which I don’t believe is entirely true.

To repeat, most of what you train for should be focused on making your muscles work appropriately for the actions you’re asking them to do. Put another way, your strength workouts should follow the function of your sport or activity.

But being a professional means taking responsibility for your body, your health, and your career. If you don’t, who will?

At TB12, we look at things through four different lenses. 1) Am I increasing oxygenation? 2) Am I reducing inflammation? 3) Am I optimizing pliability?

4) Are my goals aligned with my training regimen?

Static massage doesn’t educate muscles. Only positive-intentional trauma through pliability does that.

As long as I remain pliable, they can’t catch me—and that’s why I made the shift to the workouts I do today.