The NFL starts Early! I suppose there are international exhibition games in July, and by August the preseason has started. Of course coaches want to be careful about using their key players before the season starts, so we expect not to see the starters play that much. But practice started last week, and I’m in the 2nd week of June as I record this.
And for Tom Brady, it marks a milestone. His 20th year as an NFL player. Surprisingly, this is not unheard of, in fact the record is 26 years. In terms of games played, Brady is 26th on the all-time list, 3rd among active players, including former teammate Adam Vinatieri. However, the other active players ahead of him are all kickers.
Why do we care? This is a podcast about fitness, and longevity is a main focus. Brady’s ability to continue playing at a professional level into his forties is an example we need to take a look at, as we did with the top 10 supercentenarians. With the supercentenarians, we were concerned about long life, and quality of life. With Brady, we want to look at how he stays fit and healthy enough to play at an exceptional level. After all, he not only is a durable player, he is an exceptional one, continuing to set records and lead his team to championships. He currently holds 47 NFL records.
So, we have already looked at several aspects of Tom Brady’s fitness and diet program. These are outlined in his book The TB12 Method:
Get it here: https://amzn.to/2uq8iH3
Also see episodes 120, 121, 122, 129, 138. Here’s the YouTube playlist for those:
This episode is more about how he has done it at a professional level, as opposed to the diet plan.
An article about sports science said that “Few athletes are as dedicated to the body and mind as Brady is, which is why he’s been able to perform at such a high level for nearly two decades.” I was immediately interested in the mental aspect of Brady’s health plan, something I hadn’t considered before. Tom Brady’s mental fitness plan includes brain exercises designed to help people with brain problems, such as those recovering from brain surgery, or those with attention deficit disorder. Brady read an article in Popular Science about this mental fitness program, and decided to try it. Though he didn’t have any brain disease or disorder that I know of, he still wanted to see if it improved his congnitive functions, and according to Brady, it did.
There are several companies that have brain training programs, and the idea that they can have a positive impact on mental performance is somewhat controversial, as are many new ideas. A couple of letters signed by many scientist on both sides of the issue were published in 2014. A more recent Popular Science article tells the story of a man who returned to work after a serious head injury after training his brain with exercises, he was able to return to work and school, overcoming symptoms such as depression, chronic fatigue, confusion, and splitting headaches.
Scientists have discovered recently that our brains are not static pieces of equipment, but can change over time depending on what we do with them. This is called neuroplasticity, and it continues for our entire lifetimes. The largest study on neural training was funded by the National Institutes of Health. The most important result from this study was a reported 29% risk of dementia after ten years participation. This is something that is very important to us, as people who want to live long, healthy, active lives up to the very end.
Tom Brady is ahead of the curve in a lot of areas. He did not get to where he is today by sticking with the status quo of fitness, mental or physical. His methods are unusual and his success is unusual, but it is something I want to emulate. I look forward to learning more about the brain, brain exercises, and how I can use them to improve my mental and physical life and longevity.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Brady
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NFL_players_by_games_played
https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/what-the-sports-science-says-about-tom-brady-wanting-to-play-until-hes-50
https://www.businessinsider.com/tom-brady-brain-exercises-improve-function-2017-10/
https://www.brainhq.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=brand&utm_content=46467711%2B327060831330&utm_term=brain%20hq&gclid=Cj0KCQjwov3nBRDFARIsANgsdoEzT1L8mHbM5oAKb84As2lOIsdvkpR9es-FhdDiHYv1XApca24XXS0aAhZIEALw_wcB&v4=true&fr=y
https://www.popsci.com/do-brain-exercises-work
Weight 7-day Avg. (change since Jan 2018): 211 (-57)
Workout time: 107 Minutes
Total Distance (total since Nov 2017): 4.68 Miles (533.73)
Steps: 17,517
Muscle Mass 7-day Avg. (change since Aug 2018): 163.74 (+21)
Body Fat 7-day Avg.: 25%
Daily Sleep Duration 7-day Avg: 6 hours
2019 Goal: 15% Body Fat