Training the GOAT
Mention Tom Brady's name and people's reactions range from cheering to choking. Patriots and Buccaneers fans adore him. Competitors abhor him. Despite wide-ranging opinions, it is difficult to deny that Brady is the GOAT, the greatest quarterback of all time. Seven Super Bowl championships with two teams. Five-time Super Bowl MVP. Over 600 career passing touchdowns. The oldest player in the NFL.
To whom does Brady give credit for his success and long career as a quarterback? His athletic trainer, Alex Guerrero.
From high school sports practices, college games, to pro matches, trainers maintain athletes' strength and treat their injuries. On the field, they quickly assess and attend to injuries, staying calm in stressful situations. Off the field, athletic trainers help athletes recover from injuries and achieve maximum physical performance. They encourage athletes and stay optimistic when coaching athletes towards recovery.
Brady's long-time trainer, Guerrero, has unconventional training methods — he's definitely not the typical trainer. For his approaches to training, Guerrero is both praised and critiqued.
Early Influences
Guerrero grew up in California, the fourth of six children raised by immigrants from Argentina. His family spoke Spanish and attended the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This belief system continues to influence his values today.
After watching his father-in-law suffer from skin cancer which caused sores on his arms, neck, and shoulders, Guerrero decided to study traditional Chinese medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine focuses not only on treating diseases but also on preventing them. Traditional Chinese medicine prioritizes balance in the body and holistic approaches to health — medicine alongside alternative approaches like massage, acupuncture, and mediation. His studies of Chinese medicine have guided his training methods.
In 1996, Guerrero opened a rehabilitation center and worked with track athletes in Los Angeles. When Guerrero noticed runner after runner suffering from the same hamstring injury, he decided to observe their training. He wanted to understand why they were getting injured. He noticed that runners built bulky muscles during training and then tried to be light and nimble during races. Influenced by his training of runners, Guerrero supports athletes to build soft, flexible muscles. He calls this pliability.
An Out-Of-The-Box Approach
Over the course of his career, Guerrero developed a training program that combines nutrition, hydration, mental strength, exercise, and massage. While most athletic trainers spend their time treating athletes, Guerrero prioritizes injury prevention. He aims for athletes that are mentally strong and injury resistant.
Most athletic trainers work alongside doctors to help athletes bounce back after an injury. With doctors, they develop and carry out injury recovery plans. In contrast, Guerrero mostly trains solo, according to his belief about how bodies recover. He believes in using the brain to relieve injuries. For example, rather than elevating a broken foot, Guerrero encourages “re-educating” injured parts to work properly using massage, meditation, and exercising them far sooner than doctor-recommended.
Credited and Critiqued
But, like Brady, Guerrero has plenty of critics. Some medical professionals say that his focus on pliable muscles is not scientifically-based and has no proven results. They critique Guerrero for pitting western medical treatment against more holistic practices. Others say he overpromises what his training methods and products can achieve.
In addition, critics call into question Guerrero’s schooling. Athletes’ trainers typically hold a bachelor's degree and study human anatomy, physiology, and nutrition. According to the National Athletic Trainers Association, more than half of athletic trainers earn masters or doctoral degrees. Some critics claim that Guerrero is not appropriately qualified as a trainer. SAMRA University, where he studied, is a school of Chinese traditional medicine, with little priority on the hard sciences, western medicine, and modern technology.
But with Brady's career as proof, many regard Guerrero as a top trainer. Brady has worked with Guerrero, who he calls his “body coach,” since 2006. Brady was sold on his approach to training after a 2008 ACL injury where Guerrero helped him recover and get back on the football field.
Describing Brady and Guerrero's relationship, a New York Times Magazine author wrote, “While Guerrero is known as Brady's 'body coach,' that label significantly understates his exhaustive reach into Brady's life... He accompanies Brady to almost every Patriots game, home and away, and stands on the sidelines. He works with Brady's personal chef to put together optimally healthful menus; he plans Brady's training schedule months in advance. Above all, during the football season, he works on Brady seven days a week, usually twice a day.”
Brady and Guerrero opened a training center called TB12, focused on holistic approaches to health and wellness for athletes. The goal of TB12 is to focus on “pre-hab” or proactively building physical and mental health to prevent injuries and perform at peak levels. Both professional athletes and everyday people seek the TB12 method to recover from injuries or increase their athletic performance.