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Pliability is the central concept of Tom Brady’s physical training program. He spends 50% of his training time on pliability, the rest in resistance training (with bands, not weights) and cardio.

The idea is to have long, soft, muscles that contract and relax through 100% of their range, rather than short, dense, stiff muscles with 50% range. It helps prevent injury and improve recovery from injuries when they happen. Pliability training should be done before and after every workout.

The actions are intentional, rythmic trauma applied to 20 different muscles groups. These are esentially resistance exercises, but are different than weight training, stretching, or massage.

There is also a very important neurological aspect to this program. -repeated activity trans our brains that this is the desired state. Have you ever noticed that when you do something a while, you don’t have to think about it?

Tom says it is imperative to train your brain to see long-soft primed muscles as the desired state. Pliability training creates new neural pathways in the brain, which I think just means we’re learning something. This process is more intensive and once you learn something, you almost don’t need to think about it. Through pliability, Tom Brady trains his muscles to contract and relax 100%.

Tom recommends working with a TB12 certified body coach, but there are alternatives outlined in the book, including using a vibrating foam roller or sphere, working with a partner, or self-treatment. Why a vibrating roller? Vibration is what activates the nervous system to create those neural pathways mentioned earlier.

Interesting concepts. I will continue to read the book and report on what I learn as always.

Sources:
The TB12 Method by Tom Brady
Recorded January 26, 2019.
Weight (change since Jan 2018): 200 (-74)
Workout time: 106 Minutes
Total Distance (total since Nov 2017): 5.83 Miles (408.37)
Steps: 13,127
Muscle Mass (change since Aug 2018): 152.17 (+9)
Body Fat: 23.8%
Daily Sleep Duration 7-day Avg: 6 hours
2019 Goal: 15% Body Fat

Check out this episode!