Tom Brady has long been an advocate of his TB12 method, the wellness and performance philosophy he co-founded with his longtime trainer Alex Guerrero. The method focuses on pliability, resistance bands, and avoiding traditional weightlifting; something Brady swears by even deep into his 40s. But not everyone’s a fan.
Back when Brady was still with the Patriots, head coach Bill Belichick reportedly grew tired of Guerrero’s presence around the team facility, eventually limiting his access. Still, Brady stuck with Guerrero and has now brought the TB12 routine to the Raiders facility, where he’s a minority owner.
But not everyone’s buying into the hype. Popular fitness YouTuber and exercise scientist Dr. Mike Israetel once hilariously mocked Tom Brady’s in-season training conducted by Alex Guerrero, calling it “make-believe nonsense.”
He questioned the science behind it and openly poked fun at the idea that the TB12 method was responsible for Brady’s elite performance.
Mike Israetel Roasted Alex Guerrero’s Routine
Mike Israetel didn’t hold back when reacting to Alex Guerrero’s training routine for Tom Brady. He openly mocked the overuse of resistance bands and questioned the logic of pushing sets to failure during the season. But what really got under Mike’s skin was Guerrero’s obsession with “pliability” workouts.
According to Guerrero, pliability sessions are done before and after each workout to “stimulate the nervous system” and promote blood flow. Mike’s response? “Before every exercise, he does this. That’s really insane. That’s a really huge waste of time,” he said bluntly.
Guerrero tried to explain the benefit of vibrating foam rollers: “What’s nice about the vibrating aspect of these rollers is that… it’s stimulating the nervous system so we’re getting a great nervous system response…”
But Mike quickly cut in: “That’s make-believe nonsense. What does that mean, a nervous system response?” he asked sarcastically, then added, “You guys need to see my nervous system respond,” tapping his hand and reacting to show detection of the touch.
After the roasting, Mike offered his take on how in-season training should actually work:
“In-season workouts need to conserve strength and power… going very far away from failure, producing either high velocities or high forces, but never approximated to failure. We want to conserve muscle and strength, maximize performance, and keep systemic fatigue low because Tom Brady has to recover from practices and weekly games.”
To Mike, Guerrero’s approach sounded fancy, but scientifically, it missed the mark.