It's safe to say Tom Brady knows a thing or two about how to keep his body in the best possible shape. Now 47 and only recently retired, the former New England Patriots quarterback played a whopping 23 seasons in the NFL, which included 10 Super Bowls.
Now, he's devoting his time to causes he believes in, and most recently that includes teaming up with Abbott and the Big Ten Conference to introduce the 'We Give Blood Drive’, a competition pitting all 18 Big Ten schools against each other to see which school’s students, alumni and fans can drive the most blood donations throughout the college football season.
"This is an opportunity for all of us to help where there’s a need," Brady tells Parade. "There’s a blood shortage in the U.S., and I don’t think it’s asking too much of people to give blood where they can. And Abbott is making it easy for all these Big 10 students to do that with this blood drive competition to go out and make a difference."
One blood donation can save up to three lives, he adds, and there are a lot of people in need. "You just don’t know what the future looks like for anybody," Brady says. "You have to give blood where you can and sometimes pay it forward; I was giving blood in high school every single year. I thought it was an important thing to do."
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The Health Advice Brady Swears By
Football players are known for sustaining serious, sometimes career-ending injuries while out on the field. But early on, Brady made it a point to keep his inflammation levels as low as possible—and that could have something to do with why such a long career was possible for him.
"I had so many hits that I took where there was an inflammation response in my body due to the hard workouts I was doing, so I didn’t want to add in more inflammation with the food I was eating. I knew it would create inflammation on top of inflammation," he says. "That inflammation just stacks and stacks and stacks. So I still try to stay really hydrated and do my best to consume as little sugar as possible. It’s hard to do for sure because we travel a lot, but I’m very conscious about sugar intake."
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His Favorite Non-Football-Related Workout
Believe it or not, Brady is a huge fan of swimming. "I still run, although it's more sprinting. I don’t like going for long runs, it doesn’t do well for my ankles or knees or hips," he says. "I always say running is good for your head and your heart, but for other things it’s not as great. But I think swimming for me is a great way for me to keep that hard, heavy load off your joints and still get a lot of resistance."
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Plus, swimming is packed with known health benefits. "I was talking to someone earlier about a glucose monitor and how quickly you can reduce sugar levels in your body just by going for a 10-minute swim," he says. "It's not quite the same high as running, but I really do fatigue myself. I have a lot of energy when I wake up in the morning and I try to burn off that energy. Swimming is a great way to do it. I try to work out early in the day, and I feel as healthy as I ever have."
Who's ready to hit the pool?
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