WHY TOM BRADY STILL KICKS ASS AND TIGER WOODS DOESN'T

One is 43 years old, the other is 45. One is, let's just say, an "athlete." The other is gifted with elite athlete qualities. One looks "doughy," the other looks like he could play free safety in the NFL. One is still at the top of his game after 20 seasons, the other was dominant for 12.

I'm talking about Tom Brady and Tiger Woods.

One has remained relatively injury-free playing a violent game of collisions. The other has amassed an extensive surgical history from playing a gentlemen's game without ever being touched.

I'm talking about a tale of two vastly different approaches to performance enhancement. One has bucked tradition and become a model for longevity. The other was conventional and serves as a cautionary tale.

I'm talking about why the viiivPRO is the athletes best friend.

On 2/06/2021, a great article was posted on the site Inverse.com titled: Can Athletes Weight Lift Too Much? Tom Brady's Workouts Trigger a Debate. The piece revisits a historic concern in sports history about the potential adverse effects of weight lifting for athletes. 

Who's to say what "too much" is? I think the more important question is: Do they need to? 

Consider this:

Tiger was a skinny kid who burst on the scene professionally in 1997 by destroying the field to win the Masters. He could hit the ball a mile further than anyone else and from that day forward his ability changed how golf courses were set up. 

Did he lift weights? No. He did what highly refined skill and destiny do.

Then he gradually wrecked himself with running, lifting weights and hand-to-hand combat with Navy Seals. This headline from April 6, 2020 says it all: Tiger Woods Workout Routine From His Prime Is Kinda Insane. 

The truth is, if Tiger never touched a weight he would have accomplished the same things and would still be dominating the field to this day. He is that gifted. Even at 42 years old with a broken down body, he still had the fastest club head speed on the PGA Tour.  

On the other hand, Brady avoids lifting weights. He opts for resistance bands, the rationale being avoidance of too much stress on the muscles and joints to limit inflammation and remain pliable. Even his diet eliminates foods that cause inflammation.

See the theme here?

Avoiding inflammation. 

When you go into a locker room after a practice or game what are athletes doing? Taking an ice bath to reduce inflammation and heal.

Inflammation is an athletic performance killer. It's something your body has to work harder to recover from. So why do something that you think is improving your performance when it actually works against you?

Like weight lifting.

So I ask the question again. Do athletes need to lift weights? Well, with what I know about isometrics now, I say not anymore.

Athletes need two things: to play their sport so they can be as skilled as possible, and to be as powerful as possible. The former is what game-skills-at-game-speed-practice is for, the latter is what viiiv does best.

Here's why:

A maximum isometric effort for just a few seconds on the viiivPRO exposes the athlete to the highest loads possible. This leads to far greater neurological adaptations than those achieved with lifting and lowering weights. See my previous article titled viiivPRO Makes Weight Lifting Obsolete? for more scientific detail. 

Increases in the ability to voluntarily activate musculature are much greater with the viiivPRO. A new 100% can be achieved as the "ceiling" is raised. This improves neurological efficiency, which means the athlete can do more with less neuromuscular activity. This saves energy and delays fatigue as the duration of competition increases. Staying fresh as long as possible is a huge competitive advantage.

For athletes, exposure to high loads is important, but getting there quickly is even more important. Developing force rapidly is the difference between winning and losing. With viiiv, the athlete can develop force quickly in just a few seconds without any movement whatsoever. This leads to maximum motor unit recruitment, firing rates, and contraction force.

All of this means more power.

It means no stress on the joints and muscles.

It means no inflammation.

It means better athletic performance.

Ready for a bold statement? I will guarantee any athlete that they can rise to their highest performance potential by shunning traditional approaches to performance enhancement. Take time to practice your skills, keep yourself powerful with a few seconds of all out effort once in while on the viiivPRO, and rest to stay fresh for game day, and prolong your ability to do what you love for many years into the future. 

It's really that simple.

Sorry weight lifting. You've been replaced.

The athlete has a new BFF.