Celtics’ Jaylen Brown reveals how vegan diet and pool training transformed his body
"The more I've embedded myself in water, the more I've seen my body transform in the last couple of years,"
Jaylen Brown took his game to another level this season, claiming the Eastern Conference Finals MVP and NBA Finals MVP while helping the Celtics land their first title since 2008.
The Celtics forward recently sat down with YouTuber KT The Arch Degree for a nearly two-hour long discussion on his performance secrets.
He mentioned a number of techniques, including dieting, fasting, and incorporating water workouts in his routine.
“When I was 24, I decided to go vegan and that instantly kind of shifted a lot of different things,” Brown said. “That year, I was an All-Star for the first time so I think that had a correlation. I was just moving differently.”
“My thoughts were clear. My life-changed in a sense. Now, I mix vegan practices with my own dietary needs to do what I need to do but at the time when I was vegan nothing did I appreciate more than the clear thoughts, the clarity.”
Brown was also asked about how his observance of Ramadan contributes to his performance.
“One, giving your body a chance to — you spend so much time, you know, focusing on digesting and breaking down stuff,” Brown said. “When there’s nothing in your system your body can use that energy to go through so many different things, like to heal yourself, to make yourself have a little more clarity, or just your body starts to function in different ways when you have the energy to do so.”
“But also, it’s important to have a connection with the creator, the most high,” Brown added. “I think that’s what the month is essentially about, using the alignment of the moon, the alignment of the planet in order to connect to that ultimate frequency.”
Brown said challenging his body through fasting has also led to improvements in his mental health.
“I’ve said it before, in a lot of ways it has really saved my life,” Brown said. “We go through trauma, we all have issues and things that we deal with on this planet that has an effect on us because we’re humans.
“The state of your mind, the state of your well-being can determine how you go forward in those moments,” Brown continued. “Being able to have strong mental health and being able to endure life’s challenges is a great skill-set. I think fasting has helped me in that regard, developing that, so now when you reach moments of adversity, these moments of angst, depression, you’re able to persevere because you’ve practiced it.”
Brown said adding pool workouts to his regimen also helped his game take off.
“The more I’ve embedded myself in water, the more I’ve seen my body transform in the last couple of years,” Brown said. “I’ve just gotten more athletic, I’ve gotten faster, I’ve gotten bigger and stronger and I credit it a lot to improving my relationships with the water.”
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