Interesting People

From “Getting Fit Meant Sink or Swim for an Ex-NFL Star”, by Jen Murphy in The Wall Street Journal, November 3, 2019

Former Cleveland Browns offensive lineman Joe Thomas fueled his NFL workouts with 10,000 calories a day. Now, he would need about five days to eat that much. After retiring in March 2018, Mr. Thomas radically overhauled his diet and exercise.

During his 11-year NFL career, the 10-time Pro Bowler tipped the scales at 325 pounds. “When you’re practicing three hours a day in pads and a helmet in the heat, your muscles need fuel,” he said. “I spent years training myself to turn off my stomach-brain connection. When my stomach said full, I’d still eat two more plates of food.”

More than a decade of hits took a toll on his body. The 6-foot-6-inch Mr. Thomas has had four knee surgeries since his days playing for the University of Wisconsin. Constant joint pain and inflammation made practice excruciating during his final pro years. “My last season I made it to three training camp workouts,” he said. 

Photo: Nick Cammett/Diamond Images/Getty Images

In August 2016 the Browns installed a 25-meter lap pool in their training facility in Berea, Ohio.

Unable to run, Mr. Thomas turned to swimming to stay fit. “At first, I was like a submarine and sank straight to the bottom,” he recalled. “I spent just as much energy staying afloat as I did moving forward.”

By the start of the 2016 season in September, he was swimming 10 lengths of the pool daily. “That’s a warm-up for most swimmers, but I felt totally gassed,” he said. “It’s great cardio, and my body always felt better after I got out of the pool than before I got in.”

Last summer, Mr. Thomas moved his family to Madison, Wis., and began swimming with his brother-in-law, an avid triathlete, in a high school pool. He hired a coach to improve his technique. Mr. Thomas primarily swims freestyle because wear and tear on his shoulders over the years makes other strokes difficult. A typical workout lasts 20 minutes and he tries to make it to the pool two to three times a week. “I love that swimming is something I can do late into life,” he said. “If I jogged or did CrossFit, I’d have pain and swelling for days after. That’s not what I need. Swimming is good for my heart and my joints.”

When doing long swims he wears underwater headphones and listens to house music or ’80s and ’90s rock like Metallica, AC/DC and ZZ Top.