Celtics Media Day

Jaylen shares great insight into his unique underwater workouts

"The better you breathe, the better you do everything."

Share
NBC Universal, Inc.

Jaylen Brown went off the deep end this summer -- and we mean that in a good way.

For the third straight offseason, the Boston Celtics star went through a series of underwater workouts that involved holding his breath for extend periods of time while lifting weights at the bottom of a pool.

Brown's social media posts of the workouts went viral, but he didn't just do it for the likes. The 2024 NBA Finals MVP joined NBC Sports Boston's live show at Celtics Media Day on Tuesday to provide insight into how the workouts benefit him on multiple levels.

"We breathe every day, but we kind of take it for granted," Brown explained to co-hosts Marc D'Amico, Kayla Burton and Eddie House, as seen in the video player above. "Breathing is such an essential for life, and being underwater helps you work on your breathing and expand it. And the better you breathe, the better you do everything -- the clearer you think, your decision making, you get faster, stronger, but it also has a lot of health benefits as well.

"So, working on that skill of being able to breathe better only makes you a better athlete, better person, and your quality of life is just better. So, that's something I worked on."

Brown first shared clips of his underwater workouts during the 2022 offseason, and it appears they've become a staple of his summer. The 27-year-old claims he can now hold his breath underwater for "three-plus minutes" and insisted this past offseason was "the hardest I probably ever worked" while he incorporated those pool workouts into his regimen.

That's a testament to Brown's work ethic after arguably the best season of his career; Brown earned an All-Star nod and won Eastern Conference MVP and Finals MVP en route to a Celtics championship. But it sounds like Brown still has plenty of motivation entering this season, partly due to being left off the Team USA Olympic squad.

"I'm extremely motivated for obvious reasons, and I'm ready to get after it," Brown added.

Watch Brown's full exclusive interview with NBC Sports Boston's Celtics Media Day panel below or on YouTube:

Contact Us