Trainer Bobby Stroupe claims to use unique training techniques, such as gymnastics and martial arts routines, to keep the NFL player in football shape.

• Bobby Stroupe has been Patrick Mahomes’ trainer since the NFL quarterback was 9 years old
• He says he relies on unconventional training methods with the Kansas City Chiefs star, like gymnastics and javelin-based workouts
• The trainer explains why Mahomes’ “dad bod” is beneficial, but “not from an unhealthy standpoint”

When Patrick Mahomes began practicing with his trainer, Bobby Stroupe, he was only nine years old. After two MVP honors and three Super Bowl victories, the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback has established a routine with the sports coach after 20 years.

The Athlete Performance Enhancement Center (APEC) founder and president, Stroupe, recently discussed his and Mahomes’ workout regimens and the reasons why, despite the jokes, the NFL player’s “dad bod” is genuinely advantageous.

As for our method, he says, “I call it the cake system because, to be really corny, there are basically eight layers to this.” “We concentrate on eight different areas: tissue resiliency, mobility, stability, flexibility, force absorption, force transmission, pattern stability, and movement literacy.”

Stroupe and Mahomes try to train four or five days a week during the off-season. But since the 29-year-old has a family and a busy schedule, they work with the time they have. Some days, Stroupe says, they train for more than four hours; other workouts last 90 minutes.

“During the season it is a different situation because football is the priority. The big days for us are the day after the game,” he continues. “When most people are resting the day after the game, we really work. There’s about three to three and a half hours worth of soft tissue work, mobility work, range of motion work, and just general health. Trying to make sure that the 26 bones in your foot, the 640 muscles, the 12 fascial lines, everything’s got to be in working order.”

In addition, Stroupe has used non-traditional training techniques with Mahomes, including martial arts drills, gymnastics, and javelin-based routines.

“Patrick responds really well to this system and this approach, but there are some things that you would not think that an NFL quarterback would be doing,” he says.

Stroupe acknowledges that jokes about the Chiefs player’s “dad bod” have been made recently on social media, even by Mahomes, but he has always been interested in body composition and weight.

In fact, he says, a dad bod can actually be healthy for some people.

“I think an NFL quarterback should have at least 14% body fat, and I’ll be the first to tell you that,” adds Stroupe. It’s from a force absorption standpoint rather than an unhealthy one. You must possess the ability to make contact.

“We know there’s just not a lot of quarterbacks in the Hall of Fame that have a six-pack and there’s a reason for that. We’ve got to find that fine line of performance and health. And the aesthetic part is a different conversation,” he explains. “I don’t need him to look like a model because the way he chooses to play requires a certain type of physicality, and that physicality needs more body fat. That is a core belief that I do have for him.”

Patrick Homes.

David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty

In addition to fitness, Stroupe — who trains several NFL and MLB players — stresses the importance of diet and nutrition with his athletes. Nutrition, he says, can either work as a gas pedal or a brake depending on how much it’s prioritized.

Performance is influenced by “the quality and sources of our food, drinks, and everything down to our sources of caffeine,” he says.

According to Stroupe, they have placed a lot of reliance on Throne SPORT COFFEE, which was developed by company owner Michael Fedele in collaboration with quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

Coffee is what Patrick always has first thing in the morning. However, one of the difficulties he had was that I also wanted him to drink shakes to supplement his diet with various amino acids, protein, and other essential ingredients.

Stroupe says that turning to the product removed the “give and take” between he and Mahomes, allowing the NFL star to have his coffee while getting the nutritional benefits the trainer wanted him to get. “It was a no-brainer for us,” he adds.

Patrick Mahomes.

Throne SPORT COFFEE

Currently in his seventh NFL season, Mahomes has made “be the best you” his motto to stay in the game as long as possible, according to Stroupe, who speaks with PEOPLE.

Stroupe remarks, “He’s one of the most exceptional athletes we’ve ever seen in any sport in history, and he has to focus on being Patrick.” “We wouldn’t get to watch someone like him play this game at this level if he tried to imitate Peyton Manning or Tom Brady.”

“And no matter how many rings he wins, no matter how many MVPs, every game we can identify things that he can do better,” he adds. “There’s unlimited opportunity to improve.”