Patrick Mahomes training with Bobby Stroupe. Photo: 

Bobby Stroupe

Patrick Mahomes was just 9 years old when he started working with his trainer Bobby Stroupe. Now, 20 years later with three Super Bowl wins and two MVP awards under his belt, the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback has a regimen locked in with the sports coach.

Stroupe — founder and president of the Athlete Performance Enhancement Center (APEC) — recently shared his and Mahomes’ fitness methods and why, despite the jokes, the NFL star’s “dad bod” is actually good to have.

“As far as our approach, I call it the cake system because — I’m really corny — but basically there’s eight layers to this,” he explains. “There’s eight different things that we focus on: movement literacy, force absorption, force transmission, pattern stability, tissue resiliency, mobility, stability and flexibility.”

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.”

Additionally, Stroupe has relied on unconventional training methods with Mahomes, such as gymnastics and javelin-based workouts, as well as martial arts exercises.

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

Stroupe says he knows there have recently been jokes on social media — even from Mahomes himself — about the Chiefs star’s “dad bod,” but weight and body composition have long been on his radar.

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

“I’ll be the first to tell you that I think an NFL quarterback should have at least 14% body fat,” Stroupe says. “It’s not from an unhealthy standpoint, but from a force absorption standpoint. You have to be able to take 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.”

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.

“The quality and sources of our food, drinks, and everything down to our caffeine sources plays a role in performance,” he notes.

Stroupe says that with Mahomes, they’ve relied heavily on Throne SPORT COFFEE, which was created by business owner Michael Fedele in partnership with the quarterback.

“Patrick’s always been someone that has coffee first thing in the morning. But one of the challenges that he had was, I also wanted him to take some shakes to add different amino acids and protein and other things that I felt were important.”

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.

Now, as Mahomes is playing in his eighth NFL season, Stroupe tells PEOPLE that the star’s mantra has been “be the best you” to achieve longevity in his football career.

“He’s one of the most unique athletes that we’ve ever seen in any sport in all time and he’s got to focus on being Patrick,” Stroupe says. “If he were to try to emulate Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, we wouldn’t have the benefit of watching someone like him play this game on this level.”

“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.”