Episode Transcript
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(00:03):
All right. As I say, every time I have a guest, I only bring you the best.
And today is absolutely no exception.
Let me give you his bio and we're going to jump right in. Bobby Stroop has been
training Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes since he was in grade school.
And he is the founder and president of the Athlete Performance Enhancement Center,
where he trains both NFL and MLB player.
(00:25):
With nearly two decades of directing human performance systems,
he has become a renowned speaker, author, and consultant.
His expertise has led him to speak on various human performance topics at prestigious
coaches clinics worldwide, including the Nike Roundtable and the Giant City
Bowl Tour. Bobby, thank you so much for making the time.
Hey, Tom, thanks for having me. I really appreciate it. I have a couple sons.
(00:48):
I think they're more excited for me to interview you than anyone interviewed, which is saying a lot.
Let's just jump right in. You've been working with Patrick for many, many years.
What are a couple of things that would surprise people about your working with
him, whether it's physical, psychological, and then we're going to talk a little
bit about some nutritional stuff as well. Well, first off, thanks for the kind words.
(01:09):
That means a lot. But as far as Patrick and what people probably wouldn't believe
or would try to hit them different, it's just how intent he is on improving. He's so competitive.
So it's It's never about what we've done, you know, any of these things.
It doesn't rest on anything. It's about identifying things that are just not what we want them to be.
(01:33):
They held us back in some way. There are some things that people can relate to.
I don't think that most people would believe how much gymnastic training that
we do and mobility training that we do.
It really is something to see a guy as physically imposing as Patrick really
take the time to do that on a weekly basis.
And I think it throws a lot of people off. The fact that he dedicates so much
(01:55):
time and energy to that, especially the day after a game when your body just,
just broken. All you want to do is rest. And he goes right back to work.
It's unlike anything that I've ever seen. Bobby, your Instagram is so cool.
I would say practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.
I will say to my sons when they watch someone make an amazing catch, toes just dragging.
(02:16):
And I say, you know, he made that catch 10,000 times in practice, probably more.
And you have a clip of Patrick doing a behind the back pass in practice.
And I mean, I would love to tell you that, you know, we always do that and think
about, like, all right, we're going to do this.
It's going to be really neat when you go do this in the game.
(02:38):
But it's just not really like that.
But I will tell you, man, some of the greatest passes I've ever seen from him
have not been on the field, and they haven't been with a camera around.
I mean, I've seen him do some things that are truly remarkable,
so nothing really surprises me.
But whenever I have something in the clip that is relatable to what people have seen.
(02:59):
I think it's so fun to put that out there and just to show that I don't want
any kids out there, anybody out there to believe that this guy is just out here
writing out his genetic traits.
I mean, he really nurtures the things that God gave him.
And yes, he has some advantages, but he's a worker and he's consistent and there's
nothing you see out there that he hasn't done before.
(03:21):
I can promise you that. The term I use, Bobby, after all these years is excessive moderation.
Most people do a lot of something a little bit, whether that's exercise or nutrition, right?
That New Year's, it's just doing a lot a little bit, but it's,
as you said, and it's all the cliches, it's consistency of the little things
all the time that makes you great.
(03:41):
Yeah, we are what we do. I mean, that's it. And you don't have to have,
from an exposure standpoint, it's my core belief that you don't have to have volume.
What you need over volume is intense.
Intensity and you and you need consistency as
far as touch points and that lines up with
a lot of the things that we do in season our philosophy is
(04:03):
a sniper usually gets only one shot if
a sniper gets one shot how are we going to train how can
we make the neurological system force adaptations that we need with minimal
exposures we can't do three sets during the season a certain movement But that
doesn't mean that we should scrap that and just act like it can't have a profound
(04:25):
impact on our performance because it can't.
And I think the older you get as an athlete, the one advantage you do have is
that your body will take these neurological exposures and create physiological
adaptation on a more impactful level than it would when you're a younger athlete.
And you're more of a tissue-based human being at that point.
(04:45):
I mean, these are some of the only advantages you can hold on to as you age.
I love that. Most people don't realize streams are easy, whether it's, again, doing too much.
I'm in the gym and people are looking at me and they're constantly,
Bobby, asking me if I'm hurt because I'm using moderate weights, but I'm controlling it.
Disciplined every rep, every rep I'm thinking about.
And a guy like Patrick and a trainer, a coach like you, focuses on that,
(05:09):
that every single rep matters.
I think it has to, especially when you don't have a chance to repeat it.
It fits right into what the psychological parts of his position are.
Everything can be perfect for a play. You have the blocking,
you have the right route, the right matchup, make the throw,
and it could be a drop, it could be a penalty. Who knows? The defender can make a great play.
(05:32):
And that goes back to that sniper gets one shot mentality.
You incorporate that in your training, and all of a sudden your depth of focus
and technical approach, it's going to amplify.
And that's going to make things count more. And that lines up exactly what you're saying.
Is there one exercise he just won't do? I detest burpees, personally.
(05:53):
Is there one that he's like, listen, Bobby, I'm not doing that?
You know, I think Netflix actually documented a specific conversation where
he told me he wasn't doing something.
And I think pretty quickly I was like, oh, I got to say, yeah,
yeah. On the Netflix series, there was I think it was episode seven.
Yeah, I think it was seven right before the playoff. Yeah. And he said to me,
(06:15):
well, first off, I said, what we're going to do with this is we're going to jump.
We're going to try to get to one point five meters per second.
And he looked at me and he's like, I'm not jumping. I said, you are jumping
and you're going to do this. And we're going to hit 1.5 meters per second.
And I was very shocked that they put that in there.
I don't want anyone to think like I try to put him in the corner or anything.
That's not our relationship.
But, you know, if I'm convicted about something, I think he and I have a good
(06:39):
enough relationship to have a little bit of banter.
And then I've never known him not accept the challenge.
If there's a number and objective measure behind it, I know for a fact he's going to do it.
It's just an amount of time for him to work through his head, how he feels about it.
And then he's going to walk over there and probably hit the exact number that I'm asking for.
(07:00):
That's incredible. And that's the relationship, obviously, you guys have nurtured over so many years.
I had a client many years ago who just made me think, a personal training client,
hated one exercise machine, one of the machines in the gym. And it was out of order forever.
And I finally found out that she had bought an out-of-order sign and put it
on the machine whenever she had to do it. And I'm not like that.
(07:22):
That's at least creative, right? If you don't want to do something,
let's completely switch gears. I am a big caffeine guy.
There's so much misinformation out there about it. It is an ergogenic aid,
which means it enhances performance in so many different ways.
What's what are your thoughts on caffeine as a performing state?
Well, I think at its best, when it's actually sourced nationally,
(07:44):
you know, it's an amplifier, it's going to take Take all the things that make
you, you, and it's going to give you more, you know, and that's really what
you would want from any type of a performance enhancement,
you know, nutritional source is you want to try to create, you know,
more of whatever it is you're going for.
(08:04):
You want to either absorb the nutrients or maximize the physical traits or even
the psychological traits and the general factors and things like that.
I think caffeine, though, is a bit of a double-edged sword in that if it's sourced correctly...
It's different than if it's, well, I don't want to say synthetic,
(08:25):
but if it's sourced in a way that is not natural, it can have some opposite effects.
So what we do know is that if you have certain types of caffeine in your body
that's derived from some things that are created in a lab or some of these other
things, it can elevate anxiety and it can actually suppress certain adrenaline,
(08:45):
neurotrophic growth factor type of responses.
But if it's naturally sourced, then you have a prolonged effect of that caffeine for many, many hours,
as opposed to if it's not naturally sourced, it gets into your bloodstream very
quick, elevates a lot of things that end up creating anxiety for the rest of
the day that actually dehydrate you and your tissues.
(09:07):
For you, which conversely, if you want the longer lasting energy boost or amplification.
And adrenal factors, you got to find something natural.
That's why, you know, coffee's been around long before an energy drink ever existed.
Yeah. You want the best. It's like trying to get vegetables from a pill.
Maybe that doesn't work.
Right. So just because you're taking it doesn't mean you don't want,
(09:30):
you know, whether it comes to any type of supplement, you want the best of the
best. And there's a lot of bad stuff out there.
You know, we won't get into all of it. here, but there's a huge psychological benefits.
You feel that your rate of perceived exertion is lower like anything else.
And I'm sure you'd agree, Bobby, you want to try it out, use the best products
as you're saying, see how it works for you, timing, all that kind of stuff.
It's not a, it's not a magic bullet. As you said, you still have to do the work,
(09:53):
but it's an amplifier of the work you've done.
Do you have an inside scoop as to what Patrick uses for something like that?
Yeah, there's been some changes over the years.
You know, I think more often than not, it was more more or less like coffee,
nitro cold brew or regular coffee.
But then the problem is, is that I'd have greens, amino acid blend for him to take.
(10:16):
I mean, it just kind of got ridiculous where he's got five or six drinks that
he's got to get in before his morning meeting.
And it's just pretty unrealistic. So without him telling me,
like I knew he was making some choices and probably not all the choices that I'd like.
So we're always looking for things. And luckily, he got together with some good
people, was thrown for coffee, and actually was one of the founders of the concept.
(10:42):
And what we were looking for is something that can make this more efficient
and a good product for him selfishly.
And then turn it into something that is going to be beneficial for a lot of
people. And that's what that is.
What it ends up being is something that is naturally sourced,
which we've already talked about. That's very important.
That's why he was a coffee drinker in the first place. and then.
(11:03):
Taking some protein that we need to start the day that actually are going to
help prolong the effects of the caffeine with the vitamin B sources and also amino acid blend.
And so now I'm taking I'm taking a guy that was carrying four cups into a meeting
and probably having to slow down his morning with some other breaks because
I was probably trying to do too much.
(11:24):
And now I've combined it into something he can actually just grab and go.
Now, not myself. I shouldn't have said it that way. Now we have something with
their own sport coffee that combines all these things.
And I'll be honest, it's made his life easier and hopefully a lot of other people.
I know for me too, it's been a big deal.
You're speaking my language. I did another podcast about my three favorite supplements,
(11:46):
creatine, protein, and caffeine. I put them all together.
And it didn't taste really good because I'm taking like some crazy protein powder
and I'm throwing my coffee in it, the creatine in it.
And most people are like i'm not drinking that i'm like that's fine so
when you can find something especially that someone
like patrick uses that's pretty amazing so is
(12:07):
there protein in it too yes yes there's protein in it and i think that that's
that's a great that's a good i mean you don't want to be too heavy with that
as far as with the caffeine intake showing move right right through you and
so that between that and amino acid blend and the vitamin b complex it's a really good way
to start your day and and you know it's 150 milligrams of caffeine everyone's different.
(12:29):
About you know how much they consume and what's appropriate
for them for their body weight and what they're doing in their nutrition but
i feel like it gives people a lot of options and it gives you a great way to
combine some of the things that you do man it's made it easier i'll tell you
that it's definitely made it to where i feel a little better about him getting
a couple of those things that i feel like are where he's got to start every day if that makes says.
(12:51):
It totally does. I always say TMI maybe, but you know, I have the bladder of an eight-year-old.
So when I try to drink all the water and drink all the different drinks and
protein and everything, you go, when you can combine anything and you're trying
to be super healthy and just proactive.
And let me just say this, listen, I wish we had more time.
I know you're, you're super busy, so I'd love to have you back,
(13:11):
but it's not just for, you know, athletes too, right?
I mean, this is for someone who wants, wants health benefits.
You got the low calories, low sugar, no dairy
things like that and that's huge for people who aren't necessarily you
know playing nfl football absolutely like i
take this stuff that's my kids soccer games and i can never i can never make
it out i mean everybody you know loves it it's been a really good thing and
(13:34):
my my kids have what they call black milk so i'll give them milk and then put
some of this in there and yeah it's been great i think it's a good product and
sport coffee is a name but at the same time.
I mean, we know how big caffeine is in the world today. I mean, everyone's busy.
Everyone, you know, got a lot on their plate and having options to grab and
(13:55):
go in a world where we have a lot of things that can harm us that are illegal,
that are for sale in the places that, you know, our families are,
this is a good option for anybody, really.
You know, I always say, Bobby, that I don't talk about any products that I don't
believe in 100% myself that I would give to my family.
And to have the insight, people always ask me, like, what do you take? What do you take?
(14:16):
So when I can find out what Patrick Mahomes takes and invests in and have his
guy who's been working with him since he was a kid, pretty awesome.
So thank you so much for taking the time again. I would love to do this again.
And is it sportcoffee.com if people want to try it? You know,
I think the best place to find them is on social media.
And they've got some really good information on Instagram.
(14:36):
I know that that's a lot of their main connection with the public on social
is that. So come on Sport Coffee.
Great information. and some of the funny ads that they do and some more information
about the product in particular.
Let me just say this. Congrats to you for working with someone. It's the test of time.
There's a lot of people I know, Bobby, who professional athletes come to to
(14:59):
work out and they make a name for themselves.
When you have someone who's been with that athlete for as long as you have,
speaks volumes about you.
I definitely, I'm going to watch your Netflix. I've seen bits and pieces,
but now I'm going to jump right in and continued success.
And yeah, such a pleasure. or thank you for taking the time.
Tom, that means a whole lot.
I appreciate that. You know, we're all, we all end up being measured by the
people that we associate with. And, you know, I'm fine.
(15:22):
Like causation and correlation is a hard thing to delineate.
And I realized who I work with.
I'm not so sure I'm good at my job because I don't really have to be.
I got the best quarterback in the world still representing my work.
But I'm going to keep approaching it that way and try to get better and search
for the truth. And it kind of works me to life.
Appreciate you having me on. I think you put out great content.
(15:43):
So thank you, Jim. Thanks so much. Speak soon. Have a great day.