On Daily Routines, we profile successful leaders, entrepreneurs, artists, executives and athletes to explore their routines, schedules, habits and day in the life.
When it comes to quarterbacks, there are few who have made a bigger impact on the NFL in recent years than Patrick Mahomes. From his record-breaking college career to leading the Kansas City Chiefs to two Super Bowl wins, Mahomes has become one of the most exciting and dynamic players in the league.
Born on September 17, 1995, Mahomes grew up around sports. His father, Pat Mahomes, was a former Major League Baseball pitcher, and it was clear from a young age that Mahomes had inherited his father’s athleticism. Growing up in a sports family played a significant role in shaping the future Chiefs quarterback into the dedicated athlete he is today.
“I got to see him battle and grind to try to get back there,” Mahomes later said when asked about his father by Men’s Health. “You never know if it’s going to be like this for the rest of your career, so I try to win as much as possible now, and do whatever I can to win multiple Super Bowls.”
At Texas Tech University, Mahomes played football, basketball and baseball but it was football where he truly shone. In his junior year, Mahomes led all NCAA Division I FBS players in multiple categories, including passing yards and total touchdowns. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2017 and spent his rookie season as a backup to Alex Smith. In 2018, he was named the starter and had a record-breaking season, throwing for over 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns.
Mahomes’ success continued in 2019, as he led the Chiefs to their first Super Bowl appearance in 50 years, where they defeated the San Francisco 49ers. He was awarded the Super Bowl MVP for his performance, becoming the second Black quarterback and youngest overall to do so.
The Chiefs quarterback’s achievements did not stop there. In 2020, he signed a 10-year contract extension worth a staggering $503 million, making it the third-largest contract in sporting history. The year after signing his contract, he led the Chiefs to their second consecutive Super Bowl appearance, where they defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in a nail-biting 38–35 victory.
But the cherry on top? In 2022, Mahomes won his second career NFL MVP and his second Super Bowl MVP in Super Bowl LVII, becoming the first player to win both awards in the same year since Kurt Warner in 1999. Since taking over as the Chiefs’ starting quarterback, Mahomes has guided the team to six straight AFC Championship Game appearances, spanning from the 2018 season to the 2023 season, achieving the second-highest number of consecutive conference championship game appearances by a quarterback.
You have to grind every day. You can’t just show up and play on game day. You have to prepare throughout the week to get ready for the game.
NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes on How He Trains, What He Eats Each Day, and Why Playing Baseball Helps His NFL Game | Men’s Journal
Patrick Mahomes’ training routine & diet
On a typical training day, the superstar quarterback is usually up at 6-7am to start his day with a workout or therapy session. After his first workout of the day, he’ll come back home for some recovery work which usually involves a mix of sauna, ice bath, hot tub, stretching and massages.
A big reason why Mahomes is adamant on getting his workout done early in the morning is to make sure he’s able to spend lots of time with his family. “I make sure to get up to get that all done so I can be around my family and be a dad and do whatever I can to have time for myself to relax,” he told CNBC.
Whether it’s the lead-up to the Super Bowl or the off-season, the Chiefs quarterback is usually hard at work multiple times a day. In addition to his NFL training with his team, Mahomes also trains with his performance coach Bobby Stroupe.
“During the season, we’re doing about eight to 10 hours of specialized training together [per week], in addition to the workouts and practice he has with the team,” Stroupe told Men’s Journal. “On a week where they’re playing on Sunday, we’re training Monday, Tuesday, and Friday.”
In terms of a typical workout session with Stroupe and Mahomes, it’s usually a combination of med ball work, track work, sled work, sprint drills, and strength training exercises that are designed to help him improve his agility, explosiveness, speed, and strength.
To develop his core strength and throwing power and accuracy, Mahomes incorporates a variety of med ball exercises into his regimen, including situp med ball throws, granny tosses, shotput throws, and partner pass rainbow slams.
On the track, Mahomes pushes his limits with single-leg broad jumps and hurdle bounds, which he pairs with 10-yard sprints to maximize his explosive power and agility. To further improve his conditioning, Mahomes also performs a series of grueling sled pushes and pulls, lateral sled drags, and get-up sprints.
For his strength training, Mahomes performs a lot of front foot elevated split squats, 3-position isometric pullups, overcoming isometric deadlifts, cable push pulls, and weighted hip thrusts. These exercises challenge his lower body, upper body, and core, and are essential for ensuring he can withstand the physical demands of his position.
When it comes to his nutrition, the quarterback has been learning to focus on eating better and taking care of his body through the right diet. Mahomes credits his girlfriend, Brittany Matthews, for helping him stay on track with his nutrition goals. “Eating-wise, I’m blessed that my girlfriend is [big on] nutrition so she helps me out with that — she’s [about] fitness,” he told Yahoo.
Mahomes typically sticks to three meals a day and is a big fan of fruit, especially strawberries, oranges, and apples. He has also eliminated unhealthy foods like snacks, candies, and desserts from his diet. “I just try to eliminate some of the bad meals, the fast food, the foods that aren’t great for your body and don’t help you get the most out of it,” he explained. And while he isn’t as strict with his diet as to count calories each meal, he does pay attention to the quality of his food. “I’m a picky eater, but I still try to eat healthy stuff like chicken, salmon, and all the [other] stuff I like a lot,” he said.
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