Kansas City Chiefs rookie DE George Karlaftis takes his training very seriously. He dropped about 10-15 pounds during the pre-draft process, working on his strength, mobility and speed. When asked about his plans for the time between minicamp and training camp, his response was all business.
“Just going to be training as hard as I can,” Karlaftis said. “That’s it.”
Right now, the rookie is doing just that. He is currently down in Texas training alongside Patrick Mahomes and Bobby Stroupe.
Stroupe is the Founder and President of ATHLETE Performance Enhancement Center (APEC) and the longtime personal trainer of Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes. They’ve been working together since Mahomes was in grade school, but Karlaftis first began working with Stroupe at the recommendation of his college quarterback at Purdue.
“His college QB flew in to see me. . . and he told George (Karlaftis) that he needed to get with me,” Stroupe told Chiefs Wire.
Stroupe says that Karlaftis reached out to him and they’ve been working together since he arrived in Kansas City. Stroupe has since shared a few videos of their work together dating back to memorial day.
This is @TheGK3 , not doing CrossFit, on memorial day. pic.twitter.com/BJqKO3lNS5
— Bobby Stroupe (@bobbystroupe) May 30, 2022
Stroupe recently shared a new video on Instagram of Karlaftis working alongside other NFL and college athletes at APEC’s facilities in Dallas-Fort Worth. He’s doing an exercise called the “Lizard Spiral Crawl.” Check it out:
Fun fact: #Chiefs rookie DE George Karlaftis didn't link up with @bobbystroupe through Patrick Mahomes. It was actually at the recommendation of Karlaftis' college quarterback. Karlaftis is also down in Texas training at APEC right now. pic.twitter.com/M3QxGvMKjW
— Charles Goldman (@goldmctNFL) June 29, 2022
Given what we’ve seen Mahomes and Stroupe accomplish together, Karlaftis is certainly in good hands.