Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting a young man and his father, who wanted me to help them with the young man’s senior project
His name is Mason Pereira, and he wanted me to mentor him in functional strength training. I thought it was intriguing that this young man chose this for his high school project. His goal was to put on 15 to 20 lbs. of muscle over the next six months.
Coming from my background, after being bullied for so long when I was a kid, I thought nothing of helping this young man. The sessions were complementary, which was my way of paying it forward for all of the people that have helped me.
The challenge with young men of his age group is most of them only think of bench press and “curls for girls,” and many times, they are not taught the proper mechanics behind simple weight lifting exercises.
Although I’m not a big fan of traditional strength training modalities, there is a way to use some of the old school strength training modalities in the new functional training paradigm. He is on a similar program, just like one of my fighter’s or athlete’s. It is a three phase system that encompasses strength and hypertrophy, explosive power, and what we call “gas in the tank” or “sport specific training.” The latter is akin to hit protocols, which are basically high intensity interval training, (of course with my twist).
Mason’s dad decided to work with him and be his training partner, which I thought was an excellent idea. The family that plays together stays together, in my opinion.
We are documenting Mason’s journey through the whole process, so that others may benefit from what he’s learning over a six month’s period of time.
Many people think, heavy weights, low reps, et cetera, et cetera; we are crushing that paradigm. When an exercise becomes too easy or less challenging, we use one of the eight elements of fitness to raise the bar on the exercise, such as taking a simple chest press with dumbbells. Instead of doing the exercise on a flat bench, we do the exercise on a stability ball. You may ask, why do that coach? If you involve more muscle, you activate more muscle, and you get stronger faster. As the old saying goes, why not get more “bang for your buck?”
So, those are just some of Mason’s workouts. As he progresses, I will keep everybody informed on how he’s doing. You can also follow Mason on my Facebook page and Instagram. I will post his workouts, intermittently. Maybe your son or your daughter might need a program similar to his, as well; remember, we can increase their athletic ability for any sport.
Happy holidays! Coach Kearns
For more information about Coach Kevin Kearns, including scheduling speaking engagements and classes (both online and in person), please contact him at 508-404-8503 or Kevin@burnwithkearns.com. Kevin is the author of “There’s Light In The Tunnel,” How to Survive and Thrive with Depression – “Always Picked Last,“ a guide to navigating bullies on Amazon and Audible.
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Coach Kevin Kearns has been coaching in the world of fitness, nutrition, and tactical self defense for over 3 decades. As the former conditioning coach to 15 UFC Pro Fighters, and ranked in the Top 5 in the UFC , he is no stranger to the importance of proper nutrition and proper mindset programming. He has long advocated for all of his clients – athletes or the general population – about the importance of programming mind, body, and spirit. Coach Kevin Kearns BS FMS CPT – Former conditioning coach to 15 UFC Pros Ranked in Top 5 by the UFC Personal Fitness Coach, Author, Columnist, Motivational Speaker, Corporate Wellness Consultant, Youth Wellness Program Provider, Certification Specialist, Personal Self Defense, and Law Enforcement Defensive Tactics Specialist.
