Here's Why The E.V.A. Method Works So Well For Men Over 35

E.V.A. stands for:

E - Exercise Selection

V - Variable Loading

A - Autoregulation

And here’s why each one of those is important:

Exercise Selection:

As a state champion and nationally qualified Olympic lifter, I can tell you with 100% certainty that the most challenging exercise most people have never performed is the Clean + Jerk.

Problem is, most Westerners neither have the mobility nor the patience to perform the Jerk. 

Good thing we can use the Press - another overhead lift - as a worthy back up.

In fact, legendary Old Time Strongman, Sig Klein, argued that the double dumbbell Clean + Press was the “Secret Weapon” he and other Old Time Strongmen used to build their Herculean physiques.

Sig even issued a challenge -

Clean and Press a pair of 75 pound DBs (150 pounds total) 12 times without putting them down, which he completed himself.

He weighed in at a whopping 155lbs (70kg). And as you can see, he doesn’t look “too bad” either.

Using kettlebells instead of dumbbells adds an extra degree of difficulty - 

The backswing of the Clean - where the kettlebells pass between the legs, under the body...

Places an extreme stretch on the hamstrings and forces the abs to contract harder than just lifting from the floor or outside the leg from the “hang,” as Sig advocated with the dumbbells.

This works the body more, and as a result, requires you to use more energy. 

A bonus for both building muscle and getting stronger.

Here’s why the Clean + Press is your exercise of choice - the only one you need - when looking for a “total body transformation” -

10 Reasons The Clean + Press Is The 800 Pound Gorilla Of All Kettlebell Exercises

Sure, the Clean + Press (from here on abbreviated at “C+P”) works the same muscles as the Swing and Get up… 

… The feet, calves, hamstrings, gluts, quads, core, lower back, upper back, shoulders, arms, and grip - 

BUT… 

[1]  It uses them through greater ranges of motion, so you perform more work, especially if you can use a pair of kettlebells...

[2]  And therefore you’ll burn more calories, which makes it great for fat loss.

[3]  The C+P requires more power than most Swings because it travels further - the kettlebell must end in the rack (held on the front of the shoulders) - again, working more muscles, and burning more calories.

[4]  Cleaning the kettlebell into the rack makes the muscles of your upper back work harder than just Swinging a kettlebell. Therefore, they get stronger and bigger. 

[5]  The rack makes your abs/core musculature work harder. So those muscles get stronger and more defined from the extra work. 

[6]  Pressing overhead works your abs more than just supporting a weight overhead because your body constantly has to adjust to an increasing and decreasing center of mass. 

[7]  Pressing overhead also works your shoulders, arms (triceps), upper back, and your lats (the muscles that make your back look wide, like a “V”) - through a full or close-to-full range of motion. The Get Up does not.

[8]  Your heart gets more work because you’re moving the kettlebell from under your body - using your legs - to over your head - using your arms… 

… So this makes your heart have to do more work, improving cardiovascular fitness and health, and keeping heart disease at bay. 

This translates to having more stamina and energy throughout your day.

[9]  Research has shown that explosive muscular contractions make your body more “insulin sensitive.” The Clean is an explosive muscular contraction of the hips and legs - the largest, most energy-hungry muscles in your body. . 

Performing more Cleans means you can use more sugar as fuel, which means you can eat more carbs and not store them as fat - especially around the middle.

[10]  Research has confirmed that large compound movements like the Clean, produce a large post-exercise spike in Testosterone and Growth Hormone - both of which burn fat and build muscle

At this point, you may be thinking -

“Great - I’ll just punch out and go do some Clean + Presses.”

You could, but that would be a Big Mistake.

And that’s because you won’t have the other two ingredients in this “Secret Sauce”...

Soviet Weightlifting

"Voodoo Magic"

After choosing the “biggest-bang-for-your-buck” exercises, the proper loading - sets, reps, rest periods, and workout duration - is key.

In order to get stronger, build muscle, and burn fat, you must be able to perform a lot of work, and still recover from that work. 

Most kettlebell workouts are random - just a lot of sets, reps, and goofy looking made-up exercises thrown against a wall like spaghetti to see what sticks…

... "Designed" to make you “feel like you got a good workout”...

The workouts that aren’t completely random, are based on traditional “progressive overload” -

Add a little bit of weight to the bar each time you lift - and assume you have access to a wide variety of kettlebell weights…

(… and in many cases, other implements - like a set of bands or a pull up bar. )

By contrast -

“Variable Loading” is based upon the little-known Soviet weightlifting training methodology of the 1970s and 80s… which produced multiple World Champion Soviet Weightlifting teams…

Variable Loading was proven superior to traditional progressive overload by Soviet sports scientists Dr. A. Vorobyev and Prof. Ermakov. 

When compared head-to-head with traditional methods of strength training, Variable Loading produced a 61% greater improvement in strength.

And that’s because it uses loading (sets, reps, and weights) that varies sharply compared to the traditional methods.

Almost like some kind of “voodoo magic.” 

The Soviets Also Discovered

Specific "Loading Zones"...

... Or percentages of your maximum effort - that produced certain outcomes: Strength, muscle mass, power, or endurance.

For example: 

60-80% is the “Power Zone” for the Olympic lifts - the Snatch and the Clean & Jerk.

We use two of these specific loading zones in our programming -

One for maximum strength or one for strength, muscle-building, and fat loss - you choose.

Based upon 28 years in the field, my empirical data across all populations shows that basing the starting weights for these programs off a multi-Repetition Maximum superior to using a 1RM for non-elite athlete populations.

It requires less psychological stress and it allows room for technique errors, so it’s safer.

So, you'll base your starting weight on your own personal Repetition Maximums in the C + P.

There are two different Repetition Maximums -

One for Maximum Strength.

The other for Max Strength, Muscle Mass, and Conditioning.

The fat loss is a by product.

In the traditional Soviet variable loading model, weights were routinely changed each workout as part of that variability.

The Soviets Also Found An Optimum Rep Range Number.

It's purpose is to minimize fatigue.

This is important because:

[1] Your technique breaks down when you get tired.

This makes it easier to get injured.

And that's no bueno.

[2] Your power output drops when you get tired.

This means you do less work...

And therefore you'll burn less calories and build less muscle.

The E.V.A. Method Applies These Optimums To Your Rep Maxes

You’ll be using the same weights - the same sized kettlebells, but four other variables change -

[1]  Reps per set per workout

[2]  Total reps performed each workout

[3]  Rest between sets changes within workouts AND between workouts

[4]  “Life Stress” - also known as “Physiological State” (The Cuban Secret).

Probably the most important, this “waves” up and down based upon things such as:

Sleep (or lack of), work stress, fights with wife/spouse, children, bills that need to be paid, stimulant (coffee) consumption, etc, etc, etc… 

In turn, this impacts your daily energy and strength levels...

Which means the same weights can feel either light or heavy, based upon the day - just like adding or subtracting weight from the bar.

Joe Weider Almost Got It Right

Joe Weider, (a.k.a. “The Master Blaster), the pioneer of modern bodybuilding (and many would argue, the destroyer of effective strength training), and publisher of world-renowned tabloids like Muscle & Fitness, Flex, and Shape Magazine…

… Was known for many bodybuilding “principles” that he either discovered or invented.

One of them is the “Instinctive Training” principle.

It states training intensity (or effort) in any given workout should be based on how you were feeling that particular day, combined with your experience.

In modern, non-bodybuilding, scientific terms, we call this -

Autoregulation.

There was even a 2010, 12-week study done by McNamara et al, on beginner weight trainers to study the concept. 

One group trained by “instinct,” autoregulation.

The other, on a structured program.

The results?

The autoreglation group improved their leg press by 62kg. 

The structured group only improved theirs by 16kg.

So what that means for you is this:

Unlike most kettlebell workouts, which either use strict guidelines like “3 sets of 15 reps” … or “30 seconds of work”... or “30 seconds of rest”...

... Which leave you feeling like a failure when you can’t meet the guidelines…

You automatically adjust the amount of work you can do based on how you’re feeling that particular day -

Based on your “Life Stress” and your “Physiological State.” 

Some days you have lots of energy, and the weights feel light, so you can bang out lots of reps.

Other days, you’re dragging tail, and the weights feel heavy, so you do what you can.

So whether you got a bad night’s sleep, a fight with the wife or jerk boss, or haven’t eaten all day long because someone else’s work got dumped on your desk… 

You’ll still be able to workout without feeling discouraged and more importantly -

Still make progress…

Watching the number of Presses you can do increase from week to week…

Noticing your T-shirt sleeves get tighter…

And feeling your drawstring-less pants get looser in the waist. 

And maybe even getting some extra “attention” from your wife or girlfriend.

Here Are 10 Reasons The E.V.A. Method Is The Most Effective Way For You To Get In Shape Using Kettlebells

It - 

[1]  Forces your body to get stronger, by using the most effective compound kettlebell exercise, used by Old Time Strongmen to forge bodies of iron - the Clean + Press

[2]  Enables you to eat more carbs without storing them as fat, by making your body more insulin sensitive, from all the kettlebell Cleans

[3]  Fills out your T-shirts so you look like a man, not a boy, packing muscle across your upper back, on your shoulders, and in your upper arms and forearms

[4]  Burns potentially more body fat than other kettlebell exercises because it uses almost all the muscles in your body through their full ranges of motion, which uses more calories (fuel)

[5]  Bulletproofs your lower back because it uses your core muscles - your abs, gluts, hamstrings, and lats as a team - the way they’re used in everyday functional activities that cause most guys to throw out their backs 

[6]  Elicits/Triggers a large hormonal response of the main fat-burning, muscle-building, make-a-man-a-man hormones: Testosterone and Growth Hormone - so you can pack on more muscle and burn more fat, naturally

[7]  Reduces cardiovascular disease risk factors, which plague men as they age by working your heart and lungs every workout

[8]  Strengthens your abdominal musculature directly from spending time in the rack position, while simultaneously stripping off stomach fat, making your stomach harder, and your pants looser

[9]  Destroys “Dad-bod” by making you look more like a gorilla and less like a girl

[10]  Attracts attention from some wives and girlfriends, and restores confidence from looking better and feeling stronger

[11]  Saves you time and mental bandwidth - you only have to train a maximum of 90 minutes per week - so you can spend more time with your family

Please understand:

It took me over two decades to distill and refine this Method. 

But you will find all the nuts and bolts - the details - about The E.V.A. Method, the most effective method for men 35 and over to get in shape in only 90 minutes per week…

… Inside a brand new set of workout programs called -

THE GIANT

THE GIANT is actually FIVE different programs

John Grahill, who you met at the beginning of this letter, used #4.