Vanswe Fitness Course 2025 - Course1: Gradual Gain System

Tempo

Tempo - the speed in which you perform these exercises is the most important pillar of my system.
We have to slow down speed to speed up progress.

It's counterintuitive. I know clients struggle with this for a couple different reasons. Guys that have experienced lifting just don't want to lift lighter weights.

Maybe it's a pride thing. Most of them incorrectly assume that heavier is better. That rep quantity outweighs rep quality.

Quality is so important, guys. When you know how to properly generate force, you'll stay safer and you'll get stronger faster.

The other most common client struggle is the polar opposite. These well intended people just want to lose a little body fat.

They are often misinformed on weight training and ignorant on how it can help them reach their goals.

Many in this camp avoid weight training altogether, because they think they'll get big and bulky if they lift weights.

This just isn't true. Muscle is much smaller than fat and way harder to put on.

Trust me. You're not going to turn into a bodybuilder overnight.

Gaining muscle is the best way to lose fat. Because the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn at rust. So you turn your body into a fat burning machine.

That's why our system, built around the unique tempo, that you're about to learn, will work for anyone.

You can gain as much muscle as you want in the shortest amount of time, either to slim down and shape up or to pack on a lot of muscle.

Right now I want to give you a demo of the secret sauce.

Let's say you're doing standing bicep curl. My most recent findings, I found that a 3-1-3-1 repetition tempo is going to give you the most bang for your buck.

3 seconds on the positive.
1 seconds squeeze one second at the top of the movement.
3 seconds negative going down slow.
1 second Big breath in start it over.
3 seconds positive.

Visualize the muscle shortening one second isometric squeeze in the contractive position and a 3 second negative.

Think of tempo as your how. How you do something matters. Slow down and concentrate to speed up your progress.

Breathing

Breathing—how we breathe is so important; yogis have held breath to be sacred for thousands of years, and for good reason.

Oxygen is power. A lot of beginner or intermediate lifter struggle with attempting proper breathing.

And that's understandable. Your nervous system is trying to learn or ingrain a new movement.

Adding synchronized breathing is just one more thing to think about.

It's difficult at first but it's worth it.

Proper breathing will allow you to lift safer and have more power.

The worst thing you can do while lifting is hold your breath .

Please please please, just focus on breathing while doing an exercise.

Not breathing during an exercise can lead to aneurysms and other nasty stuff, just breath.

Optimal breathing occurs when you're exhaling during the positive and inhaling during the negative.

If that sounds complicated, don't worry, we will provide the proper tempo and breathing for every body part.

It's simple it just takes awareness. Practice and patience.

 

Pulses

Pulses or micro reps are another important piece to the gradual gain system.
Ending each set with two quarter reps on the last two reps is a great way to squeeze out every last drop of value from the set.
Again safety is the most important thing. For some exercises it's important to utilize a spotter to implement pulses safely to get the most out of your workout.
Utilize micro reps whenever you can safely do so.

Mind-Muscle Connection

Connecting your mind to your muscle as closely as possible is another technique to take it to the next level.

If you're working with a partner or a coach that person can actually physically reinforce the mind muscle connection, it's as simple as having that person lightly tap the muscle you're currently working.

If I tap the lateral heads of your tricep while you're doing press downs, your mind's automatically going to home in on that muscle.

If you're working out by yourself, it's got to be purely mental. But it can still have a powerful impact on you making progress.

Laser focus on the muscle that's doing the work. Visualize contracting the muscle towards like squeezing water out of a sponge or create your own visualization that will help you concentrate on that muscle.

The more you connect your mind with your muscle, the safer and more effective your workouts become.

Failure

Embracing failure is another key component to our gradual gain system.

We need to reframe how you see the number of reps you do.

Yes there is a range of reps that you aim for, but there isn't a magical number that if you hit that number you're gonna see results.

You see the magic happens at the point of true muscular failure.

When your mind wants to quit, but you tell yourself to do two more. Those last two reps are what trigger real muscular growth.

Not pushing to true failure is a waste of a set and your time.

The need to constantly push through this pain point is what makes belief and emotional reasons so important.

You'll need solid motivation to castly push this point to true failure that's why training with a partner or a coach is so smart.

A good coach will help you consistently get to true failure and even pass it with negatives.

Whether you are training alone or with a partner it is imperative that we put safety first
.
Push yourself to muscular discomfort. Failure but no further. If you start to experience joint or skeletal pain stop and consult a physician.

Consider getting a spotter if you're doing exercises. It could be dangerous by yourself like a bench press.

Fail fast, fail often and fail forward.