Vince Delmonte isn’t the type to give you a hug and tell you that it’s okay to have that skinny, weak body – that it’s not your fault.
Sure, you got to where you are partly due to genetics, metabolism and a bunch of other factors that you may not have control over. But that doesn’t mean you have to stay skinny.
I like Delmonte’s tough-love approach.
Too often mainstream trainers tell “hardgainers” that they are “hardgainers” who should lower their expectations and learn to live with being weak. They reinforce the myths that genetics and metabolism can’t be overcome. They convince the skinny that their dream to gain significant mass is hopeless.
This just isn’t true. It annoys the crap out of me.
The tough-love approach is aimed at getting trainers to quit wasting time on negativity and quit allowing themselves to be coddled by know-nothing idiots who truly have no clue on how to build muscle.
The reality is that you can in fact gain considerable muscle mass once you understand how to train and diet to gain considerable mass, that if you follow-through and execute a solid program, you can succeed.
Before starting on this review I hadn’t looked at the No-Nonsense Muscle Building program in several years (this is my third time doing a review on it). In the meantime, I’d reviewed dozens of other programs designed to put muscle on hardgainers.
It amazes me just how good this program is in comparison, just how much more thorough and how much better it delivers than most of its competition.
Because Delmonte is such a polished talker and such a good marketer (he is everywhere), it seems easy to discount just how good of a trainer he is. Working through the program, however, you really get a sense that his past history as “the skinny guy” has left him with a sincere passion to help similarly genetically-challenged people.
You also quickly understand that he isn’t just blowing smoke. The guy knows his stuff. He lives and breathes muscle building. This is a solid program.
Once Delmonte has you excuse-free and correctly convinced that YOU are in control of your success or failure at building an impressive physique, he puts forth the 9 growth principles that are the base of the training program. Any and every successful muscle building program must adhere to these principles. It is when trainers misinterpret, ignore or are even unaware of these principles that their training results suffer.
Unlike the typical HIT based program where the focus sticks primarily to heavy weights at a certain rep range, Vince’s periodization has you changing sets and reps in an effort to prevent adaptation and stimulate different muscle fibers. Each phase builds to the next.
The program, for the most part, has you in the gym for 3 quick but intense workouts each week.
Dieting for muscle gain is something Delmonte emphasizes. If you expect to achieve significant muscle gain, you better do some work in the kitchen. This is a fact he pounds into your head.
And if you’re preparing an excuse for why you can’t consume a big diet, Delmonte is ready for you. He works through all the objections – everything from “lack of appetite” to “fast metabolism” to “I already eat a ton”.
While he understands that, for the naturally skinny person, dieting for mass gain is easier said than done, he is also living proof that it can be done (and that the results can be well worth the effort).
No-Nonsense Muscle Building does everything in it’s power to make sure it is doable for you.
Delmonte takes you through everything from cleaning out your kitchen to grocery shopping. He tells you how to condition your body to accept your new diet, how to gradually replace your current eating habits with the positive habits that are going to positively affect your health (and the size of your muscles).
As far as supplements go, Delmonte isn’t a big fan. That said, and while supplementing is optional with the program, he does zero you in on a short list of supplements that can truly help. He tells you what supplements like creatine do in the body and how to best use them for your muscle building goals.
Throughout the program, Delmonte comes at you from the perspective of the “fitness model physique” as opposed to the big, bulky “bodybuilder physique”. He is, in fact, a successful fitness model competitor. You will see things emphasized in the program that are ignored or barely covered in similar programs – things like flexibility training, endurance training, cardio work and muscular balance.
But, make no mistake, the primary focus of the program is getting significant muscle to stick on the skinny guy.
5 of 5 Stars: If you are convinced you can’t gain quality muscle weight and attain your dream physique, I’m willing to wager that Delmonte can convince you otherwise. He takes every single excuse, every single bad habit that leads to the skinny, weak body and systematically replaces them with the positive thinking and positive habits that build and maintain the world’s most awesome physiques.
No-Nonsense Muscle Building has become sort of the gold standard of skinny guy transformation programs. If you follow it, it can work for you.
It’s worth noting that, at least at the time of this writing, all of the bonus items that were once only available with an upcharge are now included in the base offering. This is notable only because there are some really helpful tools here – meal plans, advanced workouts etc.
Delmonte really has put effort into making this program the best, continually adding things to shore up weak spots. That is appreciated by this reviewer.