UPDATE – No Nonsense Muscle Building is no longer available. However, there are two very similar, alternative programs focused on body recomposition: burn fat, build muscle, or both. They are very close in focus and structure.
No Nonsense Muscle Building is a muscle-building plan specifically designed for skinny guys, hard gainers, ectomorphs, and generally anyone who has trouble packing on muscle.
The latest edition of the program comprises both the Standard and the DeLuxe versions of old into a single, huge program for beginners, intermediates, and advanced.
This rundown will uncover all aspects of Vince Del Monte’s plan, its benefits, and its negative points.
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Who Is It For?
The workouts, volume, and frequency of the program are designed for naturally skinny people like ectomorphs, generally hardgainers, people with long limbs, flat chest, small shoulders, and a light frame who do NOT respond well at all to a huge amount of exercises, sets and days spent in the gym.
It seems hard to believe that many skinny guys and ectomorphs resort to high-volume workout strategies in an attempt to build muscle, while it is a well-known fact that it does not work for them.
The problem also stems from the fact that beginners do not know that, they start their muscle-building journey without a clue and easily fall prey to misinformation.
Here is a typical scenario: beginners or skinny guys browse through muscle mags with all the glossy pictures of pro-bodybuilders with their gargantuan workout schedules and quickly make the wrong mental association with their methods, that tons of exercises and hours spent in the gym will yield massive muscles while disregarding their own body type and genetic limitations if any.
High volume training may work for mesomorphs, endomorphs, and naturally athletic guys or people taking short-cuts with chemicals, but they wreak havoc on skinny frame ectomorphs, stunting development, and setting off a dead-end plateau right from the start.
In the No Nonsense Muscle Building program, workout volume is cut down to a minimum, while intensity is increased, with low reps range compound exercises like squats, bench presses, rows military presses, and the likes. After that, out of the gym and let recovery do the muscle-building process.
The program is well designed with tons of demonstration videos and exercise variations, should you miss some equipment. It can be followed at home as well, no need to join a gym, which is useful if you are a newbie or young guy with a limited budget.
Notwithstanding that the 4olb muscle mass gain in 6 months experienced by Vince Del Monte with this plan is not typical and may not be achievable by many, there is no doubt that this training approach is the right one to take if you are genetically light-framed with little muscle on your bones.
No Nonsense Muscle Building is a training method that he was first introduced to by an experienced, middle-aged bodybuilder who first opened his eyes to what he was doing wrong.
This method revolves around cutting down a lot of training volume and frequency, down to 4 hours a week at most, but increasing the intensity with few basic exercises, the opposite of what many young skinny guys do in an attempt to emulate their muscle mags heroes.
This program is based on a “less is more” approach, fewer days in the gym, fewer hours, fewer workouts, fewer exercises, and no supplements at all, for the benefit of your pockets.
No Nonsense Muscle Building is a “big” program with a lot of materials, and it has been updated a few times over the years. It is user-friendly and down to the point, with useful workout videos, nutritional guidelines, manuals, software, and private members’ zone.
There are really two versions of the program, STANDARD, and DELUXE, but as of now they have been merged together into one to offer a complete package for beginners, intermediates, and advanced at a more competitive price.
Do You Need Supplements?
Vince takes a dim view of the supplement industry. Except for a minority of selected items and brands, he claims that the vast majority is a rip-off, costing a dime to manufacture but a lot for you to buy, and they do not work.
As usual, there is a bit of marketing conspiracy theory on his part about the supplement industry, claiming they are all out there to keep you skinny on purpose in order to profit from you.
This may or may be not true, but the fact is that for the most part there is nothing with the majority of supplements that a good, balanced nutrition plan cannot do.
Having gone through many trials and errors himself, he developed a nice little booklet, included in the program, called The Supplement Watch Files, which reviews the few good supplements on the markets and warns you against the dummy ones, bearing in mind that the few good supplements are totally optional and the program is meant to be completely natural and supplement-free by default.
The bottom line is that this list is there so as to prevent you from wasting your money on the wrong ones, should you choose to buy any. It was NOT designed to encourage you to use them.
About Vince Del Monte
Vince Del Monte hardly needs an introduction. He is all over the place and you can quickly find all the information you want about him.
The guy is very much real and has been running his muscle-building business for skinny guys for over 10 years now. He is widely known as “The Skinny Guy Savior”.
Vince decided to dedicate his life to the redemption of skinny guys, as he in person experienced the frustration of being under-muscled with a lanky frame and what it takes to turn your fate around.
His journey started at college with a bodyweight of 140lb at 6 feet tall, from where he worked his way up to 210lb today, having failed at packing on muscle many times before.
He did so with a simple but down-to-earth training system that was very different from the high volume, high-frequency split routines that he used to copy from muscle mags without success.
All the while, he was attending the University of Western Ontario where he studied Kinesiology and received an Honors Kinesiology degree. Equipped with a completely overhauled physique, he went on to become a WBFF Pro Model and now runs his own muscle-building business for skinny guys.
No Nonsense Muscle Building Contents
The program right now comes as a combination of STANDARD and DELUXE packages at a more convenient price than before, basically you get both versions for the same price or less than you would have paid before for an individual package.
The result is a “mega-program” with tons of materials and information suitable for any fitness level, from beginner to advanced. The STANDARD version is for beginner/intermediate levels, while the DELUXE version is for advanced.
Since they are now unified, you simply follow the version more suitable to your personal level of fitness right from the start. So, if you are a beginner, you may want to follow the STANDARD version, then switch to the advanced one later on when ready.
If you are already well versed in training and not so skinny anymore but want to break through a plateau and start gaining size again, you simply follow the DELUXE part for advanced trainees right from the start.
The Components:
The No-Nonsense Muscle Building eBook Manual – A 201-page manual and the foundation of the program. There are 9 different chapters with all the basic information on workout structure, recovery, right mindset, injury prevention, and the bodybuilding misinformation that lets so many people down.
The 29-week Beginner/Intermediate Intensive Workout Plan for Muscle Building – This is the now world-famous workout schedule that Vince Del Monte used to build an impressive 41lb of muscle in 6 months. Again, this is not typical, but this workout blueprint will certainly help ectomorphs and hard gainers pack on some serious muscle as it is based on basic, heavy compound exercises. The workouts come complete with animated pictures to show you exactly how to do it, plus a tracking log book.
29-week Advanced Max Power Workout Plan – The advanced part of the program is ok, not as good as the beginner/advanced part, which is the core of the program. It is advanced only for former skinny guys or ectomorphs. If you are not in such a circumstance, it may not be challenging enough. However, beginners and intermediates can break through plateaus and avoid boredom with this extra workout plan.
The 4-week Upside Down Training Kick Start Workout – No Nonsense Muscle Building is one of the very few programs that include valuable information on posture, shoulder stability, core stability, flexibility training, conditioning, and specialized training. Another such program is The High-Performance Handbook with similar information [review here]. These often overlooked aspects of training are the cause of many injuries and the knowledge base provided in this book can greatly assist you in avoiding injury some time down the line.
The Metabolic Growth Calculator – This is a standard software as found also in many other programs that will calculate your calorie needs with a few data inputs. It calculates your Basal Metabolic Rate upon which you can add more or fewer calories depending on your goals, like bulking or cutting.
The Empowered Health Mass Meal Plans – This an 84-day meal plan blueprint with a variety of recipes for different goals, ranging from 2000 to 6000 calories/day. Aside from the meals, the manual offers advice on the ingredients to buy, how and when to eat, and how to actually cook.
The Insane Virtual Exercise Demonstrator – A video library with over 100 different exercise alternatives if you train at home or do not have access to equipment. The videos are high quality with clear demonstrations of the correct execution down to the smallest details.
The Supplement Watch Files: Vince Del Monte’s Personally Reviewed Supplements – This guide is not meant to be an invitation to use supplements, it is rather a list of the good supplements vs the bad ones on the market so that you do not waste your money on the useless ones, should you choose to buy some. However, even the good ones are totally optional and not required for the good outcome of the program.
4-hour No-Nonsense Muscle Building DVD – A video library for absolute beginners with Vince Del Monte showing the correct techniques to use weights, it is basically a video version of the main manual.
Private Members Forum – a social community with all the No Nonsense Muscle Building socializing and offering mutual encouragement and support. Lots of threads on workouts, diet, and bodybuilding articles.
The Bottom Line
Vince Del Monte’s No Nonsense Muscle Building is just that, a solid plan to increase skinny guys’ muscle mass naturally without the nonsense of ineffective, muscle mag training routines of pro bodybuilders.
This is a 100% honest and effective program that tells hard gainers and ectomorphs how it is and what works for them. It takes all the unrealistic expectations out and brings in a simple, yet intensive training and nutritional regimen that is proven to work for them.
The compound exercises, progressive overload, high intensity but low frequency are the core of the program and the only effective method to spur muscle growth in skinny guys.
No Nonsense Muscle Building is a solid and very effective program that is not going out of fashion anytime soon, simply because its guidelines are timeless.
My name is Jay Fielding. I gained an interest in fitness since I was a child, and eventually developed my passion into a career path. I am now a Certified Personal Trainer with a natural ability to program customized body recomposition and motivate people in achieving their goals, be it gaining muscle or losing fat.
