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INTRODUCTION

WARNING! IF YOU WERE BLESSED WITH GREAT GENES, WANT TO LOOK LIKE A “BODYBUILDING MUTANT,” OR IF YOU THINK STEROIDS AND SUPPLEMENTS ARE THE ANSWER, THEN CLOSE THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW. IT’S NOT FOR YOU.

“Scrawny,” “Bones,” “Toothpick,” “Pencil Neck,” “String Bean”—I’ve been called them all. I bet you have too. And if you’re like I was, you’ve searched all the bookstores and scoured the Internet looking for someone to explain to you how to gain weight and build life-changing muscle. You found plenty of information on how to lose weight, but it seems no one wants to help the skinny guy.

Tell friends that you hate being thin, and you’re trying to gain weight, and they just roll their eyes and tell you you’re lucky.

Want to know what’s worse? No one cares! No one cares that no matter how hard you train, your muscles will not grow as fast as you want them to. No one cares that guys mock you and girls pity you. No one but a skinny guy can understand the disadvantages of your ectomorph physique.

I’m Vince Del Monte, and I am excited that you are reading this book! Why? Because mine is the first book written by an ex-skinny guy specifically for skinny guys like you. My nickname used to be “Skinny Vinny.” Now I’m called the “Skinny Guy Savior.” I came into this world as a scrawny, awkward pipsqueak. I mean, I had no muscle mass whatsoever. The only thing I wanted was to be big and muscular and not be intimidated by the bigger guys at school.

Adding to my misery, when I got to university, all my roommates were jacked and ripped. I’m talking six-packs, eight-packs, and guns the size of Howitzers! I wanted what they had, but I was a puny runner with a lame social life. I figured I was destined to be “Skinny Vinny” forever.

I started to believe everyone who said, “It’s not your fault. You have bad genetics,” and, for a while, I gave up the fascination with being muscular, but I still wanted to make the most of the skinny body I was cursed with.

I became a triathlete—a lean and mean swimming, biking, and running machine. I actually got good at it, and I competed at the provincial and national levels. I became the captain of my university squad and even represented my country at the world triathlon championships one year.

But it wasn’t everything I wanted.

Just like you, I wanted muscle and respect. Just like you, I wanted to be ripped and feel confident. Just like you, I wanted all the things I figured I could never have.

After four years of university, my athletic eligibility was over, and it was time for me to move into the real world. Like just about everyone else who graduates from an exercise sciences program, I had no clue what I wanted to do, so I pursued the fitness industry as a personal trainer. The only problem was that I did not resemble a personal trainer in any way. I was still Skinny Vinny.

On top of that, I figured I had damaged my potential for muscle growth by making my “muscle-unfriendly genes” even more unfriendly by training long hours each day using primarily my slow-twitch muscle fibers (the kind that don’t contribute to big muscles, only endurance).

My diet consisted of mostly mac and cheese in a box, peanut butter and jam sandwiches, bagels, pasta, Power Bars, and Gatorade. I got my protein, fruits, and vegetables on Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving—during an Italian ten-course dinner. Even worse, I had no experience with weight training.

If there had been a reality-based TV show called The Biggest Gainer, I would have been the prototype for the show’s most embarrassingly scrawny, geeky weakling and instantly cast.

I moved back home to live with my parents and began working at my local YMCA as a personal trainer (for $10 an hour) on a Monday, and I decided that would be the day that I’d start to put to death the nickname that had plagued me my entire life.

Doubtful that I could overcome my stubborn genetics, I banked on the hope that perhaps I could transfer the same qualities that made me successful in the runner’s world to the gym. I went to my room and took a series of “before” pictures to act as proof, just in case I did transform my skin and bones into the body of my dreams.

It wasn’t long after my first bodybuilding mentor had taught me an entirely new way of training that the unimaginable happened. I began to see and feel a difference in just one week (three workouts). My muscles got thicker, denser. My high school crush, who had moved here from Italy, approached me in the gym and said, “Wow, you look different!”

I interpreted that to mean, “Wow, you’re looking hot.”

After a few more weeks, my buddies started to yell, “VIN-SANITY!” when I’d walk into the gym, inspired by my no-nonsense style of training (which you’ll be learning shortly).

I started lifting heavier weights and was getting stronger every week. I finally started to look like “one of the bigger guys,” and a few of my close friends would come up to me and say, “Yo, Vinny [notice they did not say “Yo, Skinny Vinny”]. You’re looking jacked, man!”

My mom even threw away my protein powder. After she witnessed her son transform so fast, she worried that the container in her kitchen was powdered steroids. My brothers just laughed at me with awe or begged, “Vince, flex your muscles,” when their friends came over. The compliments and recognition fueled my mission. I was starting to get what I had thought I could never have.

I continued to trust my body, trust the program, and stay focused on the six-month deadline when I would take my “after” photos. I was determined to capture my transformation on film. After I gained the first 20 pounds, I felt invincible and unstoppable! Over the next five months I gained another 20 pounds and became the talk of my gym.

I started testing out my tactics on my clients. Everyone I trained bulked up fast and got super shredded. They started referring to me as the “Skinny Guy Savior” and “Transformation Specialist.” Other trainers joked, “Vince is about to do another extreme makeover.”

Two years later, I began competing in natural fitness model shows (let me stress this is natural fitness, no steroids allowed). I placed seventeenth in my first show and then fifth in my next a few months later. A few years after that, I returned to the stage and earned my World Beauty Fashion and Fitness (WBFF) Pro Card, and I went on to compete at the World Championships against some of the best physiques in the business.

When I became known as “ripped” and “buff,” those words became central to my new identity. However, I was unaware that at that point, the muscle had more control over me than I had over the muscle.

While I was competing, my life revolved around my workouts, food, supplements, sleep, schedule, and competition outfits. I never missed a meal, and I never missed a workout. I took great pride in sticking to my plan, and I learned a lot about focus, consistency, and discipline; however, I let this goal control my entire life, which created a lot of selfishness and anxiety. It became sickening.

Although I looked damn good, I realized that I was heading down a road of never having enough. That’s when I realized I needed to start looking at muscular development differently. I needed to figure out how I could use my gains to serve others, and I’m going to teach you about that, too.

And so, this book is here to help you defeat your skinny genetics and build a body that is covered with head-turning muscle that you can be proud of, but not at the expense of your physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual health.

This book is here to help you defeat your skinny genetics and build a body that is covered with head-turning muscle that you can be proud of, but not at the expense of your physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual health.

I know too painfully well about your trials and struggles to put on muscle. I know how it feels to walk into the gym where it seems like everyone is growing except you. I know what it’s like to go to the beach and wish you didn’t have to take your shirt off around cute girls, or to feel intimidated when you walk into a bar or club surrounded by guys who are more muscular than you. I know how annoying it is to not be able to find clothes that reveal a strong and proportioned body or to feel frustrated when you step into a confrontation and you don’t have enough respect for yourself to man up.

But finding your identity in how many “likes” you get on your shirtless Facebook selfies will suck your soul dry. Freaking out over a missed meal or the next meal, falling in love with the mirror, pushing through injuries that should be rested, revolving the day around me, me, me, leaves you isolated and obsessive.

Don’t worry. I’m not promoting any of that crap in here.

This book is about believing in yourself enough to build an empowering and well-proportioned physique that exceeds your body’s normal limits and represents you being in control of your life.

This book is about believing in yourself enough to build an empowering and well-proportioned physique that exceeds your body’s normal limits and represents you being in control of your life.

It’s about living large in the gym and in life.

When I talk about building life-changing muscle, I mean that along with the big biceps, you develop the self-confidence to approach the lady of your dreams when you see her. That you feel relaxed and at ease in the company of great men. That you become a man of strength and influence around your coworkers, employees, your spouse, children, parents, and friends.

Does having muscle give you all that? No. But going through the process of building it in a natural and sane way does.

Yes, it is possible. You can build the buff body you want without becoming obsessive, working out two hours a day, or spending thousands of dollars on supplements. And you definitely don’t need to screw around with steroids.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a skinny guy who calls himself a “hard-gainer.” It doesn’t matter if you’ve been training seriously for six months to a year and have little to show for it. It doesn’t matter if you’ve had some initial success, but your gains have come to a screeching halt. It doesn’t matter if you’re out of shape. It doesn’t matter if you’re suffering from “skinny-fat” syndrome. It doesn’t matter if you are a complete beginner to weight training, already built and ready to take it to the next level, or making a comeback.

Whatever the case, you have no need to stress because soon you’ll learn how I overcame my genetics and built an exceptional physique, and how I’ve helped more than 150,000 others in 120 different countries who have bought my programs, and the 750,000+ people who follow me on Facebook and the 300,000 who subscribe to my YouTube channel do the same.

In May 2006, I released my first e-book, No-Nonsense Muscle Building: Skinny Guy Secrets to Insane Muscle Gain, and it went on to sell 81,300 copies in 120 countries and became the number-one-selling muscle-building e-book for skinny guys.

Since then I’ve released numerous digital programs, including The Live Large Inner Circle, Your Six Pack Quest, Maximize Your Muscle, 21-Day Fast Mass Building, Live Large TV, Stage Shredded Status, 1,000 Rep Muscle, The 7x7 Size & Strength Solution, Hypertrophy MAX, Get Juiced, 1-on-1 High Level Physique & Performance Coaching, The Vanity Specialization Programs, No-Nonsense Muscle Building 2.0, and Maximize Your Muscle 2.0.

As I write this, my first e-book is almost ten years old. That’s like a million years in “Internet time.”

I’ve learned a lot since then, and I’ve added a ton of upgrades based on new science that wasn’t available in 2006. Every claim I make and every recommendation I give is backed by the latest and best research. I’ve traveled the world speaking to today’s top experts. I’ve hired the best coaches. I’ve found the sources with the best research. I’ve tested the information on my own physique as well as the people I coach, so you don’t have to.

This book isn’t like anything else I’ve ever released. I’ve condensed the best information I’ve found to date and put it in a format to give you only usable content, with no fat—nothing but meat. This is a book you can bring anywhere you want and open it at any point to pull out muscle-building advice you can benefit from immediately.

I wrote this book because I want to give the muscle-building community an easy-to-read, portable resource where you can find the information you want fast, when you need it. It has a detailed table of contents, so you can look up the information you need, and get right to it. You don’t have to wade through pages and pages of fluff to find the one point you need to clarify or the one exercise you want to try next.

The goal of this book is simple: to help you pack on 30 pounds of life-changing muscle in the next 30 weeks . . . the natural way. It’s a big promise, and it’s doable . . . but it won’t be easy. (If you’ve already gained more than 30 pounds of rock-solid muscle since you began lifting, don’t expect another 30 pounds from this book, but do expect some extraordinary results.)

Some of the highlights include a brand-new 30-week step-by-step three-phase program based on DTS Training—the most scientific, most strategic, and simplest way to build life-changing muscle. It includes a complete set of simple, no-nonsense meal plans that eliminate all the nutritional guesswork. It tells you the only four supplements to consider if you desire to optimize your results.

As for the workouts, I won’t just show you what to do in the gym but how to do it. This is the first and only book that teaches you what to think when moving a weight from point A to point B, along with the most biomechanically effective cues.

I’ll expose how the bodybuilding industry has been scamming you out of your time and money, so you’ll no longer be a casualty of misinformation, and you will learn the bottom-line truth about gaining weight and building lean muscle the no-nonsense way.

By purchasing this book, you’ve put your trust in me as your coach. I know you’re busy and a lot of things are fighting for your attention. The most valuable things I can ask from you are your time and attention. I respect that above anything else, and I promise not to waste it. I understand that, even though there is no one out there purely dedicated to the skinny guy like I am, there are a ton of muscular dudes who could teach you a thing or two about building your body, so I’m honored that you’ve decided to give me your attention and spend your time with me. Here’s how this book is different than any other muscle and fitness book you have read:

1. Everything Is Backed by Science

There was a period when I was uploading so much content that people started to challenge the quality. I started hearing people call me a “bro-scientist” online.

At first, I wrote them off as “haters,” but as I did some further research, I realized I hadn’t done my due diligence, and I was doing my audience a disservice. I have some of my biggest critics to thank for inspiring me to go to a “quality vs. quantity” model when it comes to sharing content on my blog, Facebook page, newsletter, and YouTube channel.

I wrote this book with the most evidence-based science guys in mind. I want them to be able to read this book and say, “This is really good.”

Any claim I make is backed with a reference, so you can be sure nothing I am saying is simply my opinion or pulled out of my rear.

2. Everything Is Backed by Gains

Based on what I said above, you may wonder if I only follow the science. Absolutely not. Effective bodybuilding involves art and science, but frankly, it is more of an art. Don’t blindly conform everything you do to the latest study because scientific conclusions do not always meet the needs of the individual. I have adopted or discarded all of my approaches based on a combination of personal experience, clients’ experiences, and the scientific data available. Use the science as a starting point, but then use your intuition and modify the program based on what works for you. Don’t be afraid to conduct your own personal experiments. Test, tweak, and optimize. You don’t need a study to justify every single action. All that matters is that you take action every day, keep what works for you, and throw away what doesn’t.

3. I Don’t Just Teach This Stuff, I Live and Breathe It

There are a ton of people teaching muscle, fitness, and fat loss whom I call “me-too experts.” That means they are not saying anything different or bringing anything new. They are repackaging the same old material you’ve heard a million times already in a sexier way or with a new hook. And they don’t always practice what they teach. They have a lukewarm passion for fitness but a burning passion for profits and cashing in on people’s fears and insecurities. I’m here to do something about that. My goal is to be your go-to resource when it comes to building muscle without the foolishness or fearmongering. If someone pulled the plug on the Internet tomorrow, you would still find me in the gym grinding away.

4. I Don’t Just Learn from the Internet; I Rub Shoulders with Real Experts

Warning: the majority of the information you read online is bad information. If you’re constantly adopting your strategies from things you learned from headlines and fitness marketing, you’ll always struggle. I want to help you avoid “shiny object syndrome” and keep you focused on easy-to-understand and quick-to-implement advice that works.

5. I Cut Straight to the Chase . . . No-Nonsense Style

I wanted to write a book that gives you advice you can follow right now and see a result right after you apply it. I included the word “no-nonsense” in the subtitle of my book, so I’d have to live up to it. A fitness book should contain clear marching orders with no fluff. It should inspire and motivate. It should help you believe in your ability. It should be easy to toss in your gym bag and bring with you to workouts.

So, here’s to your new ripped and muscular physique and becoming the next Biggest Gained!

Train HARD, train SMARTER, build FASTER, and, after 30 weeks, send me your before-and-after photos, so I can celebrate with you, and I would be honored to share your story on my social media platforms.

“Nothing in business or life is more expensive than bad information.”

—GARY HALBERT