Living Large: The Skinny Guy's Guide to No-Nonsense Muscle Building

1st things 1st. This book is not only for "Skinny" people, but it does cater to them more than fit/overweight people.Disclaimer: I have been following Vince for many years now and maybe this has led to some bias of giving a great review. However, I am trying to be as objective as possible.There really should be a 2-part review to this book. The first should review the general content of the book and the second should review the workouts and there effectiveness. I just purchased this book not too long ago and read it in one sitting. So readability 8th grade level. However, this book although easy to read if you read it too fast, you may miss essential details as to key factors in muscle growth.As mentioned before I have been following Vince for awhile and some information that should be provided in the cover is that he does have a degree in Sport Science a.k.a. kinesiology and a certificate of Precision Nutrition. However, take that with a grain of salt because if you know anything about the fitness and nutrition industry is that there is constantly something "better". So many fitness experts will point you to the new fad exercises and diets vs. teaching you the tried and true. In this book you will learn the tried and true methods.This book is a hell of a deal let me tell you. The first part of the book with general information on body building and tips of the trade alone can cost a lot of money. If you pay a personal trainer most of them won't even go into this much detail and you may end up paying 10x more than what this book offers for nothing. I hired a personal trainer for a "month" but really it was only 3 sessions+ a "free" session. I really only saw the trainer during the free session and since it was free I was basically wasting his time. That alone cost me $99. He gave me the basic tips like... work out.. try to focus on all muscle groups... and there are pictures on the machines to show you how to use the machine and what muscles are used.This book really tells you how to begin a wonderful hobby/lifestyle of bodybuilding and how to successfully reach your goals of getting a better body for health and aesthetics.So not only does this book give you the greatest tips for muscle building such as muscle isolation, it also includes a 30 WEEK Workout Program! That is 7 months worth of exercises! Most good programs go by $10 a month. Boom another great value. Sorry to say, but a lot of the free workouts aren't as great as these well thought out exercises by Vince. To be honest, in 2012 I bought a workout program by Vince and Ben Pakulski worth $500. At the time it was worth the money and still is. It is a 12 month program and gives you sooooo many tips and information, but now that I read Vince's book most of those tips are included in this book.Another tangent her, but there are a lot and I mean a lot of fitness experts on YouTube, they are experts because they are fit and big. Most of them are on Steroids although they claim to be clean. But the way they train is not optimal and there reasoning for their training method is incoherent which all points to being on Steroids.The workouts in this book have a synergy, Meaning that the following exercise builds on the previous one, and the following training day builds on the previous day. If you didn't know most exercises involve more than one muscle group. So like doing a bench press can train your Triceps, as well as your shoulders. So the following exercise could be a tricep one or a shoulder one. Or the following day could be a shoulder day because it was pre-fatigued the day before. All this will lead to your body growing.My review is getting long but I need to point these things out, so let me finish with the Nutrition part. Again most fitness experts including Vince will charge extra in their workout programs for a meal plan, sometimes fitness experts bundle it sometimes they make it a bonus with a price. Meal plans usually range from $7 to $20. Sometimes even more if it is personally catered to you.The nutrition plan in here again is something tried and true. 5 meals a day and if your cutting/losing weight then you have a fattier diet and lower carb. but not the fad of no carb. Also this meal plan gives specific items and different calorie ranges so you really don't have to do any math.Final thoughts:This book offers soo much, and I am looking forward to updating it once I begin the workouts. It is kind of hard to only train 3 days a week for 10 weeks. I understand they are full body workouts, but still I enjoy going to the gym and I am not even built. I have only recently fallen in love with the gym. Once I begin my workouts, I will post a picture. So you can see that I am an average human being aiming for the extraordinary. Also, as a bonus I did get the Cardio protocol which again most fitness programs would have been another $7-20 dollars. The best part is that it it work in conjuction with the workout program and is not generic answers. such as do hiit cardio, but it gives specific guidelines for specific days.10 weeks to looking your best!!!Respectfully,Fernando

I don't normally write reviews for products. I have purchased a lot of exercise books in the past, most of which were highly disappointing. When I heard that Vince Del Monte was coming out with a book I really expected it to be just another cheesy book with information you could find anywhere. I started checking out Vince's videos online and I a really loved his "no-nonsense" approach to bodybuilding. Each video that I saw made me want to run to the gym and try it because you could see the muscle activation in every video he puts online. I decided to take a chance and purchase the book, I mean for the price it seemed like a good investment.All I can say is WOW!!! I got cracked it open and the first thing I see are all of these crystal clear full color images showing you exactly how to do the exercises in the program. Usually you see these cheesy black and white images that are sometimes really hard to make out. Vince did an awesome job of explaining each step in his program and why it's going to work for you.Towards the back of the book I saw meal plans, there were meal plans for each of the calorie ranges that you will fall into. It was laid out extremely well and easy to follow. It is without a doubt the best muscle-building book I have ever purchased. I can't wait to see what I look like at the end of the program.If would recommend this book to anyone looking to get into better shape and improve their physique.

Decent and solid advice and program. Too much linking to his website is my only minor comment. That information, if important, should have been in the book in my opinion. However, that is a small complaint considering how good the rest of the book is.

I bought this book recently and the first thing I admired about it was the shiny pages its printed on and the fact that its in color with amazing photos drew me in. When I flipped the pages I saw the detail Vince had put in it and the photos inside the section where there is a bunch of exercises with directions on how to execute them made me realize how invaluable this is. I give this five stars, not only because I follow him on Youtube and have seen how great he is at sharing his knowledge with the world but because I know he really cares about your progress. I have seen all the critics go after him but when I look at their channels as opposed to Vince's, the information they give is general and non-informative. There is only one thing I would of liked the book to be. I want the book to reach as many people as possible and not just skinny guys. Some people who want to lose weight might turn the book away because it says the skinny guy's guide. I think this book is for everyone, skinny or fat. The life lessons he includes as well as the exercise execution techniques and meal plans are essential for anyone on this journey to build the best body ever.

It is an easy read but very detailed in how to implement and how to improve in the gym. I have definitely trimmed down and added more muscle definition that other workout programs I have used in the past. Plus, the workout schedule keeps things interesting in the gym and it keeps you challenged. Not longer afraid to take my shirt off at the pool or the beach. Def. getting more looks by the ladies out and about as being 45 years old, I have a more built body than many of the 20 year old's out there. Walking into a business meeting, many can tell when fully dressed that I work out as I am slim, defined, and have that athletic look. Would def. recommend this book to those that have a challenge building muscle and want to avoid the fad workouts that never seem to produce the results you are looking for.