Let's cut to the chase. There are many programs on the internet that claim to
have you building loads of muscle while getting ripped abs, yada yada yada. The
most popular and best-selling programs include:
* "Feed the Muscle Burn the Fat" by Tom Venuto
* "No Nonsense Muscle Building by Vince DelMonte
* "Muscle Gain Truth" by Sean Nalewanyj
You may have seen many of the (a-hem) reviews on the internet espousing one of
these programs with praise after praise. Can I have an objective review here?
I'll do my best.
Tom Venuto, in my humble opinion, is the most credible author out of the three
if building muscle is your objective. The dude has been bodybuilding forever,
and has won numerous natural bodybuilding titles and even placed 2nd at Mr.
Natural USA. His e-book, "Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle" is a monstrous tome at
340 pages (and in small print!) This particular e-book focuses on nutrition
(more than half of the chapters are nutrition related), with just one chapter
focusing on weight training. If you are a beginner looking for a specific muscle
building weight training regimen, sorry, this is not the book for you. If you
want a book chock full of nutrition information (good and bad fats,
macronutrient ratios, carb-depletion cycling, etc.) then this is THE book for
you.
Sean Nalewanyj provides some specific workouts in his "Muscle Gain Truth"
program. The upper body routines, especially for arms, are pretty good. My body
did not agree with the lower body routines though. In my opinion there were not
enough sets and not enough basic exercises like the squat, front squat and
deadlift included on a regular basis. I did not gain anything from the
diet/nutrition recommendations in the book. I can't say I would recommend this
to a beginner, although it may work for some people. To be honest I did't really
give Sean's program a fair shake... I decided to get off of the program after 2
weeks.
I was pleasantly surprised by Vince DelMonte's "No-Nonsense Muscle Building"
program. It didn't live up to all of the HYPE I've been reading about, but it is
the best all-around package I have come across so far. I first heard about
DelMonte through his "Six Pack Abs" program, and that was actually a turn-off
for me. He came across more like a fitness model than a bodybuilder. But the
fact that the program required only 3 workouts a week appealed to me (I am a
father with 2 jobs so time is tight). I went straight to the 29-week "Advanced"
Program (I've been lifting for 20 years so I skipped the Beginnier-Intermediate
program). I am now in week 14 and going strong. There's a good mix of core
exercises, along with exercises I have never tried before. I especially like the
cycling of sets, reps and rest. I have had to vary the program a bit, but the
core of it is the same. I can't say I like the nutrition advice in the program
(sorry, Venuto is the man in this area), but if I had to recommend a complete
program to someone, this would be the one.