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| Product | Calories per Serving | Protein per Serving | Rating | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MRM Natural Gainer | 350 | 25 grams | 4.3 | $ Check Price |
| Ultimate Nutrition Iso Mass Xtreme | 570 | 60 grams | 4.0 | $$$$$ Check Price |
| GNC Earth Genius PurEdge | 280 | 25 grams | 4.0 | $$$$ Check Price |
| Optimum Nutrition PRO Gainer | 659 | 60 grams | 4.4 | $$ Check Price |
| MuscleTech MASS-TECH | 830 | 63 grams | 4.2 | $$ Check Price |
Mass gainers are a class of supplement similar to yet distinct from protein powders.
That, or you can consider them protein powders all juiced up.
They can be scary to many people because of how calorie conscious our society is. But, some people need extra calories!
Interested in boosting your diet and putting on lots of muscle? Need help deciding on a mass gainer for you?
You’ve come to the right place!
What is a Mass Gainer Supplement?
Most people already know about protein powders. They are protein, whey or otherwise, in a water-soluble form.
Mass gainers are good for putting on a lot of muscle, but that’s not all they’re good for
Mix ’em up with water, milk, a smoothie, whatever, and you get a high-protein drink that’s low on calories.
Some are even high on taste!
Protein powders are good for supplementing your protein intake and to hit that anabolic window after working out.
But what if you’re a hungry skeleton and just protein isn’t enough?
Or, you are a bodybuilder who needs to bulk up fast for a later cut?
That’s what mass gainers are for.
While protein powders are protein and not much more, mass gainers are protein and everything else, too.
- Carbohydrates? Yup, generally at a ratio of 2 grams of carbs for every 1 gram of protein.
- Dietary fats? Got those, too. Healthy fats, in fact.
- Vitamins and minerals? Well, I can’t guarantee every mass gainer will have those, but most will!
What Does Mass Gainer Do?
For some people, getting to a healthy weight means adding pounds
Protein powders are there to help you slowly grow lean muscle mass.
Mass gainers exist to help your body put on weight, quickly. And they do this better than chowing down on unlimited breadsticks!
That’s because mass gainers are formulated to encourage the production of muscle and, though they are calorie bombs, minimize body fat.
Not that you’ll entirely avoid fat gain with mass gainers, but you won’t balloon into the Kool-Aid man.
So, mass gainers are good for two types of people:
- Elite athletes and bodybuilders who need to consume a lot of calories
- “Hardgainers,” people who have a hard time consuming enough calories in the day
Basically, if you need supplemental protein AND calories, mass gainers are for you.
How to Use Mass Gainers
You’ll likely need the larger, size, too
It’s not hard to use mass gainers. They’ll come with instructions on the label, but here are some steps to follow anyway.
- Determine how much extra protein you need per day. This will help you decide which mass gainer to buy. There is a myriad of online calculators to figure this out.
- Buy the mass gainer. You’ll also need a shaker cup or a Blender Bottle because this stuff likes to clump up.
- Pour the recommended amount of liquid into the container. Water is acceptable. Milk is good too and provides a better texture but also adds calories. You can also use, say, almond milk for better taste without the calories of milk.
- Add one or two scoops (or more!) of mass gainer to the liquid, depending on how big of a serving you want.
- Plop the shaker thingy into the cup or turn on the blender and get that powder shaken up!
- Drink!
Because of the high amount of calories, it’s not recommended to consume a mass gainer right before working out.
Other than that, you can take the mass gainer when it’s most convenient for you.
Most people will want to take mass gainers on their off days, too.
Can You Take Mass Gainer and Whey Protein Together?
Sure, if you want to. There’s no ingredient in either product that will cause them to explode when combined in your stomach.
But one is protein while the other is high-cal protein and more. Do you really need to combine them together?
Taking whey protein with mass gainer just dumps even more protein into an already protein-heavy supplement. As I’ve mentioned before, your body can only use so much protein at a time.
That said, protein powder isn’t mixed up ingredients such as fats that can slow down your digestion.
So, some people will benefit from taking protein powder after working out and taking mass gainer at another point during the day.
Best Mass Gainer Supplements
MRM Natural Gainer – Best for Beginners
- Protein: 25 g
- Total Fats: 6 g
- Total Carbs: 48 g
- Sugars: 7 g
- Calories per Serving: 350
- Scoops per Serving: 2
Overview
So, here’s a secret about mass gainers not everyone will tell you:
This much nutrition at once can make certain people feel a bit sick.
It’s because their bodies are not used to drinking a lot of calories and nutrients at once, so it’ll go away before too long.
But, to make the transition better for newbies, it’s a good idea to supplement mass gainers with probiotics to help digest all that goodness.
By the way, I accidentally wrote “brobiotics” at first.
I think it works!
Anyways, MRM Natural Gainer is a mass gainer with 5 strains of probiotics included.
It also provides a 1.92:1 carb:protein ratio with its 25 grams of protein, for lean weight gain.
There are also digestive enzymes to further help your body digest this liquid meal.
Things I Liked
- Enzymes and probiotics so you can digest this mass gainer without stomach upset
- Good ratio to promote muscle growth without extra fat growth
Things I Didn’t Like
- As far as mass gainers go, this one provides very few calories
Recommendation
MRM Natural Gainer is a good-tasting and easily digested mass gainer, which makes it good for beginners, but it doesn’t have the caloric content for serious athletes.
Ultimate Nutrition Iso Mass Xtreme – Best for Skinny Guys and Girls
- Protein: 60
- Total Fats: 10 g
- Total Carbs: 60 g
- Sugars: 8 g
- Calories per Serving: 570
- Scoops per Serving: 3
Overview
Some people find it hard to gain weight. I’d know, because I was a scrawny thing before I started my fitness journey.
The pounds didn’t come easy!
But Ultimate Nutrition Iso Mass Xtreme can help underweight folks get to a normal weight quickly while maximizing muscle gain and minimizing fat gain.
There’s one gram of protein for every gram of carbs!
That’s not ideal for bodybuilders looking to get enough energy for their workouts, but it’s great for people fighting against skinniness.
Iso Mass Xtreme also contains a wide variety of additional ingredients to support recovery and support your cardiovascular system.
It also has a full array of vitamins and minerals so you get all of the nutrients you need as you put on weight.
Things I Liked
- 1:1 carb:protein ratio
- Good array of fitness-boosting supplemental ingredients
- Inexpensive
Things I Didn’t Like
- Contains a wide variety of allergens
Recommendation
Ultimate Nutrition Iso Mass Xtreme is good to help people put on pounds in a healthy way, but it’s less effective for gym goers with massive calorie needs.
GNC Earth Genius PurEdge – Best Vegan Mass Gainer
- Protein: 25 g
- Total Fats: 5.5 g
- Total Carbs: 35 g
- Sugars: 5 g
- Calories per Serving: 280
- Scoops per Serving: 2
Overview
GNC Earth Genius PurEdge is one of the few vegan mass gainers on the market. Thankfully, it’s a good one.
Initially, it doesn’t look to be that great of a mass gainer because there are so few calories per serving.
But, unlike other mass gainers where you want to consider using fewer scoops, there are enough scoops per package to double the serving without issue.
PurEdge is vegan, GMO-free, gluten-free, and contains no artificial flavors.
Unlike some protein powders which are just pea protein, PurEdge has protein from a wide variety of sources to provide a complete protein.
There are also digestive enzymes so your body can use the ingredients more effectively.
If there’s a downside it’s the lack of additional vitamins and minerals. You will want to consider using a multivitamin if you aim to gain weight with this supplement.
Things I Liked
- Plant-based sources of protein from a wide variety of sources
Things I Didn’t Like
- Lacks vitamins and minerals
Recommendation
If you’re vegan, vegetarian, or allergic to whey, GNC Earth Genius PurEdge is the best plant-based mass gainer you can buy.
Optimum Nutrition PRO Gainer – Best for Bodybuilding
- Protein: 60 g
- Total Fats: 8 g
- Total Carbs: 85 g
- Sugars: 7 g
- Calories per Serving: 659
- Scoops per Serving: 1
Overview
Hulking bodybuilders and elite athletes have different caloric and nutritional requirements than other gym goers.
One scoop of Optimum Nutrition PRO Gainer provides 659 calories.
Yes, you read that right: 659!
That scoop contains 60 grams of protein, 85 grams of carbs, and 8 grams of fat. There is a tad under 7 grams of sugar per serving, of which only 1 gram is added sugar.
So, while it’s a very hefty load, it’s not a dirty load. In fact, all of the protein, carb, and fat sources are pretty healthy.
For example, the fats come from medium chain triglycerides and high oleic sunflower oil, which are often used as supplements.
There’s also a large number of vitamins and minerals so you don’t lose out on the micronutrients your body needs to healthily produce bulging biceps.
Things I Liked
- Excellent nutritional profile, mostly
- Huge amount of calories per scoop
Things I Didn’t Like
- Expensive
- Most of the carbs are maltodextrin
Recommendation
With over 650 fricken’ calories PER SCOOP, as well as 31 vitamins and minerals, Optimum Nutrition PRO Gainer is the best mass gainer for people who practically live in the gym!
MuscleTech MASS-TECH – Best for Women
- Protein: 63 g
- Total Fats: 6 g
- Total Carbs: 132 g
- Sugars: 11 g
- Calories per Serving: 830
- Scoops per Serving: 5
Overview
Unlike normal protein powders, there aren’t any mass gainers marketed toward women.
So, how about one that’s effective for a wide variety of gym goers and tastes great while staying an economical choice?
MuscleTech MASS-TECH seems like an imposing jug of powder at first, with 830 calories per serving.
But that serving requires 5 scoops, so it scales down very well.
At 14 servings per container, you can use one scoop per day for 166 extra calories. 70 times.
Combined with the low price, MASS-TECH is an economical and effective choice, whether you want to gain weight fast or slow.
Plus it’s the best tasting of the lot. The Cookies and Cream flavor is to die for.
Few people seem to like the Vanilla flavor, though.
Things I Liked
- Great taste
- Scales well to your caloric needs
- Inexpensive
Things I Didn’t Like
- 5 scoops per serving? That’s a workout itself!
- Avoid the vanilla flavor, apparently
Recommendation
MuscleTech MASS-TECH is good for everyone, not just women, because it’s economical, effective, and easily scales to your specific caloric needs.
Conclusion
Mass gainers aren’t for everyone.
But they may be for you.
If they are, you want the best of the best, right? Why waste your money on inferior products?
Whether you’re a hungry skeleton or someone who throws weights around the gym 24/7, there’s a mass gainer for you!