MASS GAINERS – WHAT ARE THEY AND ARE THEY WORTH IT?
Mass Gainers, should you or shouldn’t you?
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What are the benefits to them? Are they even worth the hassle? What do they even do in the first place?
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This is normally what runs through anyones head when it comes to supplementation. You take your protein powders, your creatine, your vitamins, your BCAA’s and you get your diet on point.
But you still don’t see much in the ways of change in your body. So you start to wonder if using a mass gainer will help you, after all it’s all in the name, it says ‘mass’, so it must work! …Right?
Here’s the thing; taking a mass gainer is only going to benefit you when you are striving for a calorie surplus and physically cannot eat anymore. They are in no way a shortcut to getting big, rather an extension to aid you on the path to achieving size!
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Mass gainers get there name from one micronutrient that is vastly present in its list of ingredients. Can you guess? That’s right, carbohydrates! And carbohydrates in a liquid form are much easier to digest than solid foods obviously, which is why they can become a great addition to anybody trying to gain size who cannot eat anymore throughout the day.
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Here’s the kicker, if you’re looking to gain muscle size but have a BMI over 25%, my advice would be to avoid using them, the excess calories in a mass gainer can be a body destroyer if not used at the correct time during your weight training regime and yes you will get muscle but…......you will get very fat......very quickly!
So, stick to your regular pre and post workout protein shakes and good nutritous foods and allow the remainder of your calories to come from the excess body fat you want to lose and you will over time see results, it’s all about understanding that things don’t come overnight.
But lets say you’re a skinny person, a ‘hardgainer’, you go for it hard in the gym, eat all you can and knock back the shakes and creatine in hopes of gaining size yet your body just doesn’t want to grow, then it may be time to consider a mass gainer.
With some drinks containing up to and over 1000 calories, its very easy to get your daily calorie needs for muscles to grow!
It may be worth pointing out that sticking to a mass gainer for a prolonged period is just as bad for a skinny guy as it is someone holding onto a few extra pounds of fat. They shouldn’t become a regular dietary need, rather something to try out say for example in a ‘bulking season’ for a couple of months and then not looked upon again until ‘bulking season’ returns.
It’s important to cycle on and off of them so that your body is constantly guessing, otherwise it can lead to excess fat around the mid section which will be even harder to lose later on!
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You’re probably all thinking “Well in that case they’re not worth it!” Not true, they are definitely a good means of obtaining to extra calories in liquid form, and providing you follow my advice here, you should be seeing some nice results with minimal fat gains!
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Pros:
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When used with a balanced diet high in protein, can be the tipping point to newly discovered muscle gains!
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Very high carbohydrate and protein levels.
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Excessive calorie levels to guarantee calorie surplus levels are achieved.
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Reasonably priced
Cons:
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Very easy to overdo the calories needed on a daily basis, without carefully monitoring how much you’re taking in everyday
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Can lead to unwanted fat gains if not careful.