To gain muscle mass, you must take in more calories than you burn. For so-called "hard gainers," those who cannot easily gain weight, this is a daunting task because you can only eat so much whole food before you make yourself feel ill. Enter weight gainer drinks, the perfect solution to increasing calories without gorging yourself on chicken breasts and rice all day long. Weight gainer drinks provide a convenient means of taking in the nutrition needed to build muscle and gain weight.
Extreme XXL
American Body Building's Extreme XXL weight gainer product comes in a convenient ready-to-drink bottle for those of you who are always on the go. With 980 calories per serving, this product is for the true hard gainers and may not lead to lean mass gains unless you have a very fast metabolism. The 195 grams of carbohydrates from maltodextrin should make a perfect mass-gaining post-workout shake for hard-gainers. Extreme XXL also contains 46 grams of protein from whey protein isolate, the fastest-digesting protein, according to "Homemade Supplement Secrets." Drink one to three of these shakes per day, if you are too busy to eat whole food meals, and you will be gaining like never before.
Critical Mass
A serving of Myogenix's Aftershock Critical Mass contains 18 grams of healthy fats from flaxseed, borage oil, sunflower oil and canola oil. According to "Optimum Anabolics" these fats have a powerful effect on mass gains by fueling workouts and helping to increase testosterone production. The 52-gram protein blend contains high quality whey protein isolate that is lactose-free. The muscle building carbohydrate blend comes from waxy maize, malt dextrin, glucose, cane juice and oat and rice bran. Critical Mass also offers functional amounts of the powerful muscle recovery agents creatine and L-glutamine.
Mass Peak
Mass Peak by Inner Armor provides an almost perfect nutrient ratio, similar to the one recommended by "Optimum Anabolics" author Jeff Anderson. With 50 grams of high quality protein, from whey and casein sources, and 102 grams of blended carbohydrates, this product provides sound nutrition for gaining mass. In addition, Mass Peak contains healthy fats from flaxseed, medium-chain triglycerides and CLA (conjugated linoleic acid). This product also contains enzymes to help with digestion and assimilation, as well as 24 grams of L-glutamine and 25 grams of branched-chain amino acids per serving for faster muscle recovery.
Cytogainer
Cytosport's Cytogainer combines 80 grams of carbohydrates from maltodextrin with 65 grams of partially hydrolyzed (pre-digested) whey protein concentrates and isolates. It also contains creatine monohydrate, which is the most effective natural sports supplement on the market, according to "Natural Anabolics" author Jerry Brainum. Cytogainer contains a vitamin and mineral blend to round out the nutritional profile of an excellent mass-gaining product that mixes instantly in water or milk. With only five gm of sugar this product may help you achieve the lean muscle gains in conjunction with intense resistance training workouts.
Serious Mass
With 252 grams of carbohydrates per serving, Optimum Nutrition's Serious Mass is a product for the true hard-gainer. Those who have trouble gaining muscle must increase their caloric intake dramatically, and many of those calories should come from carbohydrates, according to "Hardgainer Project X" by Jeff Anderson. Serious Mass also contains 50 grams of protein, creatine monohydrate, glutamine and a multi-vitamin and mineral blend. Start with half the serving, as the 1250 calories per serving may take some getting used to.
References
- "Optimum Anabolics"; Jeff Anderson; 2004
- VitaminShoppe.com; Weight Gainer Product Info
- "Natural Anabolics"; Jerry Brainum; 2006
- BodyBuilding.com; Weight Gainer Products
- "Homemade Supplement Secrets"; Jeff Anderson; 2008
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