The Top 5 Best Weight Gainer and Protein Supplements for Muscle Growth
In order to bulk up and build muscle you must be taking in optimum nutrition. Muscle mass cannot be created without the building blocks of protein (amino acids) and enough fuel for the energy that muscle creation requires. So if you're on a journey to muscle building, make sure you take the best weight gainer and protein supplements along. What are they, you ask? We have the answers, backed by scientific research.
How to Build Muscle: The Basics
The formula for muscle growth is pretty simple: you gain muscle when the rate of muscle protein synthesis exceeds the rate of muscle protein breakdown.
To activate this formula, you must push your workout to demand new muscle creation, and then supply your body with enough muscle-building nutrients to meet that demand. That means extra energy and protein support before and after your workout, plus enough fuel to minimize muscle breakdown (catabolism) while you sleep.
If your body is lacking in any of the main ingredients needed for lean muscle creation, it will start harvesting other muscle cells for those supplies. It's like tearing the plumbing out of your house to outfit a guest house: it doesn't make sense, but what the body needs, it takes, regardless of logic.
But never fear. You don't have to worry about stealing nutrients from your precious muscles as long as you have the right nutrient intake. Let's find out the the best weight gainer and protein supplements for you.
The Top 5 Best Weight Gainer Supplements for Muscle Growth
While many people think they work out to lose weight, it would be more correct to say they're working out to lose body fat. Muscle is denser than fat, so for those looking to become lean and strong and for those looking to bulk, the goal is actually to gain weight in the form of muscle mass, and there are high-quality protein and mass gainer supplements to help.
1. Milk Protein Supplements
It seems almost too obvious to mention, but you need protein to build muscle bulk. Muscle is made of protein, and study after study shows that protein supplements help exercising adults gain more muscle than those who don't consume extra protein. These protein supplements specifically include whey protein (derived from the liquid part of milk) and casein supplements for exogenous amino acid support during wake and sleep.
When to take protein supplements, pre- or post-workout (or both), depends on the type of workout you're doing. How much depends on your body composition and your bulking goals. As a macronutrient, protein should be between 10% and 35% of your daily calorie intake, and researchers suggest between 0.6 and 0.9 grams of protein per pound of body weight each day to support muscle growth (calculate your own serving size).
Along with whole food proteins, protein powder supplements like casein (derived from the solids of milk that make up cheese) and whey protein powder can help put your muscle gain over the top. Whey is fast-digesting and casein slow, so taking them together covers all the bases.
2. Creatine
Eating a high-protein diet is one thing, but for real gains in lean muscle mass and overall bulk weight, high-quality protein supplements maximize your muscle-building profits. Creatine is a protein supplement derived from the amino acids glycine, arginine, and methionine. It's consumed naturally from animal meat and seafood and is one of the most popular supplements for muscle growth and bodybuilding.
Creatine has been widely studied and has proven results in increasing muscle mass, improving rapid energy production (important for workout endurance), and consistently enhancing performance and muscle gain.
Creatine monohydrate supplements have been shown over and over again to be safe and effective at anywhere between 20 grams per day as a loading dose (split into 4 servings) and 3-5 grams for indefinite maintenance of muscle mass.
3. Weight Gainers
What separates weight gainers from protein supplements isn't a lack of protein—weight gainers are high in both protein and carbs—it's that they're specifically designed to be high-calorie supplements for those who have a hard time gaining weight no matter how much they eat. Weight gainers are essentially protein supplements plus concentrated carbohydrates and fats for extra energy and bulk.
Some of the most popular products include:
- MuscleTech Mass Tech: With 840 calories per serving and 63 grams of protein from whey, casein, and creatine monohydrate, this product also adds the branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) for extra workout support. Flavors come in Chocolate, Vanilla, and Birthday Cake.
- BSN True Mass 1200: The best mass gainers are those with a higher calorie count per serving, and this product delivers 1,200 calories per 310-gram serving. With 50 grams of protein, 213 grams of carbs, and 17 grams of fat, BSN True Mass 1200 flavors include Chocolate Milkshake, Strawberry Milkshake, and Cookies & Cream.
- Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass: Even higher in calories with 1,250 per serving, this product has 50 grams of protein, 252 grams of carbs, and 4.5 grams of fat in flavors like Banana, Chocolate, and Chocolate Peanut Butter.
- MusclePharm Combat XL: The calorie content is 1,270 per serving, with 50 grams of protein and 7 grams of fat, in Chocolate Peanut Putter, Chocolate Milk, and Vanilla flavors.
- Dymatize Super Mass Gainer: Higher still in calories at 1,280 per serving, this mass gainer has 52 grams of protein from whey, casein, and eggs, plus 246 grams of carbs and 9 grams of fat.
Easily ordered online via Amazon or directly from the manufacturers, these types of pro gainers provide a sort of universal nutrition profile, with protein for lean mass creation, complex carbohydrates for energy and bulk, and fats like MCTs (medium-chain triglycerides) for healthy weight gain.
With so many options available, you can find products with animal proteins from grass-fed, cage-free sources, maltodextrin from non-GMO organic tapioca, and even gluten-free options with no artificial sweeteners for your weight gainer shakes.
4. Exercise Boosters
There's almost no way to gain muscle without exercise, so optimizing your workout energy and performance is important. Here are a few supplements to boost your workout.
- Citrulline: The amino acid citrulline is useful for increasing blood flow during exercise performance, and studies have shown it may up the amount of exercise you're able to perform in any given session.
- Beta-alanine: Another amino acid, beta-alanine fights back against muscle fatigue and may benefit short bursts of intense performance.
- Beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate (HMB): A product of the amino acid leucine's breakdown, HMB may help reduce muscle protein breakdown and improve muscle recovery and gain.
5. Essential Amino Acids
Speaking of amino acids, as we mentioned at the top of this article, there is no new muscle creation without amino acids, specifically the full host of all nine essential amino acids. While many protein supplements focus on the branched-chain aminos, BCAAs are only three out of the nine essential aminos, and if any one of the essentials is deficient, the body starts catabolizing other muscle molecules to get it.
While studies show that BCAAs are indeed critical for new muscle growth, so are the other six essential amino acids, and other studies have found that supplementing with the BCAAs on their own doesn't show any preferential effects towards muscle building. You need a balanced EAA supplement to truly benefit new muscle growth and bulk. Shop for the best here.
Gain Muscle, Gain Weight
Alongside whole food protein sources, supplements designed for weight gain, workout support, and new muscle creation can go a long way towards setting you up for success as you work to bulk up. We here at AminoCo are proud to offer a product with all the essential muscle-building amino acids, along with other nutrients for muscle growth, liver health, detox support, and more, all to provide the fitness-minded with the best of everything.