When you’re trying to gain weight, chances are that you’re looking to gain weight through growing muscle, rather than fat. To gain weight, you’ll need to increase the number of calories you’re getting, meaning that you’ll likely need to eat more. If you’re looking to build muscle as you’re increasing your calorie intake, you’ll also need to start doing resistance exercises, like lifting weights.
Resistance training can help you increase your muscle mass, as it sends signals promoting musclebuilding to your muscles.1 Therefore, incorporating weight-lifting exercises when you’re gaining weight can help you with your goal. If you’re not a fan of strength training, event aerobic exercise can increase your muscle growth, provided you do it frequently and at high intensity.2 Exercise can also make you hungrier.3
You can take multiple strategies to increase your calorie intake, from increasing the amount of fats you take in, to eating more often. However, it can be hard to fit all the calories that you might need to achieve your goal into a plate or multiple snacks. That’s where mass or weight gainers come in.
What is a gainer and how can I benefit from using one?
A mass gainer is a supplement that provides your body with the protein and carbohydrates it needs to grow muscle and gain weight. It can be made into a shake and serves as an easy way to get more calories in. This can be especially helpful for males and females that simply can’t eat that much in one sitting or can’t find the time to cook more meals in a day. A weight gainer helps increase your calorie intake in a quick, low-effort form.
Mass gainers have a high protein content. For those that want to gain weight, the high protein content helps you increase your lean protein mass, ensuring you’re not simply gaining fat, but gaining muscle mass instead.4
Protein intake can increase muscle mass when paired with a resistance training routine.5 A mass gainer can be an easy way to get all the essential amino acids to activate musclebuilding processes, as well as meet your protein goals. Those that do resistance training need to get around 1.6-2.0g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day to meet their overall needs and increase their muscle mass.6
For those looking to increase their weight, carbohydrates are important for reaching calorie goals, as they provide your body with energy. Carbohydrates help the muscle recover after training and replenish their glycogen storage.7 Glycogen is the preferred fuel source for muscle cells, so it’s important to restore it.
Mass gainers can contain other ingredients that can help you nourish your body and boost muscle growth. For example, they may contain creatine, which increases musclebuilding.8 They can also contain vitamins and minerals, which support your body.9 For example, vitamins help supply your muscles with nutrients, like in the case of vitamin B6.10
Maxler Special Mass is a gainer boasting a great nutritional profile and fabulous flavors. It provides 36 grams of protein in each serving from five protein sources, ensuring you’re getting a balanced amino acid profile. The carbo blend ensures a consistent release of carbohydrate, and the BCAA blend supports recovery and improves performance. Finally, the product contains an enzyme blend to boost digestion and helps you get the most out of the product.
Top tips for growing muscle and increasing weight
Alongside increasing your protein and carbohydrate intake, you can do many things to increase your weight. Here are our top tips for putting on the pounds:
- Snack often – it can be intimidating trying to increase your calories while still eating only three meals, so take every opportunity to snack. Try having a pre-bedtime snack, a pre and post-workout snack, and enjoy them!
- Choose liquid calories – shakes and smoothies can be an easier way to increase the calories you’re consuming.
- Stick to nutritious foods – gaining weight requires more calories but getting them from healthy sources like whole grains or lean protein is better than eating a tub of ice cream.
- If you’re growing muscle, stay consistent in your routine and don’t skip cardio, as it can help your muscles grow.11
- Make sure to sleep – sleeping helps you grow muscle.12
