What Are Weight Gainers?
If you’re a skinny guy who’s been working to increase your physical fitness and gain some lean muscle mass, then you’ve probably come across a product called ‘weight gainers.’ You’ve also probably asked what is the best weight gainer for skinny guys?
Well, simply put, weight gainers are a broad group of supplements that are specifically designed to help people who are otherwise struggling to put on weight and muscle mass.
Contrary to what many people may believe about them, they’re not sketchy or illegal. Mass gainers and weight gainers are simply supplements that can help people to gain weight by providing them with a range of proteins, vitamins, calories, and other nutrients that are specifically combined into one dynamic formula that’s designed to be taken in conjunction with a workout routine to help you generate mass and put on those extra muscular pounds.
But which weight gainers are the best ones?
Top 5 Mass Gainers at a Glance
- Crazy Nutrition Mass Gainer – Best Overall
- Transparent Labs Mass Gainer
- Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass
- BSN True-Mass Weight Gainer
- Dymatize Nutrition Super Mass Gainer
These are some of the best weight gainers on the market and all of them bring something a bit unique to the table.
1. Crazy Nutrition Mass Gainer
Crazy Nutrition’s Mass Gainer is a whole-food formula product that can give you the power to drink some serious weight-gaining nutritional value to help you bulk up and increase gains fast without any of the hassles that come from trying to bulk up with other alternative products.
It includes 50 grams of protein and 695 calories per serving, along with 100 grams of low glycemic carbs, and even added digestive enzymes to help you avoid bloating.
You can get it for $79.99 for 66 servings, or you can get 99 servings for $107.99. But it also comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee, which really eliminates the risk.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Increases gains
- Acts as a fast meal replacement
- Aids in speedy muscle recovery
- Gives you plenty of energy without a crash
Cons
- If you’ve never used a mass gainer before, you should always start out small
- If you suffer from some specific allergies to the ingredients, this particular product may not work for you
Conclusion
All things considered, Crazy Nutrition’s Mass Gainer is an amazing product with a ton of potential and very little downside.
The fact that they source their ingredients from whole food sources, use zero fillers, and give you a 60-day money-back guarantee really seals the deal for us. We’re a big fan of this company, and we love this product.
Buy From the Official Website!
2. Transparent Labs Mass Gainer
Transparent Labs Mass Gainer is one of the purest and most effective muscle-building/weight-gaining formulas currently available on the market.
It packs in 53 grams of protein, 750 calories, and 109 grams of clean and natural carbohydrate sources with each serving. It also functions as a meal replacement product, and comes in three different flavors: sweet vanilla, cookies & cream, and chocolate glaze donut.
You can buy a tub of Mass Gainer for $69.99, which is a pretty good deal. Plus, the whey added in the formulation comes from cows that were raised on 100% grass-only diets. These cows were also free from steroids and hormones, meaning that the whey protein included is pure and very high in quality.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Contains a range of natural, high-quality ingredients
- Has helped many people to gain weight and mass
- Has gotten great customer reviews
- Contains no artificial sweeteners or coloring
Cons
- Shouldn’t be used as a meal replacement for more than one consecutive meal
- One flavor (Cookies & Cream) is not gluten-free
Conclusion
Transparent Labs Mass Gainer is an awesome, well-rounded weight gainer that definitely deserves a spot on our list as a strong contender for ‘best weight gainer for skinny guys.’
It’s affordable, well-reviewed, seems to work well, and just generally delivers some serious power in every scoop.
If you’re looking for a strong mass gainer for your workout routines, this option may just be the ticket.
Buy From the Official Website!
3. Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass
Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass is a high-calorie mass gainer that uses vitamins, creatine, glutamine, and other high-quality ingredients to help with mass and lean muscle gains.
It packs in a huge 1,250 calories per serving, along with 50 g of protein, while containing less than 5 g of fat. You can mix it with fruit or nut butter to create an awesome post-workout drink, or you can take it between meals to help you boost muscle growth and put on more mass.
It contains no added sugar and provides you with 24 different vitamins and minerals in every serving.
It gives you all of this while costing only $34.99 per tub, which makes it one of the most cost-effective mass gainers on our list.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Packed full of calories, vitamins, minerals, and high-quality ingredients
- No added sugar
- Contains creatine and glutamine
- Has a positive reputation online
Cons
- It can make you gain weight that isn’t lean muscle if your workouts aren’t dialed in
- If you’re going to take this product, you need to be working out sufficiently to make it work
Conclusion
All things considered; Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass delivers some truly serious caloric weight-gain power for the money.
The only downside is that it can cause you to gain unwanted fat if you don’t combine it with a workout routine that’ll help you to turn the extra calories and protein into lean muscle.
For best results, pair it with a dynamic workout routine and diet regimen so that you can dial in your gains with scientific accuracy.
Buy From the Official Website!
4. BSN True-Mass Weight Gainer
BSN True-Mass is a weight and muscle mass gainer that’s designed to be turned into a protein powder shake. It even comes in several delicious flavors, like chocolate milkshake, cookies and cream, strawberry milkshake, and vanilla ice cream.
It boasts over 1,200 calories per serving, contains 50 grams of multi-source protein, and even gives you 215 grams of carbohydrates (primarily sourced from rolled oats).
To use this powder, you simply mix two scoops of it into 16 ounces of cold water, milk, or any other beverage of your choice.
You’re supposed to drink 1 serving per day unless you need more to satisfy your mass-gaining needs in accordance with a more intensive workout regimen.
Priced at $58.94 for approximately 15 servings, this is one of the more premium-priced products in our mass gainer list.
But it’s such a high-quality product that we absolutely had to include it.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Gives you a ton of high-quality protein
- The flavors are delicious
- The product has a great reputation online and works for a lot of people
- There’s a lot of online evidence that shows that this product works very well
Cons
- Some people report that it’s difficult to mix
- Not everyone loves the taste
- When you buy it in the 10-pound bag, it’s cheaper but the flavor is slightly different
Conclusion
All things considered; this is an amazingly powerful weight gainer that can provide you with a ton of benefits.
It’s also available in a few different sizes, though be advised that some people report that the larger ‘bulk-sized’ bag tastes a bit worse than the smaller bag.
But still the product seems to work, and people report awesome gains with it.
If you’re a hardcore gym-goer and want to put on some lean muscle, this weight gainer may be a game-changer for you.
Buy From the Official Website!
5. Dymatize Nutrition Super Mass Gainer
Dymatize Nutrition Super Mass Gainer is exactly what it sounds like a powerful mass gainer that can help you to bulk up, gain weight, and build lean muscle mass without taking crazy drugs or filling your body with harmful chemicals.
This mass gainer boasts 1,280 calories and 52 g of protein per serving. You also get 10.7 grams of BCAAs as building blocks. This includes 5.1g of leucine.
Every serving of Dymatize Nutrition Super Mass Gainer also contains 17 vitamins and minerals that are specifically sourced to help support balanced nutrition and healthy muscle recovery after workouts.
Priced at $33.84 for a full 6-pound tub, this is also one of the more economic choices on our list, though it’s definitely no less deserving of a top-5 stop!
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Contains plenty of vitamins and minerals
- Gives you plenty of calories
- People report that, for the most part, it works really well
- You get a ton of product for the money
Cons
- The product contains quite a bit of sugar
- You have to use a lot of powder, and it can be difficult to mix
- Some people weren’t a fan of the taste
Conclusion
Dymatize Nutrition Super Mass Gainer is a solid mass gainer that certainly deserves a spot as a contender for being the ‘best weight gainer for skinny guys.’
It’s not perfect. But it’s also such a good deal, and packs in so much value, that it’s tough to beat.
If you’re looking for an awesome weight gainer that’ll actually help to get the job done, this product should probably be on your radar.
Buy From the Official Website!
How Do Weight Gainers Work?
Weight gainers are pretty simple in how they function.
Typically, these types of formulations contain more carbs and fats, and less protein than traditional protein-powder formulas.
Thus, they help to increase overall body weight by providing more calories and carbs. They also tend to increase insulin levels within the body, thus helping to promote fat storage.
Weight gainers are different from protein powders in the sense that they’re intended to be used to help gain more weight overall, not just lean muscle mass.
Important Nutrients You Should Pay Attention to
There are a few nutrients that you’ll want to look at whenever you’re thinking of buying a weight gainer or mass gainer.
Here are the main ones to look at.
Proteins
Weight gainers should contain a decent amount of protein, as this will aid in helping to build lean muscle mass.
But be advised, weight gainers and mass gainers will not usually contain near as much protein as whey protein powders or muscle bulking mixes.
Carbs
Weight gainers and mass gainers will likely contain more carbohydrates than your typical protein powder mix.
The reason for this is because weight gainers are designed to help you gain weight overall, not just lean muscle mass.
This is also why it’s so important to combine weight gainers and mass gainers with a high-quality workout and diet plan, so that you can avoid simply putting on weight in the form of fat which may undermine some of your health and wellness goals.
Calories
The calorie count on your mass or weight gainer will help you to understand exactly how many calories that formula will add to your overall diet.
Keep in mind that if you want to gain weight, you need to consume more calories than you burn on a daily basis.
And weight gainers can help you with this by giving you a high-quality weight-gain option that also gives you some protein, vitamins, minerals, and other important amino acids.
Complex Carbohydrates
Complex carbohydrates tend to be full of fiber, B vitamins, and other minerals and as a general rule, they’re not as fattening as simple carbs.
But complex carbs are great for energy and making sure that you get enough fiber is another important element to taking weight gainers successfully.
Therefore, making sure that your weight gainer contains at least some percentage of complex carbohydrates is important.
Maltodextrin
Maltodextrin is basically a type of carbohydrate that’s synthesized from corn, potatoes, rice, or grain starch.
It’s generally considered a primary ingredient in weight gainers and even though it’s usually considered a complex carbohydrate, it burns quickly once consumed and can really help to raise blood sugar levels.
Minimal Sugars
As a general rule, you want to avoid high sugar content in weight gainers. Sugars won’t give you much long-term energy, and they won’t contribute as much to muscle gain.
Enzymes
Some weight gainers contain digestive enzymes to help your body absorb the nutrients contained within.
This is a very good thing and can help with gut health when you start taking mass gainers and weight gainers to bulk up and put on mass.
Creatine
Creatine is an amino acid that can aid in muscle recovery. But it has also been known to help people bulk up, gain weight, and build more muscle mass. Therefore, it can be a good ingredient to look for whenever you’re thinking of buying a weight gainer.
Vitamins
Buying a weight gainer that contains a significant portion of vitamins and minerals is important because it can help you to give yourself a more well-rounded diet.
You’ll always want to be making sure that you’re also eating other healthy foods along with your weight gainer. But it certainly doesn’t hurt anything to purchase a weight gainer that already contains some healthy vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.
The Benefits of Weight Gainer
There are several benefits that come from using a weight gainer, as opposed to just trying to gain weight by eating more food.
Here are the biggest benefits:
- They generally provide added fiber in your diet
- They can help with muscle growth and recovery
- They add simple and complex carbohydrates to your diet
- They help you to increase your calorie intake with rigorous precision
The Main Reasons to Use a Weight Gainer - Discussing the Best Weight Gainer for Skinny Guys
The main reasons to use a weight gainer are as follows.
First off, if you’re struggling to gain weight, you may be tempted to just try to eat more.
But this can quickly lead to a habit of consuming too many of the wrong types of foods.
It’s surprisingly difficult to add more high-quality foods to your diet when you’re not used to consuming that much.
So, weight gainers can really help with this, because they can help you to increase your calorie intake while also making sure that your diet remains balanced to give you the things you need to gain weight in a healthy manner without eating a bunch of empty calories, sugars, and unhealthy fats.
What Are the Common Side Effects from Using a Weight Gainer?
The most common side effects that people experience with weight gainers include:
- Excess weight gain (more fat and less muscle)
- Indigestion
- Constipation
- Insomnia
- Cramping
- In rare situations, it can lead to kidney damage (if you take too much of the wrong types of weight gainer products)
How to Choose the Best Weight Gainer for Skinny Guys?
Finding the best weight gainer for skinny guys can be a challenge. But you can greatly simplify the process by looking at these four things.
The Key Nutrients
Looking closely at the key nutrients in a weight gainer can give you an inside perspective in determining how beneficial it’ll be for your specific purposes.
Remember, it’s important to take your goals into account when you shop for a weight gainer. You should always try to make sure that the key nutrients contained within the formula line up with your specific workout and diet plans.
Value For the Money
Some weight gainers are expensive, while others are just super cheap.
But here’s the thing.
You’ll tend to find that there are some great middle-of-the-line options that give you a ton of quality at a reasonable price.
Spending too much on weight gainers can tend to have diminishing returns, while buying the cheapest thing on the market will probably leave you with low-quality ingredients and a formula that leaves a bit to be desired.
The options we picked out and listed at the beginning of this post are great examples of products that can give you awesome quality for the money, while still providing excellent nutritional value.
Money-Back Guarantee
Even if a weight gainer is created with high-quality ingredients and blended with a formula that’s proven to work in most circumstances, you may still come to find that everyone is different—and thus, sometimes, a particular product just won’t do the trick for you.
This means that it’s always a good idea to test out weight gainers that come with a money-back guarantee, so that you can make sure that your money won’t go to waste if it doesn't end up working for you.
Hey, we’re all different, and our bodies are different. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to try the ‘risk-free’ options first, just to make sure that they’re a good fit before you settle into the routine of using them.
Customer Reviews
Researching customer reviews before purchasing a weight gainer can save you a lot of time and frustration.
Customer reviews are one of the best tools available to help you figure out if a product works for other people and while it may not be a perfect way to determine that a weight gainer will also work for you, it’s certainly better than buying blindly and hoping for the best.
FAQs
How to use a weight gainer?
Most weight gainers are simple to use. You just scoop some of the powder into your beverage (usually milk or water) to create a shake and drink it.
It’s easy!
Best time to take weight gainer?
Most people agree that the best time to take a weight gainer is right after your workout. This will help you with recovery and give you lots of protein to help supercharge that muscle-bulking process.
How to make your own weight gainer shake?
There are all kinds of recipes online that can help you to make your own weight gain shake.
For example, we really like this recipe:
- 16 ounces of whole milk
- 1 tablespoon of peanut butter or almond butter
- 1 scoop of protein powder
- 2 ounces of dark chocolate
- ½ cup of ice
Blend it all together and enjoy!
Does mass gainer cause acne?
There have been some suspicions that whey protein can cause acne, but it seems to vary by person. It’s also true that some mass gainers cause a bit of acne because they sometimes contain dairy products, and dairy can sometimes lead to acne breakouts.
For the most part, weight gainers don’t typically make people break out.
But this is also why experimenting with different products may be helpful.
How often should I take mass gainer?
As a rule, you should drink one mass gainer shake per day.
How to make weight gainer taste better?
One method for making your weight gainer taste better is to use a small amount of a natural flavoring agent. You can use honey, pure maple syrup, or agave for this.
How long should I take mass gainer?
For the most part, people only tend to take mass gainer for 3 to 6 months before they reach their goals.
But this also depends on exactly what your goals are.
Just make sure to monitor your workouts and macros to ensure that you’re not gaining too much fat and rendering your workout/diet routine ineffective.
Conclusion
There you have it. Hopefully, this post has helped you to understand weight gainers better and has also helped you to choose the best weight gainer for skinny guys.
Now, all that’s left is to choose one, make your purchase, and hit the gym. Crazy Nutrition Mass Gainer is certainly a great gainer to start with.