Your workout routine requires a proper diet and calorie intake if you want to gain the desired muscle mass. That’s right, workout and diet go hand in hand. Best mass gaining supplements come in to support your diet and workout results.
The purpose of working out and weightlifting is gaining the right muscle mass and amassing physical strength and also cutting fat in some cases.
There are certain factors and conditions that are needed to be met in order to reach the desired results. Those conditions are eating more calories than you burn, consuming more protein than you break down and an exercise program that exhaust your muscles to the limit.
According to one study, three main criteria must be met for maximal muscle gain: eating more calories than you burn, consuming more protein than you break down and an exercise program that is challenging to your muscles.
Of course you can do all that with the right breakfast, lunch and dinner and the right diet. But with the help of certain supplements you can speed up the whole process amazingly.
5 Best Mass Gaining Supplements
The 5 best mass gaining supplements listed below may help you gain more muscle with your exercise program.
1. Creatine
Creatine is a naturally producing mineral in your muscle that keeps your muscle strength and endurance. Taking the creatine supplement is not necessary but if you are looking for a more intensive workout then it is perfect as it increases the creatine content in your muscle to 40% than the normal levels.
This increases your muscle performance significantly. You will witness more stamina and endurance in your muscles and your workouts will be longer and more intense.
This will eventually lead to larger muscle mass.
As your muscles are 70% water, the creatine supplement increases water content in your muscles that helps in muscle growth. This is helped by the fact that it helps in retaining protein.
2. Protein Powders
After all, your muscles are made up of proteins and to increase the mass you need a lot of protein. Intense workout will result in the damaging of muscle fiber tissues, and to repair them you need to consume the right amount of protein to fill in the gap left by damaged tissues.
For that you either need to consume a lot of lean meat or you can take the help of protein powders and supplements such as Whey protein. Specifically, to gain muscle mass, you need to consume more protein than your body breaks down through natural processes; one study recommends it.
Remember you would need to maintain your diet properly if you want to increase mass when you are using protein supplements. Best mass gaining supplements surely work to boost your muscle building process but your healthy diet and workout routine are necessary to get the exceptional results. These supplement aid your muscle regeneration process and fill the gap left by insufficient protein intake.
3. Mass Gainers
Mass gainers are supplements designed to help you gain mass by consuming protein, carbs and fats. They are a complete package if you want to increase your calorie intake.
Although the calorie contents of weight gainer supplements vary, it’s not uncommon for them to contain over 500 calories per serving. With the help of proteins carbs and fats, these mass gainers provide more quick gain in mass than just protein supplement that are pure proteins.
These mass gainers are best for those who have low muscle mass and desire a quick increase in their body mass.
There are often 75–300 grams of carbs and 20–60 grams of protein per serving of these high-calorie supplements.
The best time to consume mass gainers is when you are struggling to consume the needed amount of calories. These mass gainers are beneficial but overdose can cause digestive problems. Many pros recommend mass gainers as the best mass gaining supplements because these are targeted to a specific purpose.
4. Branched-Chain Amino Acids
Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) consist of three individual amino acids: leucine, isoleucine and valine.
Lean meat and dairy products like fish, eggs, milk and cheese are rich in BCAAs. If you want to increase muscle mass, they play a very significant part as they are almost 14% of all the amino acids in your muscles.
While you are consuming BCAAs with your everyday diet, during exercise you are usually pushing yourself beyond your limits.
If intense workout routines are normal for you, you need BCAA supplement for to increase the content of BCAAs in your body.
These amino acids help a lot in reducing muscle catabolism and maintaining the amount of protein in your muscles.
5. HMB
Beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) is a molecule that’s produced when your body processes the amino acid leucine.
HMB works alongside your BCAAs, as they are produced in the body naturally and help in muscle growth alongside reducing muscle catabolism.
While you are working out increasing the HMB intake only helps in muscle growth and also aid in increasing your lean muscle mass.
Other Mass Gaining Supplements
Apart from the above mentioned supplements there are other supplements also that can increase muscle mass or help your body performance to gain more mass.
Below are some other supplements mentioned that can help you with muscle mass growth
- Testosterone boosters: Testosterone-boosting supplements include D-aspartic acid, tribulus terrestris, fenugreek, DHEA and ashwagandha. If your body is low on testosterone then it is alright for you to take them and works better that way. Taking too much Testosterone can cause other symptoms such as increased body heat and can cause more anger in some people. This supplement is only for men.
- Glutamine and carnitine: Works best for old age people as in youngsters this has not been much effective.
- Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA): CLA refers to a group of omega-6 fatty acids that exert several effects on the body.
Concluding 5 Best Mass Gaining Supplements
Supplements can’t provide you with maximal muscle gains if your nutrition and exercise programs are lacking.
To gain muscle, you need to eat enough calories and protein, as well as exercise, ideally with weights. Once your nutrition and exercise regimens are in check, you may want to consider dietary supplements. Creatine and protein supplements are likely the most effective choices for muscle gain, but other supplements may be beneficial for certain people.