When to drink a gainer to gain muscle mass and how many times a day?

To achieve impressive results in building muscle and improve your athletic performance, training alone is not enough. Sports nutrition comes into play to help. Gainers are in greatest demand, so the article will be devoted to them.

What is a gainer?

Gainer is a dietary supplement that contains carbohydrates and proteins as a percentage (in most cases, 75% carbohydrates, 15% proteins). First of all, it was created for those who are not naturally predisposed to quickly building muscle mass on their own.

Gainers contain more carbohydrates with different glycemic indexes than proteins, because... Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for the human body and also contribute to the deposition of glycogen in muscle tissue.

Gainer is also used by athletes who engage in and undergo heavy and grueling training. The supplement contains protein, which forms amino acids in the body. They help muscles get in shape after prolonged physical activity.

How to drink gainer correctly?

The benefits of a gainer lie not only in its basis, but also in the correctness of its use. To quickly achieve the desired results in full, you need to follow the instructions for using the supplement.

The two main methods of taking mass gainers depend on the person's goal:

If he wants to increase the intensity of his workouts , then he needs to drink the drink right before playing sports.
In the case when a person is very intense in training , and recovery is problematic, it is recommended to drink a gainer immediately after prolonged physical activity.

An alternative option for using gainer is in between meals. The drink contains a high level of carbohydrates, which, when ingested, dull hunger. This will help you avoid snacking and eating unhealthy foods.

Of course, no one canceled the instructions included with the jar of the mixture. Products are individual, so manufacturers give optimal recommendations for their use independently.

It should be remembered that a dietary supplement, even if it contains carbohydrates, is not a food substitute and only works fully with a normal diet.

How to drink a gainer to gain muscle mass?

As already written above, you can use a gainer both before and after training. It is prepared like a cocktail, i.e. the additive is mixed with a liquid base: milk, juice, kefir or plain water.

The gainer content is 150 grams per 2 cups of liquid, this is the daily intake rate, which is distributed over 2 or 3 times.

Most experts and famous athletes recommend carefully studying the percentage of protein in a gainer and preparing a mixture based on its amount. It should be no more than 30 grams per dose, otherwise the body will not be able to absorb protein, this is scientifically proven.

If you decide to take a gainer before your workouts to increase their intensity and build muscle, do this no later than 60 minutes before they start. Otherwise, during classes you will constantly feel a feeling of heaviness and fullness in the stomach.

It is recommended to take the gainer no later than half an hour after training. Then the mixture acts most actively in the body: it restores the level of glycogen in the blood.

Other useful tips for taking mass gainer to stimulate muscle growth:

To achieve maximum effect during long and very intense workouts , combine a gainer with protein.
The combination of creatine and gainer also brings positive results . The carbohydrates contained in the latter allow creatine to be absorbed much better by the body.
The growth of muscle mass will be greatly affected by the addition of glutamine to the diet ; it is combined with a protein-carbohydrate mixture.

You cannot stop taking it even when there is no strong physical activity. Building muscle requires systematicity, and its absence will negate the results.

When there is no major physical activity, drink a protein-carbohydrate shake between breakfast, lunch and dinner. This approach is recommended for people with naturally low levels of physical strength. The rest take the drink once a day before or after lunch.

Gainer for recovery

It is a mistake to think that a gainer only helps to speed up muscle growth and turns a person into a bodybuilder.

Gainer not only performs the function of accumulating energy and stimulating training, but also helps the body recover after sports.

To do this, it is recommended to take one serving of the cocktail 30 minutes after vigorous physical activity or even earlier.

Many athletes drink it while preparing for competitions to keep their muscles toned and quickly get them into working condition before training.

Gainer also replenishes the level of glycogen in the blood , a complex carbohydrate that helps build muscle mass. Accordingly, the drink only benefits the body if you follow the correct instructions for its use.

How much to take

Like protein, you need to drink the same amount of gainer every day. But, unlike protein, drinking too much of it is dangerous. Carbohydrates are stored in fat much more easily than protein. And if you drink more than you need, you may simply become fat.

So, the amount of gainer you take depends on your body weight and how well you eat. Below is a table of gainer consumption based on these parameters.

Daily value of gainer (grams)

body weight nutrition	50 kg	60 kg	70 kg	80 kg	90 kg	100 kg
4 times	80	92	104	116	128	140
3 times	90	106	122	138	154	170
2 times	100	120	140	160	180	200

When should you drink a gainer?

Drinking a gainer daily is a must. Its intake does not depend on the presence of training and physical activity during the day.

On training days, you can drink the gainer in two ways:

At least an hour before training. This helps to increase the body's performance and endurance, and activates faster muscle growth.
A cocktail drunk immediately after training or half an hour after it will help restore strength and the body as a whole, replenish the energy lost during exercise and speed up the process of gaining muscle mass.

On days of rest from main physical activity:

It is recommended to drink between main meals to satisfy the feeling of hunger and constantly maintain normal energy balance in the body.
You can also replace breakfast or dinner , or both, by taking a protein-carbohydrate cocktail, but it is better to do this rarely and only if absolutely necessary or on the recommendation of specialists.

It should be remembered that a gainer is, first of all, a dietary supplement, the effect of which is best noticeable with a balanced and healthy diet. It can replace several meals in rare cases, but is not a meal, so there is no need to abuse this system of administration.

Be sure to check the expiration date of the supplement! Under no circumstances should you take expired gainer; it will have a bad effect on the digestive system.

In addition, be careful about the portions of your daily cocktail intake and listen to the sensations in your body. First he must get used to the innovations, and only then positive changes in the physical plane will be noticeable.

Is it possible to drink a gainer at night?

Taking a gainer at night is recommended for those athletes who suffer from excessive thinness and accelerated metabolism. Late intake will promote muscle mass gain while the body rests.

People are faced with a problem: when drinking a cocktail too often at night, the carbohydrates in which the drink is rich can contribute not to the growth of muscles on the body, but to the growth of fat deposits. Therefore, the composition should not contain sugars, only proteins and complex carbohydrates.

Is it possible to drink gainer without training?

This question arises among people who are tired of being too low and want to correct the situation as soon as possible. Their desire is not to increase muscle mass and tighten the body, but simply to increase weight in general.

It is worth noting that sports nutrition is high in calories and contains a lot of carbohydrates, which help support the body during very intense workouts, giving it energy, or restore lost reserves after exercise.

What does taking the supplement do?

It is important to understand what exactly you want to get from taking a carbohydrate-protein mixture. What exactly does it contain? Carbohydrates are your energy during training and the activator of all muscle fiber growth processes. Proteins are a building material, without which it is generally difficult to imagine any muscle growth and body development. Vitamins and minerals are real protectors that guard your health. They strengthen the immune system and promote faster recovery of the body.

In the complex, a gainer is an “explosive” mixture, a portion of which provides the body with everything necessary for development and growth in size - amino acids, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, and so on. In this case, the ratio of carbohydrates and proteins may be different. In modern supplements it ranges from 50 to 50 to 80 to 20. In the first case, the gainer will be called high-protein, and in the second - high-carbohydrate. But the most important thing is that each of them is intended for a specific category of athletes (but more on that a little later).

How to breed gainer?

Taking a gainer should not cause discomfort or unpleasant sensations, and their sudden appearance indicates an incorrect technology for diluting the supplement. Not every person knows how to do it correctly, so manufacturers write detailed instructions on the packages, and experts share proven opinions.

So, what do you need to know before making this protein-carbohydrate shake:

Gainer is a dry mixture in a package, a certain amount of which must be diluted in liquid. The jar or bag will indicate how many grams of powder should be used, usually this value ranges from 150 to 300 grams. You must not exceed the values indicated on the packaging, otherwise the body will feel uncomfortable assimilating the drink, and digestive problems will not lead to anything good.
There should be two or more times more liquid than the dry mixture, i.e. approximately 300-600 milliliters. The more liquid in the cocktail, the lower its concentration. Can be diluted with: Water.
Milk (pay attention to the fat content, the less, the better the drink is absorbed by the body).
Fruit juice without pulp, apple or grape.

It is most convenient to mix the gainer in a shaker or blender. The main thing is that there are no lumps of dry mass in the resulting cocktail; the mixture should be very well mixed and homogeneous. Only such a gainer will be well absorbed by the body and will have a balanced taste.

You cannot use a spoon for stirring; in this way you cannot achieve a homogeneous mass of the drink.

There are many types of gainer, so read the instructions in each individual case. It should indicate the proportions, the best solvents, reception conditions and useful tips.

How to use gainer correctly

You can take sports nutrition to gain muscle mass or just to gain weight. The latter is relevant for people with underweight. The carbohydrate-protein supplement is taken strictly according to the instructions. On the package they write how many times a day and in what quantity to take it.

But you must understand that the manufacturer does not always give the correct dosages. This is done to increase product turnover. After all, it is clear that the faster the packaging runs out, the faster you will buy a new one.

The optimal daily portion of the supplement is 200-300 g. It is divided into several doses per day. It's all about the protein that this powder contains. It is difficult for the body to immediately absorb large amounts of protein. If you dilute 300 g of powder in 500 ml of milk. And if you drink it all at once, some of the substances simply won’t be absorbed.

How much supplements to take per day is up to everyone to decide based on the intensity of their workouts. And also the ultimate goal is to simply gain weight or increase muscle mass. But the single dose is the same for everyone - no more than 150 g at a time

If you take the supplement in liquid form, you need to dilute the powder with water, milk, or juice. The most important thing is that the liquid should not be hot. Otherwise, it will destroy the protein that is part of the cocktail.

To gain weight, choose milk - this will make the mixture even more nutritious. If you are working on muscles, dilute the powder with water or unsweetened juice.

How much gainer should you drink per day?

Taking any dietary supplement should be systematic and structured, because this affects human health and digestion.

The number of times you take a gainer per day depends on whether it is a training day or not:

If there is physical activity on the day you drink the cocktail, you should take the drink immediately after training or before it, once a day.
On regular non-training days, it is also necessary to take a gainer, in the intervals between meals. It is recommended to eat five to six times a day, so you also need to drink the drink 4-5 times a day.

By following the diet and taking the mixture daily for at least one month, you can achieve high-quality muscle mass growth in a shorter time, improve your athletic performance and make your workouts more intense.

How to know if a supplement is right for a person

When purchasing a supplement, you must first familiarize yourself with its composition. The choice of product is influenced by the individual characteristics of a person.

The use of amino acids is recommended only in the morning, after training and before bedtime

If there is a sufficiently large amount of fat, you need to use a product with more protein and less carbohydrates.

If your workouts are not intense enough, you need to use supplements with a small amount of carbohydrates, as they lead to weight gain.

If a person has a thin physique and a fast metabolism, then the use of classic gainers, which are based on carbohydrates, is recommended. A person's diet should be high in calories, which will ensure muscle mass gain.

The effect of a gainer for thin men

For young men with a thin physique and a fast metabolism, taking the supplement will provide weight gain. At the same time, training should be daily to ensure beautiful relief.

The effect of the gainer for thin girls and women

Thin girls are recommended to combine gainer intake with intense training. In this case, they will acquire an athletic body.

If you give up physical activity and just take the supplement, fat will begin to be deposited and your figure will simply “blur.”

Be sure to read: Whey protein isolate, what is it, how is it different from whey protein?

How much can you gain from a gainer in a month?

Gaining muscle mass is the main goal of those who start training hard and include sports nutrition in their diet. It allows you to accelerate muscle growth, promotes strengthening, and replenishes energy during and after training.

How many kilograms of muscle mass can you gain by using a gainer? All organisms are individual, so the approximate calculation period is taken to be a month from the date of start of treatment. The minimum gain during this time is 6 kilograms.

What determines the amount of muscle mass gained:

Balanced diet.
Number and duration of training per week.
Mode of active activity and rest.

It is believed that 2-3 kilograms of muscle mass gain per month is a normative indicator.

Do not rush to rejoice at rapid weight gain; the quality of the muscles gained decreases. A high rate of weight gain may indicate that the sugar content in the gainer is too high, then the product should be replaced before fat deposits begin to appear.

The gainer promotes muscle mass gain according to the following algorithm:

Proteins form the building material for muscle tissue.
Carbohydrates replenish energy reserves in the body and help increase the intensity of training.
Proteins will help the body recover after physical activity.

By maintaining a balance between proper diet and exercise, you can achieve high-quality muscle growth every month.

How to take gainer?

Regardless of the type of gainer, manufacturers recommend taking 2 servings of powder per day. A dose of one serving (1 measuring cup) contains 100-130 g of dry protein-carbohydrate mixture.

One serving can be taken an hour before training; during training, the supplement releases calories needed for energy; the possible creatine in the composition will fill the muscles with fluid, and this will increase muscle strength.
The second portion is taken immediately after exercise, no later than 40 minutes.

The supplement closes the “protein-carbohydrate” window, restores energy reserves and replenishes all necessary nutrients.

Typically, two servings of mass gainer provide 2000-2600 calories per day. Although many professionals can take up to 4 servings per day, it is still not worth getting your daily calorie intake from a mass gainer alone. High sugar content will cause rapid accumulation of large amounts of fat. It is advisable to take one serving after training and eat nutritiously the rest of the time. On rest days, you can take one serving of gainer in the morning or throughout the day, instead of a snack.

You can add a portion of creatine and BCAA powder to a gainer cocktail, regardless of its components; you should take this cocktail before training.
To increase energy, you can add a pre-workout complex to this mixture; this cocktail is suitable for those who have a very difficult time gaining weight. You can also add foods to the gainer to increase calories: banana and cottage cheese.

Can girls drink gainer?

Basically, the marketing campaign of the gainer is built around men, but the question arises - can women and girls use the gainer?

The gender difference does not depend on energy consumption, which means sports nutrition can help very thin representatives of the fair sex build muscle mass and achieve the desired relief on the body.

The main components of the drink are proteins and carbohydrates, which are supplied to the body from food; this does not affect the health and well-being of women.

The sugar content in the composition is an item that requires attention. Often, women after taking a gainer complain of severe swelling and a gain of not muscle, but fat mass. This is due to the fact that the sugar level in the cocktail you are taking is too high and needs to be changed. The advice applies to everyone: both men and women.

Combination with other types of sports nutrition

Sometimes taking just one gainer is not enough to effectively gain muscle mass, improve training and restore the body. Therefore, additional additives are included in the sports nutrition diet, but only those that combine well with the gainer so that there is no discomfort in the digestive system.

The gainer is best combined with:

With protein - although the effects of these two supplements are different, they both lead to the ultimate goal - qualitative growth of muscle mass. To optimize the effect, it is better to mix the dry matter of the gainer and protein in a blender or shaker and drink as one cocktail.
With creatine - these two supplements can also find a common language if the content of each of them in the drink is dosed correctly. Their combination brings more visible, high-quality and faster results than in cases where the supplements are taken separately.
With BCAA - they act like a gainer, aimed at restoring strength after heavy physical training. They quickly penetrate muscle cells, but their action is not enough. Therefore, ideally, you need a combination of gainer and bcaa, which together will contribute to the fastest recovery of the body, accelerated metabolic processes and increased training efficiency.

Before you start taking any product in combination with a gainer, it is better to consult a specialist, because All organisms react individually to sports nutrition.

Purpose

Gainer is a high-calorie product that helps solve several main problems at once:

increase energy levels;
stock up on the necessary “depot” of glycogen in muscle fibers. This function is fully taken over by complex carbohydrates;
provide the body with the required amount of protein for the full growth of muscle mass;
if necessary, replace one or more meals when it is not possible to eat normally;
“close” the protein window after the training process.

Despite the rich composition and effectiveness, you need to take the supplement correctly, clearly know the time of administration and the optimal amount of grams, taking into account the tasks.

Which gainer is better?

The problem of choosing the right gainer for the characteristics of your body can confront any athlete, especially a beginner.

Every year, sports publications compile ratings of the best sports nutrition products, and gainer is no exception.

This is the list of the best and most popular cocktails:

True-Mass from BNC - 430 calories, 30 protein, 55 carbohydrates, 9 sugars per 100 grams.
Serious Mass brand ON - 380 calories, 15 proteins, 75 carbohydrates, 8 sugars per 100 grams;
Mass-tech from the manufacturer Muscletech - 365 calories, 27 proteins, 57 carbohydrates, 4 sugars per 100 grams.
Super dass gainer from DN – 382 calories, 15 proteins, 74 carbohydrates, 7 sugars per 100 grams;
Impact weight gainer from MP - 380 calories, 28 proteins, 54 carbohydrates, 3 sugars per 100 grams.

True Mass

Serious Mass

Mass-tech

Super dass gainer

Impact weight gainer
Gainers also contain other useful substances: minerals, vitamins, creatine, etc. The best samples have higher utility than other gainers.

These are completely different gainers with different protein and carbohydrate content per 100 grams, as well as different prices.

The indicators that the athlete considers most important for himself will help you make a choice among them:

If a lot depends on the price of the product , then the cheapest representative of the top five is the Super dass gainer, which costs approximately 48 rubles per 100 grams (for comparison, the most expensive of the gainers presented above, True-Mass, costs almost 89 rubles per 100 grams).
If the key role is in the caloric content of the product and the energy that it can give to the body during training, then the absolute leader here is True-Mass.
One of the main indicators of the effectiveness of a gainer is its high carbohydrate content. At this point, True-Mass from BNC is again in the lead.

Thus, for two out of three indicators, the best result is shown by the first sample from the rating.

Side effects

In most cases, taking a gainer does not cause any harm to the body, however, there are special cases of the body’s individual reaction to the product, or the consequences of choosing the wrong cocktail can be unpleasant.

What side effects can the gainer cause:

The increase in fat rather than muscle mass is due to the high sugar content in the drink, which contributes to the formation of fat deposits. It is impossible to exclude glucose from a drink, but when choosing, you need to pay attention to the percentage of its content in the composition - the lower it is, the more benefits for the body.
Pimples, itching, redness on the body are a natural reaction of the body to intolerance to the components of the gainer. To get rid of this side effect, it is better to buy a cocktail from another company, which contains a different set of ingredients.
Problems with the digestive system - this can occur if the gainer is taken incorrectly or the body is intolerant to the components of the drink. It is also strictly forbidden to drink expired gainer. It is better to replace the manufacturer or completely refuse to take this dietary supplement.

The main thing is to observe a sense of proportion, carefully read the instructions on the packaging and strictly follow them. Then there will be no problems with using the gainer, and it will only bring maximum effect and a beautiful healthy body!

Dosage and preparation methods

When it comes to taking a gainer, more is not better. By ingesting excessive amounts of carbohydrates, you can build belly fat, not muscle mass. Everything is good in reasonable quantities.

The recommended single serving is 100-150 g. However, the exact dosage depends on the following indicators:

Calorie content of a specific mixture
Athlete weights
Number of meals during the day
Goals of intake (weight gain or restoration of strength)
Training intensity and frequency

An athlete with a lower body weight needs a smaller dose of gainer. The less often you manage to eat normally, the more calories you need to replace. Consequently, the dose is increased.

To calculate the optimal amount, you should consult a trainer and monitor your body. If you feel weak after training and there is no noticeable increase in muscle mass, you can increase the daily dose.

It is recommended to split the single dose into two doses. That is, not 200 g at a time, but twice 100. This will improve digestibility and ease the load on the digestive system.