Shopping for supplements is never an easy task. If you’ve recently decided to add a lean mass gainer supplement to your diet, you probably know how hard it is to find the right one.
To make your life a little bit easier, we researched and reviewed some of the best lean mass gainers on the market.
Using a lean mass gainer can make a drastic difference in muscle growth, and they’re not just for lean-build, fast-metabolism athletes. Keep reading to learn about different ways you can incorporate lean mass builders into your program and much more.
If you’re looking for a lean mass gainer to kick your routine into overdrive, start your search with our top six lean mass gainers.
Contents
Are Mass Gainers Right for Me?
Are you having a hard time building muscle mass or breaking through plateaus? Adding a lean mass gainer to your supplement routine can give your body the nutritional catalyst it needs to grow.
Mass gainers aren’t just for skinny people and offensive lineman, many athletes find that adding lean mass gainers into their supplement programs benefits their training regimens.
People often have misconceptions about lean mass gainers. They tend to think of them as weight gainers that are only appropriate for powerlifters and other extreme weight trainers.
In fact, today’s advanced lean mass gainers are formulated to build lean, toned muscle without packing on extra pounds.
They’re the perfect complement to any training regimen, and they will help you build the ripped and toned physique you’re working so hard to create.
Why Should I Use a Mass Gainer
Sometimes you need an extra push to build lean muscle or break through plateaus and, during these times, mass gainers can be the catalyst you need to kick your routine into overdrive.
Mass gainers can be useful to athletes with any kind of physique or metabolism, they just have to be deployed in a manner that suits your body type. Some of these supplements contain huge amounts of calories and carbs so, if you’re not careful to stick to your nutrition plan, all those extra calories can get stored as body fat.
However, when used properly with a strong exercise routine, these supplements can make dramatic differences in muscle gains as little as four weeks.
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How are Lean Mass Gainers Different?
Mass gainers are designed to support general weight gain. The biggest difference over their lean-formulated brethren is in the ratio of their nutritional components.
As a general rule, standard mass gainers usually have more carbohydrates than protein content. The drawback is that the excess carbs are often stored as body fat. While that’s not a problem for advanced athletes or powerlifters, most of us are looking for leaner physiques.
Lean mass gainers are on the opposite end of the spectrum, with protein amounts that are greater than or equal to the carb content. This class of gainers is the perfect choice for most average-build athletes looking to bulk up for the winter, break through plateaus, or supercharge their gains.
However, make sure you use discipline when beginning to use your first lean mass gainer so that your body doesn’t end up turning the excess nutrition into body fat.
Evaluation Criteria
Calories
Calories are the basic measure of the nutritional content of anything consumable.
Almost everything your body does burns calories, but consuming too many calories means your body has more than what it needs. Your body stores excess calories for later in the form of body fat.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, you will lose weight if you burn more than you consume. Mass gainers generally have extremely high caloric content to fuel muscle growth. However, some lean mass gainers have lower calories and are geared more towards the average user.
Be sure to choose the right caloric content for your metabolism and training regimen.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates fuel your muscles and good for packing on bulk, but unutilized carbohydrates are stored by your body as fat so it’s important not to consume more than you need.
There is a wide variety of carb content in mass gainers. Traditional mass gainers can have as many as 10 times the amount of carbohydrates per protein. Make sure you find the right carb content to fit your training goals.
Protein
Protein is the most important part of muscle synthesis. Your muscles need plenty of protein to grow, and almost every weightlifter alive utilizes high-protein diets supercharge gains.
For muscle-building weight training, most diets recommend 1.5 to 2 times your body weight, in pounds, equals the amount of protein you should be consuming to fuel maximum muscle building.
BCAAs (Branched Chain Amino Acids)
BCAAs are an important part of muscle building nutrition. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, and your body can use them to synthesize its own protein and further stimulate muscle growth.
Ideally, your diet should include some form of BCAAs. Some lean mass gainers include BCAAs in their ingredients, saving you the trouble and expense of taking a separate supplement.
Creatine
Creatine is a supplement that is very popular in the athletic world and it’s also one of the most effective muscle-builders available. It works by increasing your body’s natural production of ATP, a compound that provides energy to your cells and, thus, your entire body.
Regular dosing with creatine can significantly increase your body’s natural energy production and fuel lean muscle mass growth. Look for a lean muscle builder with creatine to maximize muscle growth.
The Best Lean Mass Gainers of 2020
Optimum Nutrition: 100% Whey | Muscle Milk: Genuine Protein Powder | BSN” Syntha-6 | Optimized Nutrition: Serious Mass | Naked Nutrition: Less Naked Mass | MuscleTech: Mass-Tech Pro | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cal. | 120 | 310 | 200 | 1,250 | 1,250 | 1,010 |
Carb | 3 G | 3 G | 15 G | 252 G | 252 G | 156 G |
Protein | 24 G | 32 G | 22 G | 50 G | 50 G | 80 G |
BCAAs | 5.5 G | No | 10 G | 5 G | 11.5 G | 17 G |
Creatine | No | No | No | 1 G | No | 10 G |
Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100%
Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% whey protein isolate supplement is an ideal choice for anyone looking to pack on muscle quickly.
This product features a blend of whey isolate and filtered whey protein concentrate to give your muscles the fast-digesting protein your muscles need to grow. It’s not a traditional mass gainer, as it has only 4 grams of carbs, but the large dose of fast digesting protein should induce even the most stubborn muscles to grow.
While it doesn’t have a huge quantity of calories or carbs, it’s a great option for athletes who want to foster lean muscle growth without fear of over-consuming calories resulting in increased body fat.
- Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs)
This product includes BCAAs in the formula, which can provide your body with all the necessary materials for protein synthesis and muscle-building.
Branched-chain amino acids are commonly found in a variety of nutritional supplements and foods. However, they aren’t found in most cheaper, budget-rate powders that give you the bare minimum.
BCAAs can make a huge difference in results by jump-starting your body’s natural process of protein synthesis. It’s another way that Optimum Nutrition provides you with a highly-effective balance of ingredients to support muscle group.
Preview | Product | |
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Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein Powder, Double Rich Chocolate, 5 Pound (Packaging... | Check Price |
- Low Carb
- 3 Grams of BCAAs
- 24 Grams of Protein per Serving
- More Than 20 Flavors to Choose From
- No Creatine
- Low BCAAs
Muscle Milk
Muscle Milk is famous for its pre-packaged shakes that are sold in convenience stores everywhere, but they also make powdered supplements available for home preparation. With this mix, you get a total package of the best and most vital muscle-building ingredients.
The formula is low carb and low calorie, so it is a great snack option for a quick protein boost at any time, without the accompanying amounts of carbs and calories you find with most traditional mass gainers.
Best of all, it still has the great taste that made their pre-packaged products popular, and their specialized lean-muscle protein will help you build the body you’re looking for.
- Advanced Formula
Muscle Milk’s advanced formula was designed with a range of sophisticated ingredients to promote advanced muscle milk, including BCAAs, LeanLipids, vitamins, minerals, glutamine. Having all these advanced supplements in one package gives you ideal fuel to train and build lean muscle mass.
Additionally, having so many supplements in one convenient shake makes your life easier and keeps your cupboard less cluttered with gigantic tubs of supplements.
Preview | Product | |
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Muscle Milk Genuine Protein Powder, Banana Crème, 32g Protein, 4.94 Pound, 32 Servings | Check Price |
- Delicious Taste
- BCAAs
- 3 Grams of Leucine
- 31 Grams of Protein per Serving
- Contains 20 Essential Vitamins and Minerals
- Low Carb
BSN True-Mass: Syntha 6
BSN produces an entire line package of supplements and vitamins to help you train smarter, but Syntha 6 is their lean mass and muscle-building supplement.
It packs a blend of both fast and slow-dissolving proteins to give your muscles a steady supply of protein that can dissolve at a rate that enables it to be better absorbed by your muscles. This is another supplement that is designed to specifically promote lean muscle growth.
Resultantly, this product features lower carbs and calories than traditional mass gainers, making it an appropriate choice To top it off, the shakes taste great and they are available in 9 different, delicious flavors.
- BSN Supplement Stacks
BSN has a listing of supplements that are designed to interact well with this supplement, so you can stack all of them together for maximized benefits.
Products designed to be by one manufacturer to be taken together have inherent benefits over using mismatched supplements because the total effect of taking them all together has been considered and optimized.
Even if you are using mixed and matched products that are individually effective, they might have negative interactions that can cause them to be less effective or, in extreme cases, even hazardous to your health.
Preview | Product | |
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BSN SYNTHA-6 Whey Protein Powder, Banana Protein Powder with Micellar Casein, Milk Protein Isolate... | Check Price |
- Great Taste
- 22 Grams of Protein per Serving
- BCAAs
- Essential Fatty Acids
- 9 Flavors
- Not Sugar-Free
Optimum Nutrition: Serious Mass
To gain lean muscle mass quickly, you need to consume a lot of carbs and calories to fuel protein synthesis and muscle growth. It’s not easy to eat 4,000 calories a day but, if you’re training with your sights on huge mass gains in a short amount of time you can conveniently get the extra nutrition you need with a mass gainer.
Serious Mass from Optimum Nutrition is considered a traditional mass gainer since its carb quantity outnumbers its protein content, and you can easily intake over 1,000 calories and 50 grams of protein with just one shake.
It’s exactly what you’re looking for if you want to pack on pounds in a hurry. This convenient shake provides over 25 vitamins and minerals, and it even includes creatine.
- High Mass Formula
This product is considered a traditional weight gainer since its carbs greatly outnumber its protein content. Per serving, it has 252 grams of carbs, which equates to a ratio of about 5 grams of carbs for every gram of protein, so this product is intended for people training to put on a lot of mass in a short period of time or those who are having difficulty putting on weight.
This is what you are looking for if you have a fast metabolism, a thin build, or are otherwise having difficulty putting on more muscle.
If you’re a veteran weightlifter, you can even strategically use it push you through training plateaus and start getting more muscle gain in a short period of time.
No products found.
- 50 Grams of Protein per Serving
- 25 Vitamins and Minerals
- 5 Grams of BCAAs
- 252 Grams of Carbs per Serving
- Creatine and Glutamine
- High Calories
- High Carb
Vanilla Less Naked Mass
As the name implies, Naked Mass is an all-natural, mass-building protein powder made for the nutritionally conscious athlete.
When comparing supplements, realize that there is more to the equation that carbs, protein, and other basic nutritional information. Preservatives, fillers, and other ingredients can upset your digestion, induce nausea, and even cause allergic reactions.
If you want to avoid these types of ingredients, or if you have sensitivities to gluten or soy, this is an ideal product for you. You get it all without sacrificing performance, with this quality weight gainer that would satisfy any athletes’ standards.
- Optimized Nutrition
Naked’s artificial-ingredient free formula includes all the nutrition your muscles need to bulk up. The formula includes a laundry list of ingredients that provide huge benefits for any athlete who isn’t already taking them in some other form.
The multi-phase protein formula includes a blend of whey and casein protein that form an equilibrium of fast and slow-dissolving proteins that fuel muscle growth with a steady supply of protein absorption.
This product combines so many different supplements that you will appreciate the extra room you have in your cupboard after you ditch all your other giant tubs of supplements. This mass gainer is one-stop nutrition for the majority of dietary needs, and it will instantly make your supplement routine less complicated and more convenient.
Preview | Product | |
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Vanilla Naked Mass - All Natural Vanilla Weight Gainer Protein Powder - 8lb Bulk, GMO Free, Gluten... | Check Price |
- Gluten, GMO, and Artificial Ingredient Free
- 50 Grams of Protein
- 252 Grams of Carbs
- 11.5 Grams BCAAs
- No Artificial Sweeteners
- Tastes Bland without Adding Other Ingredient
MuscleTech Mass-Tech Pro
This mass gainer from MuscleTech is designed for athletes who are having difficulty bulking up. It has key ingredients to support the hard mass building while improving muscle strength and protein synthesis.
In addition to basic calories and carbs, this advanced gaining supplement features a variety of ingredients designed to give you massive gains. It’s ideal for hard gainers, people who have trouble putting on weight, or veteran lifters looking to bust through a plateau.
- Boost Gains With Creatine
In addition to the myriad of other highly beneficial nutritional ingredients found in this product, it includes a whopping 10 grams of creatine that, along with the other key ingredients, supercharge muscle growth and mass gaining.
Most mass builders do not contain creatine and, even if they do, it’s usually just a paltry couple of grams.
However, MassTech’s massive 10-gram creatine dose is more than enough for the amateur weight trainer’s supplement regimen, since 8 grams is a good starting dose for the average joe, so you can potentially eliminate your stand-alone creatine supplement from your diet entirely.
Preview | Product | |
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Mass Gainer Protein Powder MuscleTech Mass-Tech Mass Gainer Whey Protein Powder + Muscle Builder... | Check Price |
- 80 Grams of Protein
- 10 Grams of Creatine
- 17 Grams of BCAAs
- 1010 Calories
- 5 Grams of Healthy Omega-3 Fat
- Intended for Extreme Mass Gains
Conclusion
Best Value: BSN Syntha-6
Syntha-6, from BSN, provides all the features you would expect from a high-quality lean mass gainer at a fraction of the cost. This blend of protein supports multi-phase protein absorption, so your muscles will be fed with a steady stream of fuel all day, maximizing growth.
Additionally, this is a great product for athletes that are training to build mass conservatively with a focus on lean muscle growth.
The low carb content and calorie count make this a great product for athletes with a slow metabolism who need to be careful with their caloric intake, but it’s also a great choice for anyone looking to boost their gains on a budget.
Preview | Product | |
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BSN SYNTHA-6 Whey Protein Powder, Banana Protein Powder with Micellar Casein, Milk Protein Isolate... | Check Price |
Best Pure Mass Builder: MuscleTech Mass-Tech Pro
If your only concern when shopping for a mass builder is getting the product with the most nutritional value per serving, Mass-Tech Pro is what you’re looking for.
This mass builder is jam-packed with ridiculous amounts of highly beneficial ingredients, including 10 grams of creatine and 17 grams of BCAAS! With 1,010 calories and over 250 grams of carbohydrates, this supplement is the ideal solution for anyone looking to add to their nutritional intake in as convenient a manner as possible.
This product consolidates several types of supplements, including protein powder and creatine supplements, to make your supplement regimen less complicated and easier to keep track of.
Preview | Product | |
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Mass Gainer Protein Powder MuscleTech Mass-Tech Mass Gainer Whey Protein Powder + Muscle Builder... | Check Price |
Best for Food Allergy Sufferers: Naked Nutrition(Less Naked Mass)
Whether you suffer from allergies to food ingredients, like soy or gluten, or you simply want to avoid preservatives and GMOs, this product is a great option for the nutritionally conscious athlete.
The advanced mass gainer from Naked Nutrition uses only four all-natural ingredients in their formula, with no GMOs or artificial ingredients of any kind, but this mass gainer doesn’t skimp on performance.
It features over 1,200 calories and 50 grams of protein that are the equivalent of jet fuel for muscle growth. With its simple list of ingredients and all-natural mentality, when you use Less Naked Mass you know what you’re putting in your body.
Preview | Product | |
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Vanilla Naked Mass - All Natural Vanilla Weight Gainer Protein Powder - 8lb Bulk, GMO Free, Gluten... | Check Price |