Yo,
People who want to bulk usually face some trouble with the question; “protein powder or mass gainer”. Without much thought, they don’t seem too different from each other. However, like everything in life, it helps to know more about the options you have.
Before we move on, I ask you to take a moment to think about the two supplements. That is, ask yourself, “What is the difference between protein powder and mass gainer”. Unsurprisingly, you may struggle to come up with more than three answers. In fact, that was me when I was in the earlier stages of my fitness journey.
I knew of protein powders and had a general awareness of what it was, however mass gainers were kind of strange to me. I didn’t know if I should take them, what they were if they were superior to protein powders and if they were even worth it.
So today we’ll be exploring this question. We will not be determining which is a better product, but outline similarities, differences, ingredients, options, usage, versatility and my final thoughts.
Ingredients
There are many different protein powders, such as whey, whey isolate, casein, egg, whey concentrate and more. As a result, there are many different ingredients that are in each of those options.
This is different to mass gainers however. There is no different ‘type’ of mass gainer, like the case with protein powders. For example, there is no “egg mass gainer”, “whey mass gainer” and “casein mass gainer”. There is only “mass gainer” and the various manufacturers that offer their own variation.
So your then probably wondering, “what’s the difference in ingredients then?”. It would be impossible to list all the ingredients in all the different types of protein powders and options of mass gainers, because the options on the market are endless.
However, one important point regarding ingredients is that Mass gainers can contain:
– Whey protein isolate
– Casein Protein
– Egg Protein
– Whey Protein Concentrate
– Maltodextrin
– Corn syrup
– Dairy additives
These are only some of the ingredients.
If it isn’t clear, mass gainers normally contain the same ingredients that protein powders have, plus more and extra to increase the calories. Some of these ingredients are fine for the body, however, some are cheap and would want to be avoided as they are not the healthiest for the body. Moreover, protein powders can sometimes have as low as three ingredients only, like the one I frequently use.
That’s not to say that protein powders only contain good ingredients, some contain bad ingredients as well, which is why you should embark on your own research to find out if certain ingredients should be avoided.
Usage and Versatility
Protein powders can be used at any stage of your fitness journey. That is, they can be used when cutting (a fat loss phase), maintenance phase and when bulking (a muscle-building phase).
This is because protein powders generally do not have too many calories. Generally, they can be around 100 to 150 calories per serving (30g). Therefore, despite being in a cutting phase, where you’ll need to be consuming lower calorie foods to maintain the deficit, one serving of protein powder has enough calories.
With a bulking phase, you’ll need to be consuming more calories than your maintenance to maintain the surplus. Furthermore, you’ll need to be consuming enough protein. One serving of protein powder is good as it contributes to the surplus, has high protein and you can add another serving if the calories are not enough.
If you are maintaining, protein powder is alright too, since it is not too high in calories and you may adjust the amount if you need more calories.
Let’s move on to mass gainers. Mass gainers per serving (a serving is typically more than 30g, so bear that in mind) have around at least 1000 calories with around 20-65g of protein. So let’s go into a bulking, maintenance and cutting phase.
With a bulking phase, you’ll need to be eating in a caloric surplus. Mass gainers are typically easy to drink and convenient. Honestly, this makes them ideal for a bulking phase, as caloric amount should easily allow you to enter and maintain the surplus.
With a maintenance phase, a mass gainer is typically not used, this is because you want to be eating at your maintenance calories. Depending on your weight and size, this may not be very high and easy to eat. Therefore, there would not be much use in a mass gainer, as you may accidentally enter a caloric surplus.
This is a similar case for a cutting phase. You would need to maximise the protein you have and be careful with the calories allocated. Mass gainers would then not be ideal, since the calories are way too high and would fill up way too much space in the deficit.
Regarding recipes, protein powders would probably have a slight edge. This is because there are more varieties, flavours and can be used in both cutting and bulking recipes. With Mass Gainers, there are not that many options or flavours, so protein powder takes the point here.
It is important to note that you are obviously free to use either supplement whenever you want, these are just my recommendations
Price
Regarding price, there are many prices that are allocated to different sizes on both protein powder and mass gainers. They differ with quality, size, ingredients and brand. If you want to learn how to find out the price per kg and compare, you can learn here.
However, on average, the prices per kg are around the same.
It’s also important to consider that quality is normally associated with price, but this is not the case for every protein powder and mass gainer.
Final thoughts
Overall, I believe protein powders are more versatile as a whole since they fit in more situations. However, if I was a hard gainer and really wanted to bulk, I would definitely look into a high-quality mass gainer.
Not only this, but at the end of the day, these are only supplements and if realistic, I would definitely try to get all my calories from whole foods.
Don’t forget, it’s definitely possible to achieve your goals without these supplements.
To Finish
Protein powders and Mass gainers are suitable for different situations and people. I want you all to remember that these are not essential to the success of your fitness goals, but they can be great assets.
So, to answer the question of if you should use protein powder or mass gainer… that is up to you. This is because they’re suitable for different circumstances, so depending on yours, you will have to decide. However, for most people, it is likely that protein powder will be most preferrable. This is because there are more people who are not hardgainers, in comparison to those who are.
Thank you for reading and I hope you were able to learn something, just as I had. S
See you next time.
