A gainer is a nutritional supplement to sports nutrition, consisting of carbohydrates and protein, with a solid margin in favor of the former. It is used by athletes who train to increase muscle mass. The supplement allows you to increase the caloric content of the daily diet of an intensely exercising athlete.
The word "gainer" in translation from English means - "gain", "accession". In simple terms, a gainer is a mixture that allows you to replenish a calorie deficit after a large energy expenditure.
Who needs such a product and why?
In order to thoroughly understand what a gainer is in sports nutrition, we must find out who needs it and why:
- It allows you to increase the amount of glycogen stores in the liver. It is from glycogen that the athlete draws energy during intense training;
- Overrides the calorie deficit in the diet;
- Allows you to build muscle faster;
- Closes the protein-carbohydrate window that occurs after strength training;
- Accelerates metabolic processes.
Do you think all athletes need a gainer, because this is a very high-calorie supplement, which, in addition to increasing muscle mass, well promotes fat deposition?
- The tool is actively recommended for ectomorphs - people who are not naturally inclined to accumulate fats. For them, high-carb gainers are the only way to build muscle;
- Accordingly, hard gainers should definitely use gainers. This is a group of people striving at all costs to build a beautiful and voluminous muscle relief, but, alas, not genetically predisposed to this;
- The food supplement is indicated for people who have an unstable eating schedule, for example, due to difficult working conditions. Having a nutritional mixture in stock, they can completely replace food intake at any time;
- Athletes who use steroids (anabolic and androgenic) need so much protein and carbohydrates that they are physically unable to eat that much. Keep in mind that they are also actively spending calories in the gym. In this case, gainers come to the rescue;
- CrossFit athletes also use a gainer regularly. The specificity of their training involves a large consumption of glycogen, which must be constantly replenished.
- Also, the supplement is included in the diet of powerlifters who constantly need complex carbohydrates without loading the gastrointestinal tract system.
Now you understand why a gainer is needed in sports and what are its benefits for certain groups of athletes?
What does it consist of?
To even better understand what a gainer is needed for as a supplement to sports nutrition, let's take a closer look at its composition. There is a small nuance here. Despite the common name, there are many products with different ingredients.
- Complex carbohydrates always play a predominant role in the mixture: maltodextrin, starch multicomplex;
- The second place in terms of quantity, in terms of BJU, is occupied by proteins: soy proteins, milk powder, pure protein;
- Different manufacturers complement the composition in their own way, including a small percentage of fat, creatine, amino acids, flavors, vitamins, etc.
Having learned what a gainer is made of, one might think that it looks like a regular protein shake. However, this is not entirely correct, since the latter is 60% protein, and the former is more of a carbohydrate mixture. Protein is present here only to facilitate the digestion process, and also slightly slow down the absorption of glucose.
The ratio of carbohydrates to protein varies among manufacturers. The cheapest trains are 90% of the former and only 10% of the latter. The most expensive starch-based product maintains a 80/20% ratio. Gainers with creatine are expensive, but they guarantee muscle growth in the shortest possible time. By the way, a carbohydrate-protein mixture can be prepared independently by mixing the components in the desired proportions. All it takes is to buy starch and protein from a sports nutrition store.
What can be replaced?
In the previous section, we found out what a gainer consists of and came to the conclusion that you can prepare it yourself. Another question arises - can it be replaced by something equivalent, but more familiar?
If we draw a rough parallel, a quality gainer can be compared to a portion of wheat porridge with milk and sugar. A cheap product is similar to a piece of sponge cake with butter cream.
At home, you can make your own energy cocktails using the following rules:
- Use milk, natural yogurt or fresh juice as a base;
- To fill the product with protein, add cottage cheese, purchased protein powder, milk powder or chicken egg whites there;
- Carbohydrate mass can be made up of honey, jam, bananas, oats, maltodextrin.
Knowing how to replace the gainer, you can always prepare a similar mixture yourself. As you can see, you don't have to order overseas products.
How to use?
Now let's find out how to take gainers correctly - this will help you correctly compose a diet for the day.
The best time to take it is 15 minutes after finishing your workout. So you will instantly fill the protein-carbohydrate window, replenish energy depletion, and start the regeneration processes.
Sometimes some athletes prefer to drink a portion of the product before the strength complex, especially if it promises to be very intense. This will give the body additional strength. However, in this case, during exercise, a person will not lose fats, since the body will simply have no need to turn to the accumulated reserves. Therefore, if your goal is to lose fat, drink the mixture after exercise.
If you are not inclined to be overweight and dream of building muscle as soon as possible, you can drink a carbohydrate-protein shake 2-3 times a day, but be careful not to harm the pancreas.
So, what a gainer gives and why we drink it, we have found out, now we will discuss how to calculate the amount:
- First of all, calculate the daily calorie intake and find out the size of the deficit;
- How many portions of a gainer can fill it?
- Consider only carbohydrates;
- Divide the calories in the finished portion by the number of meals you need;
- Always drink the mixture after your workout.
Benefit and harm
Now we will try to understand what a gainer is for in sports, and for this we will analyze its advantages and disadvantages.
Benefit
- The cocktail really helps ectomorphs gain weight through muscle growth;
- This is an excellent energy product that can replenish strength after training, start the processes of recovery and regeneration;
- Formulations with approximately equal amounts of protein and carbohydrates help build muscle without actually storing fat;
- Allows you to increase the calorie content of the diet, making it more balanced and nutritious.
Harm
- Gainers have many contraindications, ignoring which can lead to serious health consequences.
- With a poor metabolism, uncontrolled intake of such drinks will inevitably lead to a set of fat mass;
- The product can provoke the development of diabetes mellitus;
- The additive can have a negative effect on the water-salt balance;
- Low-quality protein in the composition can cause stomach upset;
Contraindications: diabetes mellitus, allergic reactions, kidney stones, a tendency to gain excess weight, lactose intolerance, liver failure.
The effectiveness and appropriateness of admission
Well, we explained why an athlete needs to drink a gainer and told how to do it correctly. Let's separately talk about the advisability of taking the product for a woman.
It all depends on her goal - if she wants to lose weight and pump up her ass, such a cocktail will only slow her down. But when she began the phase of mass gain, a small amount does not hurt.
Remember this:
- A high-calorie product is not needed for athletes who train not very intensely;
- Women should use carbohydrate-protein cocktails very carefully, since their physiology is such that excess calories quickly settle where they are not needed;
- If you decide to include such an additive in your diet, be prepared to clearly calculate the daily calorie volume and how you should give your best in the gym.
Now you know everything about the properties of the gainer - then it remains only to draw a conclusion. Do I need to drink a gainer or is it better to prepare a serving of milk with honey and banana? Answering this question, we emphasize that it is worth giving up natural and healthy products only in favor of an expensive, high-quality gainer.