With the current overhaul of ‘weight gainers’ on the supplement market, it’s hard to filter through such that may be of substantial benefit to diets requiring extra calories or stuff that’s basically packed with more sugar than a tub or two of Ben & Jerry’s. Now obviously to bump up the calorie content there’s gonna be some sacrifice to clean carb sources, so it’s fitting to compare what I deem to be the two hard-hitting weight-gain products on the current market; USN’s Muscle Fuel Anabolic and MUTANT Mass.
These brands are worlds apart in terms of their approach to training and diet philosophy. If you’re not familiar with Mutant, It’ll most likely feature a behemoth like Rich Piana and market itself in a way that would probably deter the ‘average’ person that maybe doesn’t pride themselves in looking like a Belgian Bleur that can’t tie their own shoelaces. USN takes a much more marketable approach, with an expense of endorsements from numerous top athletes and fitness models, presenting the potential of attainable physiques as a result of proper training and nutrition.
With regards to the cost, size and value of each product, Mutant’s 6.8KG bag will stretch your money much further than MFA’s 4KG tub with the average online price of both products ranging between £43-£50. Although depending on which serving suggestion you adhere to when using each product will determine how many servings you can expect. MFA suggests using 150g in every serving to which there are 26 in every tub, a smaller 100g would give 40 servings for individuals not wanting 90g of carbs sitting on their stomach. Mutant Mass also features the same amount in each 130g serving but does have almost three times the amount of sugar as the 7g in a serving of the USN All in One. This is definitely evident in the taste of Mutant Mass across the three flavours I have tried; Cookies & Cream, Triple Chocolate and Peanut Butter. They are quite sickly and don’t sit very well to say the least, making it difficult to have in conjunction with a diet requiring a surplus of calories. The strawberry, vanilla and chocolate cream flavours of Muscle Fuel Anabolic are definitely much more palatable, with a thinner consistency that mixes with minimum effort as opposed to Mutant Mass that should come with a free cement mixer. No it does EVENTUALLY mix together but can’t imagine why anyone would attempt to consume FOUR scoops indicated within the nutritional information, bearing in mind each 130g has the same amount of sugar as a typical serving of Ben & Jerry’s. Some of Mutants ‘athletes’ even condone putting a few ladles of ice cream into shakes which I personally think is ill-advised to those who don’t know the technicalities of diet and are wholly impressionable to what they see online. Although I do feel like as a “does what it says on the tin’ type product, it’d be narrow-minded of me to fail to recognise some people aspire to reach the largest form they can possibly attain, therefore by requiring extra calories by convenient means is just as practically justified as MFA to athletes in a surplus of calories.
As far as protein is concerned MFA’s 150g serving has double the 25g in Mutant Mass, and although there is probably some merit in comparing each of the various protein sources in both MFA and Mutant Mass I’d rather not to go down this precarious rabbit hole leaving me in no-mans land between vegans and everyone else with a degree in nutrition. With the ever-growing knowledge of supplementation within the bodybuilding community it’s great to see brands that can cover an array of different nutritional functions in a single product, and it’s clear that Muscle Fuel Anabolic covers near enough every point on the spectrum. With 3g of Creatine in every serving, ZMA and a huge amino acid profile including arginine, glutamine and aspartic acid, You’re looking at a good £25/30 saving from just the Creatine and amino acids alone. Mutant Mass does also hold a rather sufficient profile, each serving containing the afore mentioned AND MORE in abundance will support muscle breakdown, protein synthesis and the potential increase of growth hormone, making it a fundamental staple of recovery.
Ultimately, I can’t see the amino acid profile clawing it back for Mutant Mass, although it will definitely be of some benefit for the hard-gainer that counts KG on his bench and never the scales. I feel Muscle Fuel Anabolic is much more suited to my goals in terms of gaining lean muscle gradually in a surplus of reasonably clean calories rather than overloading on sugar and mistaking an overloaded carb pump for genuine progress. I will continue to use MFA during this stage in my training but would consider using Mutant Mass in the event that I take up powerlifting or a sport that requires a lot more calories in order to maintain or to grow.