A few days ago, someone sent me a message via Instagram, a recently graduated student. He asked for my thoughts on so-called mass gainers. In short, these resemble protein shakes, but typically they’re densely packed with carbs, as a way of upping your daily caloric intake. Why would anyone want to take in more calories? Well, the idea is pretty simple: train extra heavy and provide your body with an overabundance of energy, in hopes of gaining more muscle mass. This is called ‘bulking’. And if you take it a bit too far, it’s called ‘dirty bulking’.
It’s a game of constantly chasing numbers. Usually, you’d have a written log lying around somewhere, in which you enter your weight and how much you bench, squat and deadlift. When bulking, getting those numbers to move upwards, becomes your number one priority in life. It gets to be addicting and all-encompassing. One day you’ll notice your clothes don’t quite fit anymore, so off you go, to buy some new ones. As your clothing size increases, so does your ego.
Let’s be real here: you’re kidding yourself. I know, I know, you’ve gained twenty pounds. Congratulations. You’ve gained some strength along the way, and you sure seem more muscular, so you tell yourself, “About half of that has got to be muscle, right?” That would mean ten pounds of pure muscle mass, ten pounds of water weight and fat.
That seems fair, right? Not really. Imagine ten pounds worth of steak, right in front of you. Take off the rose-tinted glasses and come back to reality. You didn’t gain that much muscle mass, not by a long shot. Most likely, you’ve gained about five pounds of muscle. That would imply fifteen pounds of weight you didn’t ask for, some of which is water, most of which is fat.
It’ll take ages to get rid of that weight. If summer is around the corner, forget about looking beach-ready any time soon. And let’s not forget this little thing called cardiovascular fitness. Got any friends, who are likely to ask you to join them, in any type of game which involves running fast? Well, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you’ll be the one left behind, gasping for air all the time.
I’ve been through all of this, and I can’t deny that it works. You’ll gain more muscle mass, and you’ll see strength gains come much, much faster. But there’s also some costs you’ll have to pay. The weight will have to come off some time soon, and it won’t be as easy as you might imagine. All of this, for two and a half pounds of muscle. And if you had taken the patient approach, you’d have gotten there too – perhaps a couple of months later. Not worth the sacrifice, let me tell you. Just train hard, and eat a bit more than you need. There’s nothing more to it. You don’t need a thousand extra calories a day, just to gain a bit more muscle.
Know what the problem is? We want results… and we want them now! And if we’re not seeing much improvements, we start wondering, “What if I’m wasting my time with this?” Well, I don’t know how to tell you this, but it takes a bit of faith. It’s like those old school travelers, who trusted the stars to point them the right way. So go and find your North Star, and just keep following that direction. Eventually, you’ll get there.
I’m also reminded of Patton, the WW2 general, whose biography I’m reading. He believed he’d become an important general alright, but he had to wait twenty years between two world wars – and not much happened in between. That’s a long time, no matter who you are. His faith was put to the test, that’s for damn sure. But he believed in himself and he kept following the plan. In the end, it worked out. He got what he wanted. That’s what we have to do. Find our North Star, and keep following it, no matter what. Food for thought.
Yours truly
Vincent J. Dancet