The Stack
Two products. One built to add calories on demand, one built to be your daily protein workhorse.
63g of protein and roughly 1100 calories per double-scoop. Use this on heavy training days or as a calorie-dense bedtime shake when you can't fit another meal in.
See live price →30g of protein per scoop at the lowest cost per gram you'll find from a national brand. This is your everyday post-training and snack shake.
See live price →Why This Combo
Bulking fails for one of two reasons: you don't eat enough total calories, or you don't get enough protein. Mass gainer solves the first, value whey solves the second. The trick is to use them strategically rather than treat both as primary protein.
- Mass gainer is for filling calorie gaps. If you trained hard and only ate 2,200 calories on a 3,000-calorie day, one double-scoop of MuscleTech Mass-Tech closes the gap with 63g of clean protein attached.
- Value whey is for the other six daily protein hits. At under 50 cents a serving, you can drink two or three Body Fortress shakes a day without breaking the budget.
- Together they cover 80g+ protein and 1,500 calories. That's the bulk of what a 200 lb lifter needs from supplemented sources in a 3,500-calorie day.
Total Monthly Cost
Assuming a moderate training schedule of 20 mass-gainer shakes and 45 whey shakes per month:
| Mass gainer: Mass-Tech Extreme 2000 (20 servings/mo) | $64.27/mo |
| Value whey: Super Advanced Whey Protein (45 servings/mo) | $22.47/mo |
| Total monthly cost | $86.74 |
That's roughly $87/month for two products that deliver about 4,000g of supplemented protein. If you ran this stack for the typical 8-week bulking block, the total cost would be around $173.
How to Use Each
Mass-Tech Extreme 2000
Mix two scoops with 16 oz of milk on training days, or 16 oz of water if you're trying to stay leaner. Time it post-workout or right before bed. A double-scoop shake gives you 63g protein and roughly 1,100 calories, so treat it as a meal replacement, not a snack.
Body Fortress Super Advanced
One scoop in 8 oz water, milk, or oats. 30g of protein per scoop makes this a great breakfast shake, post-workout finisher, or mid-afternoon hunger killer. Use it whenever you'd otherwise reach for a 30g protein meal you don't have time to cook.
Cheaper Alternatives
If $87/month is too high, here are two lower-cost swaps that still get the job done.
- Swap mass gainer for Nutricost Mass Gainer at $34.99/6 lb on Amazon. Same 60g protein, $10 cheaper per tub.
- Swap whey for Six Star 100% Whey Protein Plus at $19.98 for a 2 lb tub on Walmart. 30g per serving, around 70 cents per scoop.
- Drop the whey, eat more whole eggs. Six whole eggs deliver 36g of protein for around $1.50. Whey is convenient, but eggs are cheaper still.
Upgrade Path
If your budget is closer to $120/month, this stack scales up nicely.
- Upgrade the mass gainer to Naked Mass at $89.99. Just two ingredients (organic tapioca maltodextrin, grass-fed whey) for clean bulkers who want to avoid soy lecithin and artificial sweeteners.
- Upgrade the whey to Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard at $54.99/5 lb. The benchmark whey blend with 24g protein per scoop, better taste than the budget options, and full digestive enzyme support.
See every mass gainer + whey blend in our catalog
Browse all 9 tracked mass gainers and 118 whey blends for live pricing.
Browse mass gainers →Frequently Asked Questions
No. If you can hit your calorie target with food, a mass gainer is just an expensive smoothie. Mass gainers exist for hard gainers, busy schedules, or training blocks where you genuinely can't fit another meal in. If your appetite is fine and food is cheap, just eat more rice and chicken.
Most users on a bulking block hit one mass gainer shake (post-workout or bedtime) and two to three value whey shakes (breakfast, snack, second post-workout). That's three to four shakes in a day with around 130g of supplemented protein.
Not the mass gainer portion. Mass gainers add 800 to 1,200 calories per shake, which will rapidly turn into fat once you're past your bulking block. Drop the mass gainer for cutting phases and keep the value whey running all year.
Swap MuscleTech Mass-Tech for Nutricost Mass Gainer ($34.99) and Body Fortress for Six Star Whey Plus 2 lb ($19.98). That brings the per-tub cost down to around $55 combined, or roughly $50/month including replacement timing.
Mass gainers can. They're packed with maltodextrin and milk-based protein, which doesn't sit well with everyone. If you bloat, try splitting the mass gainer scoop into two half-shakes per day, or swap to Naked Mass which uses just whey and tapioca.
Yes. Most mass gainers use whey concentrate as their primary protein source. The difference is the added carbs and fats around it for calorie density, not the protein quality itself.