Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass Review

            

           Welcome to Quigley Reviews.  Today I’ll be discussing a supplement called Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass.  This is a “weight gainer” supplement that is used to add calories to your diet.  The target customer for this product is someone who is looking to gain weight, and due to a limited appetite, has trouble doing so.  The bottle of Serious Mass that I am referencing for this review is a 6 pound container with the Chocolate Peanut Butter flavor.  It contains 1270 calories, 50 grams of protein and 249 grams of carbohydrates per serving.  More calories can be added to a serving by making a shake with milk, or adding the powder to oatmeal or even ice cream.  Personally, I was a great candidate for this product, so I decided to give it a shot.

The Test Subject (Me)

            I am currently 24 years old, and I started seriously lifting weights 3 months ago.  My body is the classic example of an ectomorph frame, which means that I started my exercise journey with a very thin shape, fast metabolism and a very hard time eating and gaining weight.  At a starting weight of roughly 125 pounds, I was extremely thin and appeared unhealthy.  Even more important than looking good to other people was my own perception of myself, and it was not positive.  So I began working out almost exactly three months ago when I joined a gym.  Understandably, the gym was like a foreign planet and I felt like giving up many times in the first few weeks.  The more that I forced myself to go, the better I felt.  I belonged there just as much as anyone else.  Due to eating better and sticking to my lifting plan, I found myself at 134.8 pounds just prior to starting Serious Mass. 

The User Experience

My 6 pound Serious Mass arrived in a black and lime-green bottle.  Much has been said of the comically large serving scoop.

Pictured here is the 8 ounce (!) scoop in comparison to my 20 ounce shaker.  One full scoop of the powder fills up almost half of the shaker.  Technically, a full serving of Serious Mass is actually 2 of these scoops, but I never used 2 scoops at one time.  I would use 1 scoop in the morning and 1 scoop at night.  If you make a shake with one scoop, just fill your shaker with as much water or milk as possible, and use a mixer ball if you can.  The bottle states that there are 8 servings in a 6 pound container, but as a good surprise the product actually lasted 10 days.  To be completely honest, my perception of value was heightened due to fact that I only paid $25.95 for the product.  The full retail price is around $45, so I would certainly recommend trying to find a sale. 

The Taste

          Serious Mass is available in Chocolate, Strawberry, Vanilla, Banana and Chocolate Peanut Butter flavors.  I purchased the Chocolate Peanut Butter flavor and made my shakes with either whole milk or water.  While whole milk naturally provides a better tasting drink, the result is an extremely thick consistency.  This is not necessarily a positive or negative aspect of the product, it is just dependent on your personal taste.  I enjoyed the flavor of the product, just more so when mixed with whole milk.

The Results

          Since I have had relatively little experience lifting weights and adding size, my results were not dramatic with this product.  That is not to say I am not happy with the progress I have made during the use of this bottle (10 days).  As I stated before, my weight was 134.8 pounds on the first day that I began using the product.  One of the most vital things to know about this product is that it should not be used a meal replacement, but rather to add calories to your diet to reach a certain goal for the day.  It is essential to add that I have been following a weight training plan in which I have been attending the gym 4-5 days a week.  After one week of use, I weighed 138.6 pounds with the highest single day measurement reaching 141 pounds.  I have always been slender and scrawny, and as this is the most that I have ever weighed, I was ecstatic.  The bottle was emptied in 10 days, as I consumed 1 serving (2 scoops) per day.  After my final shake, I checked the scale and weighed 139.2 pounds.  An outsider may not be floored by a total gain of 4.4 pounds in 10 days, but this product is not for them.  It is about you feeling better about yourself, which is one of the most important things in life. 

________________________________________________

          Though I was satisfied with this product, the results that I am seeking need to be achieved over a long period of time.  I must continue to work out and eat well every day to continue growing.  To put it simply, I would buy this product again because it delivered impressive results in a short-term sample size.  The one negative aspect of this product is the value based on price per serving.  At full retail price, you would be paying $4.50 per serving.  This comes out to $135 a month if you are consuming one serving per day.  In conclusion I would say that I am happy with this product, but make sure you find it on sale.

Thanks so much for reading!