Research
Macro partitioning
An additional daily protein intake of 1 g/kg from supplements, resulting in a total daily intake of approximately 2 g/kg, is most effective for enhancing athletic performance.
Aim for a total daily protein intake of about 2 g/kg of body weight. If you eat enough protein from food, you may not need supplements. If you use supplements, adding 1 g/kg/day of protein powder is likely the optimal amount for performance gains.
GoodSupportsMEDIUM confidence
An additional intake of 1 g/kg/day of protein from supplements, resulting in a total daily protein intake of approximately 2 g/kg/day, appears to be most effective for enhancing athletic performance.
Why this rating
Based on moderation analysis of 75 RCTs.
Source
The effectiveness of protein supplements on athletic performance and post-exercise recovery − a Bayesian multilevel meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Shiao Zhao et al. · Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2025
DOI 10.1080/15502783.2025.2605338
Meta-analysis · 75 studies
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Protein supplementation improves endurance performance and muscle strength compared to placebo, but these benefits are likely attributable to unmatched energy intake rather than protein itself.Good
- Whey protein is the only protein source shown to have statistically significant effects on both endurance performance and muscle strength in this meta-analysis.Moderate
Related findings · Macro partitioning
- Total daily protein intake of 1.6 g/kg/day is sufficient for maximizing resistance training-induced muscle gains, with an upper confidence interval of 2.2 g/kg/day.Strong
- Resistance exercise training combined with sufficient dietary protein intake acts synergistically to maximize skeletal muscle hypertrophy, with protein intake saturating around 1.6 g/kg/day for general populations and potentially requiring 2.0-2.2 g/kg/day for resistance-trained individuals.Strong
- Trans fats should be completely eliminated from the diet, as they increase LDL cholesterol, decrease HDL cholesterol, and are directly associated with increased coronary risk.Strong
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