Macro partitioning
Total daily protein intake of ~1.6 g/kg/day (up to 2.2 g/kg/day) is the primary determinant of chronic muscle hypertrophy, whereas per-meal timing, dose, and source have negligible impact on long-term muscle accretion if total daily intake is met.
Focus on hitting a total daily protein target of roughly 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight. This is the most important lever for building muscle. You do not need to obsess over eating protein immediately after your workout or buying expensive 'anabolic' supplements. Simply distribute your daily protein across 3-4 meals to reach this total.
Rather, a daily protein intake of ~1.6 g/kg/day or as high as 2.2 g/kg/day, appears to be the most influential factor to consider when optimizing muscle mass accretion with resistance exercise is the goal.
Why this rating
Based on a meta-analysis and meta-regression by the authors' own laboratory, providing high-level evidence.
Source
Recent Perspectives Regarding the Role of Dietary Protein for the Promotion of Muscle Hypertrophy with Resistance Exercise Training
Tanner Stokes et al. · Nutrients · 2018
DOI 10.3390/nu10020180
More from this paper
- Consuming approximately 20 g of high-quality protein (or ~0.24–0.30 g/kg body mass) per meal maximally stimulates muscle protein synthesis (MPS) in young adults, with doses exceeding this threshold (e.g., 40 g) providing negligible additional MPS stimulation.Good
- Pre-sleep ingestion of ~30-40 g of casein protein enhances overnight muscle protein synthesis and augments long-term gains in muscle size and strength when combined with resistance training.Good
- Carbohydrate co-ingestion with protein does not enhance muscle protein synthesis or muscle hypertrophy beyond protein ingestion alone, although it may aid in glycogen restoration.Good
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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