Research
Macro partitioning
Strength athletes should consume 1.6–1.7 g/kg/day of protein, distributed across 5-6 meals with ~20g high-quality protein per dose to maximize muscle protein synthesis.
Eat 1.6 to 1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight every day. Don't just eat it all at dinner. Split it into 5 or 6 meals, each containing about 20 grams of high-quality protein (like meat, eggs, or whey). This keeps your muscles building throughout the day.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
general guidelines now recommend athletes undertaking strength training ingest approximately twice current recommendations for protein of their sedentary counterparts or as much as 1.6–1.7 g protein · kg–1 · day–1
Why this rating
Based on established physiological mechanisms and consensus guidelines cited.
Source
Nutrition guidelines for strength sports: Sprinting, weightlifting, throwing events, and bodybuilding
Gary Slater et al. · Journal of Sports Sciences · 2011
DOI 10.1080/02640414.2011.574722
narrative_reviewCited 198×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Post-exercise co-ingestion of carbohydrate and protein (approx. 20g protein + 0.8 g/kg/h carb) optimizes recovery by maximizing muscle protein synthesis and glycogen resynthesis.Good
- Strength-power athletes should consume 4–7 g/kg/day of carbohydrates, prioritizing strategic timing around training sessions over high total daily volume.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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