Research
Macro partitioning
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.
After your workout, eat a mix of carbs and protein. Aim for about 20g of protein and some carbs (around 0.8g per kg of body weight). This helps your muscles recover faster and rebuild glycogen better than eating just one or the other.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Thus the combined ingestion of carbohydrate and protein acutely following resistance training results in more favourable recovery outcomes, including restoration of muscle glycogen stores and muscle protein metabolism, than the ingestion of either nutrient alone
Why this rating
Supported by multiple studies cited (Miller et al., van Loon et al.).
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
- 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.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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