Research
Macro partitioning
Endurance athletes should distribute their daily protein intake into multiple feedings of approximately 20g every 3-4 hours to maximize chronic muscle remodelling and net protein balance.
Do not rely on just 2-3 large meals. Aim to eat roughly 20 grams of protein every 3 to 4 hours throughout the day. This pattern keeps your body in a state of muscle repair and growth, which is especially important if you are training hard or trying to lose fat.
GoodSupportsMEDIUM confidence
it is likely that athletes training and competing in these activities would also benefit from a balanced daily protein ingestion (i.e., repeated meal feedings of ~20 g of protein every 3–4 h) to maximize their postexercise recovery.
Why this rating
Based on resistance training data extrapolated to endurance, with preliminary support in endurance contexts.
Source
Beyond muscle hypertrophy: why dietary protein is important for endurance athletes
Daniel R. Moore et al. · Applied Physiology Nutrition and Metabolism · 2014
DOI 10.1139/apnm-2013-0591
narrative_reviewCited 137×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Endurance athletes should consume approximately 20-25g of high-quality protein (specifically rapidly digested, leucine-enriched sources like whey) within the first 30-60 minutes post-exercise to maximize muscle protein synthesis and facilitate muscle remodelling.Good
- Protein ingestion during prolonged endurance exercise (>1h) may attenuate muscle protein breakdown and improve whole-body net protein balance, though its ergogenic value for performance is limited.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
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →