Research

Hormonal

In older men, 20 g of whey protein is sufficient to maximize myofibrillar protein synthesis (MPS) at rest, but resistance exercise creates anabolic resistance that requires 40 g of whey protein to further elevate MPS rates above the 20 g threshold.

If you are over 60 and doing resistance training, 20g of high-quality protein (like whey) might not be enough to maximize muscle building after your workout. Try increasing your post-workout protein to 40g. At rest, 20g is likely sufficient, but exercise increases your body's demand for protein to trigger muscle synthesis.

GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
At rest, the optimal whey protein dose for non-frail older adults to consume, to increase myofibrillar MPS above fasting rates, was 20 g. Resistance exercise increases MPS in the elderly at all protein doses, but to a greater extent with 40 g of whey ingestion.
Yifan Yang et al. · British Journal Of Nutrition · 2012

Why this rating

Randomized controlled trial with isotopic tracing (gold standard for MPS measurement) in a specific, well-characterized population (healthy elderly men).

Source

Resistance exercise enhances myofibrillar protein synthesis with graded intakes of whey protein in older men

Yifan Yang et al. · British Journal Of Nutrition · 2012

DOI 10.1017/s0007114511007422

rct · n=37Cited 479×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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