Research
Macro partitioning
Co-ingesting protein with carbohydrates enhances muscle glycogen storage rates, but only when carbohydrate intake is suboptimal (below the storage threshold) or when feeding intervals are greater than 1 hour.
If you can't eat enough carbohydrates after training (less than 1.2 g/kg/h) or if you can't eat for more than an hour, add protein to your recovery meal. This combination speeds up glycogen storage. However, if you are eating high amounts of carbohydrates frequently, adding protein provides no additional benefit for glycogen storage.
GoodConditionalHIGH confidence
the evidence is compelling that the co-ingestion of protein with carbohydrate will increase the efficiency of muscle glycogen storage when the amount of carbohydrate ingested is below the threshold for maximal glycogen synthesis or when feeding intervals are more than 1 h apart
Why this rating
Supported by multiple human studies showing increased glycogen synthase activity and storage rates.
Source
Carbohydrates and fat for training and recovery
Louise M. Burke et al. · Journal of Sports Sciences · 2003
DOI 10.1080/0264041031000140527
narrative_reviewCited 399×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Athletes should consume 5-12 g/kg/day of carbohydrates depending on training volume to optimize muscle glycogen restoration, with immediate post-exercise intake (1.0-1.2 g/kg/h) being critical when recovery time between sessions is less than 8 hours.Good
- Alcohol consumption immediately post-exercise impairs muscle glycogen storage by displacing carbohydrates and potentially interfering with synthesis, particularly in the first 8 hours of recovery.Moderate
Related findings · Macro partitioning
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- 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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