22 May 2014
All athletes know that protein is important when it comes to recovery and building muscle but the rules about how much, what kind and when have changed over recent years. Here’s a summary:
- Athletes and regular exercisers have higher protein requirements than the general population; the consensus from scientists at the 2010 IOC Conference on Nutrition in Sport is an intake of 1.3 – 1.8g per kg of body weight per day
- For maximum muscle protein synthesis (MPS), you should distribute your daily protein evenly between meals, e.g. 3 x 30g or 4 x 30g, instead of (like most people) consuming most of your protein in the evening meal.
- Timing matters: studies show that athletes gain more muscle when they consume some of their protein before and also after training than if they consume the same amount at other times of the day.
- The ideal post-exercise protein dose to trigger maximum MPS is 20 – 25g (or about 0.25g per kilogram of body weight). Eating more than this will not increase MPS for most people. Eating less may produce smaller gains.
- Leucine is the key trigger that stimulates MPS as well as promoting muscle recovery after exercise. Milk, whey, casein, egg, meat, poultry and fish are rich sources.
- Milk (a naturally rich leucine source) is one of the best recovery foods. Studies here and here show that consuming it in the immediate post-exercise period increases MPS.
- For speediest recovery, eat protein with carbohydrate in a ratio of about 1 to 3. This promotes MPS and glycogen storage more than protein or carbohydrate alone.
- New research suggests the post-exercise ‘anabolic window of opportunity’ may be wider than once thought, perhaps as long as 24h. Previous studies suggesting a 2 hour post-exercise window have been done with fasted individuals
- Pre- and post-exercise meals should not be separated by more than 3 – 4 hours. If your last meals was > 4 hours prior to your workout then the post-exercise meal is more urgent. Ideally, consume some protein <4 hours pre-workout.
- If you’re not intending to exercise within 24 hours, then it’s less critical to refuel immediately afterwards. Provided you get your daily protein and carbohydrate (and other nutrients) over the next 24 hours, then you’ll recover equally well by your next session.
To sum up, consume some protein <4h before your workout, have a fast-digesting protein source (e.g. milk or whey shake) < 2h hours after your workout (if you plan to train again within 24h), 20 – 30g of high-quality protein like eggs, meat, poultry, fish, milk or yogurt with each meal and some with your snacks (nuts, yogurt, cheese).