The Optimal Protein Intake for Muscle Gain
The optimal amount of protein intake for muscle gain is a highly debated topic. Although a vague range is generally accepted, more specific daily measurements aren’t completely agreed on. We’ve looked at a variety of different studies that have specified how a more particular range of protein is effective in supporting muscle growth. We’ll look at this range and the studies that have supported it, as well as some other things that you should consider to maximise muscle growth.
The optimal daily protein intake
We’ve looked at over a dozen studies that have investigated the optimal protein intake for muscle gain.
We’ve most closely followed a study conducted by Menno Henselmans in collaboration with multiple other fitness researchers, which closely imitated results accumulated in research conducted by the University of Cambridge (both studies linked in the citations section at the bottom of this page).
After analysing the research, we determined a reasonable conclusion. So the answer to your question of what the optimal protein intake for muscle gain is? 1.8 grams per kilogram of bodyweight per day (0.82 grams per pound).
Most studies have found a minimum of 1.4 to 1.5 grams per kilogram of bodyweight to be necessary (0.64 grams per pound), however this likely won’t maximise growth. On the other hand, eating too much is unnecessary, with one of the primary findings from the research suggesting that there’s no benefit that comes with eating more.
It’s important to find the sweet spot.
In parallel with arguably the most credible studies out there, we recommend the bolded value above of 1.8 grams per kilogram of bodyweight for optimal muscle growth.
Conflicting claims on this topic
You’ve probably heard a number of different claims suggesting vague measurements around the “ideal” daily protein intake. We advise that you don’t follow these suggestions.
Some sites have stated that eating at least 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day (0.7 grams per pound) is adequate, and while this isn’t technically wrong, it’s not specific.
Other pages have provided ranges stating that 1.6 - 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day is best (0.73 - 1 gram per pound), and again, this isn’t technically wrong, but eating 2.2 grams of protein per day is far from ideal.
It’s expensive because you need to buy more food, time-consuming because you need to make more food, and physically difficult for some because you need to eat more food.
You’re far better off selecting a more particular range to structure your diet around. Not only will this guarantee optimal growth, but it’ll minimize unnecessary intake and waste.
How protein promotes muscle growth
It’s important to note that to gain a substantial amount of muscle, you’ll need to be doing some form of resistance training, with the most popular form being weightlifting.
To put it simply, lifting weights creates something called micro-tears throughout your muscle tissue. As described by the name, these are tiny tears between some of the muscle fibres in the regions you train, including your biceps, triceps, pectorals, quadriceps, lats, and so on.
This is where protein comes in. When you digest high protein substances, all the protein gets broken down into amino acids, which are vital in ensuring the functionality of multiple processes, arguably the most important being tissue growth.
Muscle is a type of tissue, so when the micro-tears are created, amino acids (broken down proteins) help to repair and regrow the torn fibres, while creating new fibres as well. This is what ultimately leads to muscle growth.
The reason we’re discussing this is because it’s one of the most misunderstood concepts in the fitness industry. Not the process itself, but the ideal quantity of protein that should be ingested to maximise muscle growth, whilst not overdoing it.
In other words, the optimal protein intake for muscle gain. Hope this helped.
We’ll now get into some other considerations surrounding protein intake that’ll help you maximise muscle growth. If you were just looking for the optimal daily protein intake, look no further, however the information we’re about to provide is sure to be helpful if you’re curious.
Other tactics to maximise muscle growth
Now we’ll get into some strategies that’ll help you maximise muscle gain. Over my own personal fitness journey, I’ve implemented these strategies into my lifestyle to pursue the best possible results in the gym. Here’s three of the most important tactics, each compressed into a reasonably brief guide.
The strategies we’ll be looking through are:
Weightlifting
Supplements (natural)
High protein meals
Now let’s get into it.
Weightlifting
Doing effective resistance training is critical in allowing the body to build muscle. It may seem like a complex craft, yet understanding a few important concepts can be vital in determining your success.
Find the right workout routine/split
This is a quick process that requires very little effort. Fortunately, we at The Weigh Out have written extensive guides on the best workout routines for building muscle.
The majority of fitness professionals generally accept that the three best muscle building workout routines are as follows:
Push Pull Legs - guide linked here
The Upper-Lower Split - guide linked here
A Full Body Routine - guide linked here
If you’re dedicated to finding the most suitable routine, consider reading all three guides. If you’re just getting into fitness and aren’t sure about what’s best, here’s a quick lowdown of each.
The push pull legs routine involves workouts that are based on similar actions. Pushing muscles are trained on the one day, pulling muscles are trained on another day, and leg muscles are trained on another day. 5 - 6 workouts per week
The upper lower split trains your upper body muscles on one day, and your lower body muscles on another day. 4 - 5 workouts per week
The full body split trains almost all of your body’s muscle group on the same day. 3 workouts per week.
Progressive Overload
We’ve talked about this concept a lot on our website. It essentially refers to making small increases to the amount of weight you’re lifting or the number of reps you’re performing each workout.
For example, if you’re doing 4 sets of 8 reps of bicep curls with 10kg dumbbells in one workout, aim to add 1 or 2 extra reps to the end of your last 2 sets in the next workout. This process is critical for effective muscle growth.
Consistency
This concept is pretty basic. Minimise the number of workouts that you miss. If you’ve got a packed out schedule all day, try to get a workout in during the evening or night.
Do everything you can to complete your scheduled workouts so that you can build muscle as efficiently as possible.
Alongside having the right protein intake for muscle gain, consistently weightlifting is vital in helping you reach your fitness goals efficiently.
Supplements
It feels like the word supplements is a little controversial, carrying similar connotations to the word steroid. Fortunately, there are a variety of supplements out there that accelerate muscle growth with minimal downside.
Just a quick disclaimer, we’ll only be going through products that we use and recommend. We’ll never advertise things that aren’t safe, or highly credible across the fitness community.
Protein Powder
Protein powder may be the most used gym supplement out there. Can you guess what it contains a lot of? If you said protein, you’d be right. Nicely done.
There’s really not much to say about this one. More protein equals more muscle fiber growth, which equals bigger muscles. We’ve written a full guide to protein powder, linked here.
Creatine
Creatine is an amino acid found in a variety of meats, namely beef, pork and tuna. It possesses a slightly different function to protein powder, providing your muscles with extra energy through more ATP, allowing you to crank out a few extra reps at the end of your sets so that you can build more muscle. We’ve also written an extensive article on creatine, linked here.
Weightlifting is a key aspect of a successful muscle building journey
High protein diet
To be honest, none of our team at The Weigh Out have ever followed a strict eating program. Counting calories and macros is a great idea which adds structure to your diet, we’d highly recommend it. However, we don’t possess much experience in that area.
What we’ve done throughout our muscle building journeys is focused on one main thing (aside from the gym). Eating a lot of foods that are high in protein. If you focus on doing this consistently whilst going to the gym multiple times a week, you’re guaranteed to see results.
Here are three of our favourite high protein meals, including one breakfast, one lunch, and one dinner.
Breakfast - Baked eggs with tomato and sausage sugo
In a medium sized pan over medium heat, cook up some sausage meat (I like Italian fennel and chili sausages) that’s been removed from its skin (you can include 1 or 2 sausages).
Then add a little bit of diced onion (a quarter to a half of 1 onion) and a minced garlic clove, as well as half a tin of diced tomatoes.
Season this with salt and pepper and add herbs of your choice if you’re inclined, then stir and cook for 10 - 15 minutes.
Create some wells in the pan before cracking in however many eggs you want.
Continue cooking on the stove for a couple of minutes, then put the pan in the oven at 180 celsius or 350 fahrenheit for around 5 minutes, or until you can see the eggs are done.
Serve with some toast, and enjoy a protein packed breakfast. You can make larger portions of this for meal-prep and save it for following days.
Lunch - Chicken wraps
Get yourself a chicken breast, cut it in half horizontally, season it, and get it in a pan or on the grill at a high heat. Once it’s been going for 3 minutes, flip and turn down the heat slightly until it’s done (this should take 10 - 15 minutes)
Gather 2 or 3 tortillas, and lay some lettuce and tomato on each (you can pick vegetables of your choice). Feel free to add sauce as well.
Top it with the chicken before wrapping and serving. There you have your chicken wraps that are high in protein and greatly delicious.
Dinner - Beef stir fry
For this recipe, get 200 - 300 grams of sliced beef. Rump or hangar are both great options in regard to the cut. Cook it up in an oiled pan over medium heat until done.
In a separate pan, add a few tablespoons of soy sauce, oyster sauce, a few dashes of sesame oil, and a minced garlic clove. Mix this over a medium heat until combined.
Add some vegetables to the pan with the sauce, you could try bok choy, broccoli, spinach or any other greens of your choice. Then add the cooked beef. Mix all the ingredient over a medium heat for a couple of minutes.
Cook up some rice (a quick and easy option is instant rice which you can microwave).
Add the rice to the bowl, topped with the pan containing the beef, vegetables, and sauce, and there you have a delicious, high protein dinner.
Beef Stir Fry
To Conclude
In this article, we looked at the optimal protein intake for muscle gain. We reviewed a variety of studies to come to our conclusion that 1.8 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day (0.82 grams per pound) is the best option. On top of this, we looked at a few other tactics you can use to maximise the effectiveness and efficiency of your muscle building efforts, so that you can reach your fitness goals in no time. We hope that this article provided you with the information you were looking for. Best of luck in your future fitness endeavours.
Citations
View Menno Henselmans’ study - click here
View the Bayesian Research Team + University of Cambridge’s study - click here