Protein and Muscle Building
The relationship of protein and muscle building can not be understated and is a critical component of our success when it comes to weight training even if our sole objective is to burn more fat through increased lean muscle mass.
I thought it was important to revisit this topic since my recent personal training conference gave me a little more insight on what most people think to be true when it comes to protein and muscle building and what the reality of all of it is.
Let me first start off with those of you who question the benefits of additional protein in your diets. Sure getting extra protein from natural raw foods is really hard, especially because most high protein foods also come with high fat content.
The exception of course exists such as skim milk, non-fat yogurt or eggs, but considering a full glass of milk has only about 9 grams of protein this means we would need to consume a heck of a lot of skim milk to increase our protein intake substantially.
Let’s look at how much protein we should be getting when training with weights…
Protein and Muscle Building: How Much?
Before we get into more facts about protein we should know how much protein we should be consuming if we are doing any weight training exercise regimen.
For women we’re looking at about 0.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight. So if you weight 140lbs that means 70 grams of protein.
For men we’re looking at about 0.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight. So if you weight 180 lbs that means 144 grams of protein.
What about those of you who are really focused on putting on muscle mass? Most bodybuilding experts believe that protein amounts up to 1.0-1.2 grams of protein per pound of body weight can really help with added muscle mass quickly since this will make sure your body is flooded extra amino acids that you are never in a state of catabolism (which is the process of breaking down muscle).
If you revisit the numbers above you’ll see this means a significant difference in your protein intake so make note of that.
So I think you’ll know what I mean when I say it is difficult to make sure we get the right amount of protein in our diets since even high protein lean meats like chicken or steak only have about 25-40 grams of protein.
The Truth About Protein Supplementation
With this in mind you should know that if you’re not supplementing with protein supplementation then you are really missing a critical component in achieving lean muscle mass production.
What are the best protein supplements in the market made of?
Without a doubt the most popular is whey protein which is derived from the natural by-products of cheese production. Whey protein is rich in amino acids which are readily available to be absorbed by our digestive system and sent to help our muscles recover and grow.
What about vegetable sources of whey protein for those of you who are vegetarians, vegans or just highly lactose intolerant?
Well first of all most whey protein supplements these days are either low lactose or even completely devoid of lactose so don’t rule it out just because of that. That aside, some of you may find that most vegetarian sources of protein supplements are soy based. I will stick my neck out with this and say that from all the research I’ve read the facts are that soy protein is one of the cheapest to produce and has negative side effects for both men and women that leads it to be one of the less desired supplements. (If you want to know more about soy protein leave me a comment below and I’ll write up an article specifically on this topic).
But there are other great veggie sources of protein supplementation such as that from rice and hemp that is overtaking the vegan market.
Let’s look at some specific supplements…
Protein Supplements
As a trainer I’ve tried and tested quite a few protein supplements with my clients and have been quite impressed with the following which are also the top sellers in the market. Just backs up the fact that in today’s online world unless your products taste great and have a premium high quality ingredients people will tell their friends and on the internet word spreads extremely fast.
Top rated best selling whey protein – Platinum Hydrobuilder
No artificial flavors or sweetners whey protein – Optimum 100% Natural Whey
Best tasting low calorie whey protein – Gaspari Nutrition Myofusion
Best tasting high fiber and vegan protein – Vega Complete Whole Food Health Optimizer
Have any more questions about Whey Protein and Muscle Building? Leave a comment below and I’ll make sure to get you a reply…
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Thank you for visiting! Weight Loss and Training is a health blog which features all the best weight loss tips that I have learned over my 20 years of training. My background includes a degree in Kinesiology from the world renown Simon Fraser University, certification in nutritional sciences from UBC, and Personal Trainer Specialist certification from Can Fit Pro.
More on Soy protein plz!
Thanks Kartini, I have put a reminder in my future articles to write an articles specifically on soy protein.
That’s an interesting picture that goes along with this awesome article. I wonder what happened to the man’s arm. Am I not seeing it correctly. It looks all sutured up.
Haha, very funny! It’s just a tattoo!!!
i might sound slow but does this mean being that i weight 150 pounds i should consume 150 grams of protein a day if i want to add muscle mass? if so is it bad to consume more then that and one other thing how much calories should i have a day
Hi Danny you need to convert your body weight into kg so 150 is 68kg so you should consume up to about 70 grams of protein a day, but having more is definitely not a bad idea if you want to focus on muscle mass gaining.
Forget the calories as it will take you down the wrong path, just eat sensibly with lots of veggies and lean meats/whey protein, your body will tell you each week!
Thanks Sam I just want to say I really appreciate you and this website, for the past year I have been following this site and wow it has really given me a greater understanding in fitness and health I have learned so many things off this website, and thank you for always responding back you have really cleared up a lot of my questions and I am really starting to see a difference in my body and my overall health thanks again keep doing what your doing, God bless you =)
Hi Danny, that is excellent, thank you so much for that positive feedback, greatly appreciate it!
Hi Sam, thank you for helping us! I have a doubt about the way to drink whey protein shake right after working out. I know that high glycemic index carbs helps the absorption of protein, for that reason people use to add DEXTROSE on whey protein shake, but I heard that it can be substituted by a tablespoon of pure honey. Its that true? I prefer natural and organic goodies, for that reason I use to add honey on my Optimum Whey Protein shake, but I’d like to be sure if it works as good as dextrose. Thank you very much!.
Hi Tharik, I agree with you on that part, honey would be a great substitute and almost will have as much as spike in your blood sugar as dextrose. Great question!