What Popular Protein Research Got Wrong
At first glance, these studies make it look like protein is impossible to be fattening even in a caloric surplus.
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We all get to the point where we desire to build slabs of lean eye-popping muscles.
The kind of muscles that sends a message of dominance each time someone smaller hugs you.
The kind of muscles that lands you a hot date who’s eyes are glued to your juicy shoulders.
The kind of muscles that have the power to command nations to bow at your feet with a simple flex of your biceps.
Ok, I’m kidding about that last one, but still, the point is you came here because you want to build muscle as fast as possible without excessive fat gain and with minimal guesswork.
Alright, first things first. Before embarking on a muscle building phase of your life otherwise known as a bulk, you should be pretty lean to start. I’m talking about 10-15% bodyfat for men and 20-25% for women.
If you’re significantly more than that, it’s not going to end well.
The reason for this is a fancy term called anabolic resistance. It basically means the more bodyfat you carry, excess calories eaten are more likely to accumulate towards fat tissue as opposed to growing muscle.
This has been showcased in many studies where overfeeding leaner people resulting in more favorable muscle/fat ratios than in obese individuals (1). Excess body fat causes an altered muscle building signal, de-optimizes hormonal levels, and creates chronic inflammation (14,15).
So if you’re a bit chubby, going on a bulk isn’t wise as you will most likely gain little muscle and a significant amount of unnecessary fat. (If this is you, focus on fat loss first and then bulk later once you’re lean).
But if you are lean enough, here’s what to do next. You must exercise to build muscle and how exercise builds you muscle is through what’s called a stimulus. A stimulus is basically a signal to tell your muscles, “Yo bro! It’s time to get bigger!”
Without this signal, doing everything else correctly is not enough to build some dense meat on your bones.
This signal or stimulus is achieved when sufficient tension is placed on the muscle (2). The best way to this is through a resistance style of training also known as strength training. The scientific research from smart bros and testimonies of jacked bros clearly shows us strength training is by far the best style of training for muscle growth (5).
Not running, not yoga, not tennis practice, and not some overly sweaty group exercise class. Just good old strength training. This means picking up weights and lifting them through various movement patterns while contracting (squeezing) your muscles as tightly as possible and getting stronger.
Got it? Cool.
The next aspect you need is progressive overload. You see strength training provides a stimulus or signal for your muscles to grow, but the same signal isn’t as powerful as you get more accustomed. This means you need a stronger stimulus as time goes on or else your muscles get complacent and will stay the same size (6). That’s simply no Bueno.
This means strength training in itself is not enough. You must strength train progressively to continue providing a sufficient muscle building signal for the muscle tissue on your body expands.
This is called progressive overload and while it sounds complicated, it’s actually quite simple. It simply means providing your muscles with a higher level of stress it’s not used to.
You do this by increasing the weight, reps, or number of sets you do over time.
For muscle building nutrition, the most important component of your diet is how many calories you consume daily.
You should be eating in a caloric surplus to maximize muscle growth meaning the total amount of calories you consume should be more than what your body burns over time (3,12).
You can technically build muscle while in a caloric deficit also, but that’s not as ideal. Without a surplus, your body doesn’t produce as many muscle proteins, compromises your training volume/performance, and impairs hormonal related signaling (16,17).
You also want to be in a surplus because you need enough building blocks to gain noticeable muscle. Training provides the signal for muscle growth, but nutrition provides the building blocks your body needs to construct new muscle.
This is why some guys train their butts off, but look weak their entire lives simply because they don’t eat enough. Their genetics aren’t keeping them scrawny, their nutrition is.
Now this begs the questions, Is there a limit to how much I should eat and if so what is it?
Yes there is a limit! You can’t just swallow down an entire buffet with the excuse of bulking.
This study for example shows a surplus too high especially one that’s not controlled will result in unnecessary fat gain (4). Important to note that this study was done in elite athletes, so the whole, “I’m athletic, I can eat an unlimited amount and still be fine” mantra is complete crap.
So with that being said, I recommend a surplus of about 300-500 extra calories above your maintenance for most people (18).
Advanced lifters should stick to smaller surpluses while beginners can go higher because they have more potential muscle to be built (3). Nonetheless, 300-500 calories above maintenance intake is a solid range for a majority of people.
If you find yourself burning more calories or needing a bigger surplus, go right ahead (7).
Alright once you have an idea of how many calories you need to eat daily, you must know how many of those calories should come from protein.
Protein is 4 calories per gram and by far the most important nutrient for gaining muscle. Building muscle is literally protein’s life mission.
The daily target you should be aiming for is 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight (8). This is about 0.7 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.
There are no drawbacks to eating more than this, but there are also no additional muscle building benefits beyond this.
Now time for carbs and fat. The exact numbers for carbs/fat aren’t quite as important.
Studies show when in a caloric surplus, if protein is equal, there’s no difference in minimizing fat gain with a higher carb or higher fat approach (9).
That being said, the research does make it clear not to go low on carbs or fat as having a sufficient amount of both is optimal for muscle building (10,13).
So play around with whatever carb to fat ratios you like, but just don’t go too low on either.
Alright, this is the part where you’re tempted to skip because you feel you got all the information you already need to build muscle.
But seriously, don’t skip this part.
Mediocre sleep means mediocre progress.
You must recover from the stress placed on your body from training hard. Without proper recovery, your body’s ability to repair and build new muscle is hindered (11).
This is not even mentioning all the other side effects of poor sleep like low energy, low libido, poor health, fat gain, aging, and even an increased chance of sickness.
So make sure you get 7-9 hours a night of high quality sleep daily. For most people, it’s as simple as going to bed a little earlier instead of stalking your ex on Instagram.
Alright and there you have it. You are now equipped with the exact tools on how to build epic slabs of lean muscle.
Building muscle is as simple as providing a strong signal for muscle growth by strength training, providing your body with enough materials daily to build new muscle, and then sleeping your face off so you can recover properly ensuring your muscles are repaired accordingly.
J;, Gromadzka-Ostrowska. “Effects of Dietary Fat on Androgen Secretion and Metabolism.” Reproductive Biology, U.S. National Library of Medicine, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17220937/.
Beals JW;Skinner SK;McKenna CF;Poozhikunnel EG;Farooqi SA;van Vliet S;Martinez IG;Ulanov AV;Li Z;Paluska SA;Burd NA; “Altered Anabolic Signalling and Reduced Stimulation of Myofibrillar Protein Synthesis After Feeding and Resistance Exercise in People With Obesity.” The Journal of Physiology, U.S. National Library of Medicine, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30113718/.
GB;, Forbes. “Body Fat Content Influences the Body Composition Response to Nutrition and Exercise.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, U.S. National Library of Medicine, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10865771/.
Areta JL;Burke LM;Camera DM;West DW;Crawshay S;Moore DR;Stellingwerff T;Phillips SM;Hawley JA;Coffey VG; “Reduced Resting Skeletal Muscle Protein Synthesis Is Rescued by Resistance Exercise and Protein Ingestion Following Short-Term Energy Deficit.” American Journal of Physiology. Endocrinology and Metabolism, U.S. National Library of Medicine, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24595305/.
K;, Murphy C;Koehler. “Caloric Restriction Induces Anabolic Resistance to Resistance Exercise.” European Journal of Applied Physiology, U.S. National Library of Medicine, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32236752/.
Aragon, Alan. “Magnitude and Composition of the Energy Surplus for… : Strength & Conditioning Journal.”
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