Within sport context, protein intake is linked to muscle mass increase and speeding-up recovery.
But, is more better? What happens if an athlete takes too much protein? What if the athlete doesn’t reach the minimum requirements? Does the same person always take the same amount of protein?
This article will try to answer all these questions and explain which are the optimum protein intakes for athletes according to the kind of training done and its goal.
The function of proteins
The role of proteins (amino acids) in the body is mainly structural, not energetic. This means that its main function is to create and maintain structures (muscle, tissues, organs, etc.), and not to be used as fuel or energy source, although in extreme situations this happens. This would be like burning your home furniture in the chimney to heat your home.
This means that protein should be taken constantly, periodically and continuously, to maintain all organic structures.
However fat and carbohydrates, which have energy functions, can have a periodised intake according to energy expenditure, meaning taking higher amounts on days with greater training load since the caloric expenditure is greater, and less when the load is lower or on rest days.
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Factors that influence protein requirements
Although protein must be taken in similar amounts each day and frequently (being advisable to have an intake every 4 to 6 hours), there are certain factors that can modify the daily protein requirements for a person.
These factors are the following:
- Body mass: protein intake is determined by body mass (grams of protein per kilogram of body mass). Hence, people with a hight body mass will need to take a larger amount of protein, at least in absolute values.
- Kind of workout: strength sports or those that aim for a notable muscle mass increase, will require a greater daily protein intake. This is basically because a muscle mass increase demands a positive nitrogen balance. Nevertheless endurance sports also need to ensure a minimum amount of protein to prevent muscular catabolism, due to the high calorie expenditure these sports might have.
- Training load: the greater the training load, the higher the protein intake might be. Training load is usually tied to the athlete’s level, being the most experienced or highest level athletes, those capable to carry out and support greater work loads.
- Goal: protein intake requirements can be increased in those programs which goal is to increase muscle mass, or even those which aim to lose fat preserving muscle mass.
All these factors establish a recommended daily protein intake, which rather than setting a certain value, are adapted to a range of relative values, according to the person or athlete’s body mass.
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How much daily protein is necessary?
Taking the above factors together, the following recommended daily protein intake ranges are determined.
Arranged from smaller to larger protein intake requirements, the following can be established:
- Sedentary adults
- Endurance athletes
- Strength athletes and/or those seeking to increase muscle mass
People who need less amount of daily protein are sedentary adults, with approximately 0,8 to 1 g/kg. This is because they usually have less muscle mass to maintain and have no post exercise recovery needs.
Endurance athletes would be the next population group in terms of daily protein intake requirements, establishing a daily protein intake range between 1.2 and 2 g/kg.
Thus, the criteria for moving towards one side of the recommended intake or the other, would be the training load and level of these athletes:
- Novice athletes and low training load: 1 to 1,2 g/kg.
- Well trained amateur athletes: 1.4 to 1.6 g/kg.
- Elite athletes with a high training load: 2 g/kg.
These quantities can increase up to 0.5 g/kg more, if the athlete is following a calorie deficit plan aiming to reduce fat mass.
Finally, those athletes with the most protein intake requirement along the day are those aiming for an increase in muscle mass, being possible to reach up to 3 g/kg daily in some cases.
However, the following recommendation phases can be established:
- Consensus and standardised international recommendation: 1.4 to 2 g/kg.
- Experienced athletes with a high training load: 2 to 2.5 g/kg.
- Experienced athletes in a calorie restriction period: 2.5-3 g / kg.
In any case, it’s worth remembering that besides the importance of reaching the daily recommended protein intake, it’s also very important to keep a continued timing, every 4 to 6 hours.
This can be easily achieved including protein foods in the main meals and using protein supplements (bars, shakes), after training or as snacks.
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Risk of excessive protein intake
Should a person or athlete worry about an excessive protein intake? Since protein has a main role in muscle mass synthesis, is it true that the greater the protein intake, the greater the muscle mass growth?
These two questions have the same answer. Increasing protein intake, combined with the appropriate training, is going to increase muscle mass, but to a certain limit where a greater protein intake will not develop greater muscle mass. In this case, an excessive protein intake may entail a number of risks, to a greater or lesser extent, such as the following:
- Increase in fat mass, by metabolising excess calorie intake and storing it as ‘fuel’.
- Liver overload, which, if the liver is affected for other reasons, could worsen the situation.
- Renal overload, which, in case of kidney problems, could aggravate the situation.
Risk of lack protein intake
Finally, it’s also important to consider the possible consequences of a daily protein intake deficiency. Are there truly risks that protein intake doesn’t reach the minimum recommended requirements?
The answer is YES. An inadequate protein intake (that could be aggravated by an excessive calorie deficit), can have the following effects:
- Sarcopenia: loss of muscle mass due to a negative nitrogen balance.
- Difficulty to recover due to low amino acid availability.
- Reduced positive adaptation to training or even negative adaptation, due to improper recovery processes or cell signalling.
