With some recent editions to the already impressive amount of studies on protein and muscle building I thought it was time to reiterate my views on the big P and muscle building.  In the later part of 2013 we saw a review by Schoenfeld BJ, Aragon AA, Krieger JW that attempted to review the body of research on protein meal timing and muscle growth. In this review it was concluded that protein timing didn’t matter as much as total daily protein intake – with a recommendation of a protein intake that is roughly double the RDA – about 100 grams per day.Then in late December we saw the publication of another paper from Kevin Tipton’s research group showing that A 20-g dose of whey protein is sufficient for the maximal stimulation of postabsorptive rates of something called myofibrillar muscle protein synthesis (A marker of muscle growth) in rested and exercised muscle resistance-trained, young men.Adding these two papers to what we know about protein and we come to the following suggestions:1) Muscle Protein synthesis can be maximally stimulated…2) It takes 20-40 grams of protein to reach this maximal level of stimulation (depending on the protein source)3) Once stimulated it takes about 4-6 hours for a muscle to be ready to be stimulated by amino acids again.4) Weight training is what sensitizes a muscle group to the anabolic affects of protein…5) This sensitization caused by a weight training session lasts anywhere from 48-72 hours.While the verdict is still out on protein timing (whether or not you need to eat protein immediately after your workout) the fact remains that it doesn’t seem as if this is a BAD time to eat protein.

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More Protein, More Muscle… | Brad Pilon's 'Eat Blog Eat'