#25 PROTEIN We all know we need it, but when was the last time you monitored how much protein you’re actually taking on board?

It’s often under-appreciated how much protein we actually need to get stronger, faster and to recover more quickly. When you’ve worked out how much you’re currently consuming, you can compare that to what you should be getting.

HOW MUCH DO WE NEED?

As active individuals, we should be consuming anything between 1.2g and 2.2g/ kg/bodyweight per day. Recent research has shown that consuming more protein is favourable to body composition. It’s also shown that during periods of hard or intense training, higher protein intakes aid recovery.

And for those of us wanting to drop some body fat, protein is the main reason we’re staying strong and not also dropping power on the bike. I would recommend 1.8-2.4g/ kg/bodyweight per day.

HOW OFTEN DO WE NEED IT?

Because we have something called a net protein balance, we should be aiming to eat protein every three to four hours. Eating protein has a positive effect, but if we don’t eat any protein for a while it can impair our recovery and potentially result in muscle wastage. What this means is that there’s no point in having all your protein in one sitting. You need to make sure you’re getting some form of protein at every meal – breakfast, lunch and dinner. Add in a snack and a postworkout boost and you’re pretty much there.

HOW MUCH PER SERVING?

We should be aiming for at least 0.3-0.4g/kg/ bodyweight per serving to sufficiently stimulate muscle protein synthesis, the driving force behind making a positive protein balance, which results in that recovery process.

It should be noted that this process gets harder the older you get. It’s been reported that a hefty 40g of protein per sitting has been a lot more beneficial to those over the age of 50.

FOR THOSE OF US WANTING TO DROP SOME BODY FAT, PROTEIN IS THE MAIN REASON WE’RE STAYING STRONG AND NOT ALSO DROPPING POWER ON THE BIKE