Strength training needs 1.2–2.0 g/kg protein

Protein advice gets confusing because two different questions get mashed together. One is how much protein keeps a generally healthy adult from falling short. The other is how much helps someone recover from lifting and build muscle. Those are not the same target. That’s why the standard adult benchmark sits around 0.8 g/kg/day, while sports-nutrition guidance for people training regularly lands higher — roughly 1.2 to 2.0 g/kg/day. ### Why isn’t 0.8 g/kg enough here? Because 0.8 g/kg is basically a floor, not an “optimal for gains” number. It’s the reference intake used for healthy adults in the general population. It helps prevent deficiency. But lifting changes the job protein has to do — now it also has to support repair, adaptation, and muscle protein synthesis after training. (ods.od.nih.gov) ### Where does 1.2 to 2.0 come from? That range shows up across major sports-nutrition guidance. The International Society of Sports Nutrition says most exercising people do well at about 1.4 to 2.0 g/kg/day. Clinical guidance used in practice often puts active adults around 1.2 to 1.7 g/kg/day. Put those together and the simple explainer version is: if you strength train regularly, 1.2 to 2.0 g/kg/day is the zone people usually mean. (ods.od.nih.gov) ### Is more always better? Not really. The useful part of the story is the curve, not the headline number. A big meta-analysis of resistance-training studies found that lean-mass gains rose with higher protein intake up to about 1.6 g/kg/day, and then mostly plateaued, though some people may still benefit from somewhat more depending on training volume and total calories. So 2.0 g/kg isn’t magic — it’s more like the upper end of a practical range. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) ### Who might want the high end? People in a calorie deficit. Leaner athletes. Older adults. People doing a lot of training volume. And people who simply under-eat protein unless they aim high on purpose. If you’re cutting weight while trying to keep muscle, the higher end becomes more useful because your body is juggling recovery with less energy coming in. That’s one reason broad ranges beat one-size-fits-all rules. (bjsm.bmj.com) ### Does timing matter? Yes, but less than total daily intake. The practical advice is to spread protein across the day instead of cramming it all into one meal. The ISSN position stand notes that about 0.25 g/kg per meal — often around 20 to 40 g of high-quality protein — is a solid target for maximizing muscle protein synthesis, especially around training. Think of total daily protein as the main lever and meal timing as the fine-tuning knob. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) ### Do you need powders and “high-protein” snacks? No. Supplements are convenience foods, not a separate muscle-building category. Protein from dairy, eggs, meat, soy, legumes, and mixed meals still counts. Powders help when appetite, schedule, or travel makes real food awkward. But a lot of packaged “high-protein” foods are just regular snack foods with a marketing upgrade. The useful first step is boring — audit what you already eat. (tandfonline.com) ### How do you turn this into a number? Take body weight in kilograms and multiply. A 70 kg person lands at 84 to 140 g/day in the 1.2 to 2.0 range. A 90 kg person lands at 108 to 180 g/day. If that looks huge, start near the middle — around 1.6 g/kg/day is a sensible anchor for many lifters because that’s where the evidence suggests returns start flattening. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) ### Bottom line If you lift regularly, the old “0.8 g/kg is enough” line is answering the wrong question. For strength training, the practical target is higher — usually 1.2 to 2.0 g/kg/day, with around 1.6 g/kg/day being a very reasonable place to start. (bjsm.bmj.com)