“Yeah you know, I am sauced up, so I need 400g protein per day.”
“All the biggest guys ate massive amounts of protein, that’s evidence enough for me.”
I have heard it all and done it all coming up through the pro ranks. Personally, I have done the massive protein intake of 400+g and I have gone low as 1g per lb of body weight. As bodybuilders we are not ones to ever do too little of something. Whether it is more protein, more training, or even more PEDs. But there is usually a sweet spot for most things, so we don’t under do it and lack progress nor over do it and impede our health.
I really wanted to know do you actually need more protein if you are enhanced?
Unfortunately, that study of comparing varying protein intakes amongst PED users does not exist. I think the modern day research ethics board is not going to approve. So, we have to make do with the research we have available.
Digging through some old studies on supra-physiological doses of testosterone and rate of muscle gain in relation to protein intake. Bhasin 1996, took 40 subjects and divided them into 4 groups 600mg testosterone with resistance training and without, or control group with resistance training or without.
The protein intake was set at 1.5g/kg/BW. This is low for bodybuilding standards.
So these 80kg were consuming 128g of protein on average and in a calorie surplus (36kcal/kg). The only group to have a significant increase in fat free mass was the testosterone and resistance training group, they gained ~13lbs of muscle in 10 weeks.
Over 1lb of muscle per week on suboptimal protein and IMO suboptimal training as well.
Next Bhasin in 2001, then looked at the dose response of testosterone in 61 men, separating them by 25, 50, 125, 300, and 600mg dose for 20 weeks.
No weight training was conducted, protein intake set at 1.2 g/kg/BW. The 125, 300, and 600mg increased fat free mass by 7,11, and 18lbs respectively.
Again 600mg of testosterone adding nearly 1lb of muscle per week on suboptimal protein and NO weight training!
So, what are you saying? Less protein goes farther with supraphysiological doses?
Yes!
What we see is an increase in protein synthetic efficiency (Church, 2019). Testosterone can increase protein synthesis rates and pull amino acids from protein breakdown to be incorporated into tissue. So, we see an improved ratio of protein synthesis to protein breakdown i.e. your same protein dose becomes more effective.
Think about who would really requires the most protein?
It would be a guy growing at the fastest muscle gain rate possible right. Like the guys in the study gaining 18 lbs of muscle in 20 weeks! So, a IFBB Pro that is only adding on 5lbs of muscle in an entire year needs more protein? That doesn’t make sense, he simply is not adding near the amount of protein at the same rate. Now, keep in context as body weight increases protein intake will scale up as well.
The question to make is if the guys in the study above had another group that doubled the protein intake would they have grown more? Great question to ask. I can only speak anecdotally that even those consuming excessive protein intakes we still aren’t seeing anyone repeatedly gain 20lbs of muscle per year.
Now, I am by no means a minimalist and want to make sure we all are covered for protein needs. Current science based recommendations range from 0.8-1.4g/lb of body weight per day (Helms, 2014). Then also speaking from in the trench coaching experience many bodybuilders fall within this range and are some of the largest guys in the sport. For myself, this current 2023 offseason I have gone from 220 in the pic on the left to 254lbs, while using 1.3g per lb of protein. This is also counting protein from all macros not just meat sources.
So, natty or enhanced, I can’t justify changing the protein recommendations as 1-1.5g/lb of body weight will cover most needs. This is highly likely going to fully cover all needs whether you are a newbie, natty or enhanced bodybuilder.
If you want evidence based and experience driven coaching education. J3 University is the place to up your coaching game. Join one of our courses for more deep dives into Nutrition, Training, and all things Physique Enhancement.
John Jewett
J3U Founder & Educator
MS, RD, J3U-PC
References
Bhasin et al. The Effects of Supraphysiologic Doses of Testosterone on Muscle Size and Strength in Normal Men. N Engl J Med. 1996 July; 335:1-7.
Bhasin et al. Testosterone dose-response relationships in healthy young men Am J Physiol Endocrine Metab. 2001 Dec; 281 (6):E1172-81.
Church DD, Pasiakos SM, Wolfe RR, Ferrando AA. Acute testosterone administration does not affect muscle anabolism. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2019 Aug 22;16:56. doi: 10.1186/s12986-019-0385-0. PMID: 31440303; PMCID: PMC6704643.
Helms ER, Aragon AA, Fitschen PJ. Evidence-based recommendations for natural bodybuilding contest preparation: nutrition and supplementation. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2014 May 12;11:20. doi: 10.1186/1550-2783-11-20. PMID: 24864135; PMCID: PMC4033492.
