Open up any bodybuilding magazine (any publisher from any year), and you’ll very likely see two things. First, you’ll see a lot of advertisements for protein supplements and weight gain/loss supplements. Second, you’ll see a lot of ghostwritten articles by pro bodybuilders in which they espouse their own use of 400+ grams of protein daily. You’ll see some training articles and show coverage as well. But the importance of protein will be the number one focus in every single issue, from 1950 until 2050.

It’s true that protein is important. You need it to make gains in muscle mass. You stimulate the muscle fibers with training, and then your blood delivers blood rich in amino acids to these muscle fibers, which allows them to grow while you sleep. However, the amount of protein which is required for growth is a topic which – outside the pages of muscle magazines – is very much up for discussion.

The problem lies in motivation. The bodybuilding/fitness magazine lifeblood is money delivered from supplement companies. Without these supplement companies, the bodybuilding shows we follow would have zero sponsors, and therefore zero prize monies. Without these supplement companies, the magazines would cease to exist. The owners of these companies pay the magazines thousands of dollars each month to allow their ads to grace the pages of their publications, so that tens of thousands of young, pliable readers will be encouraged and tempted to spend their hard-earned money on these protein powders. Therefore the focus of magazines, aside from encouraging more magazine purchases, will be to help propagate this manufactured desire for protein products. This means that articles begin to focus upon the importance of protein. It fits their very agenda for survival and profitability.

In reality, there have been successful bodybuilders who were able to build a great deal of muscle on low amounts of protein. Sergio Olivia, Arnold’s nemesis on the Mr. Olympia stage in the 1970s, was known for his Pizza/Coke diet. His use of steroids and possession of terrific genetics more than made up for it. If this man was able to win several Mr. Olympia titles without the use of much protein, it stands to reason that you will probably be able to make decent gains without the use of much protein.

The Food & Drug Administration says that you will be perfectly healthy while consuming only 50 grams of protein per day. Most bodybuilders consume this each meal! Many bodybuilders consume anywhere from 300 to 500 grams of protein daily. Unless you’re consuming enough anabolics to kill a horse, chances are very high you will not use anything beyond 300 grams of protein. So we can reasonably ascertain that ideal protein consumption for muscle-building purposes is somewhere between 50 (the FDA recommendation) and 350 (our own natural ceiling of absorption). This article isn’t designed to deliver a magic number – that number will change for every individual depending upon dozens of factors, including genetics, training experience, and more. The point it that you shouldn’t believe everything you read (from profit-purposed protein-peddling publishers), and you should work to find your own best individual protein number.

If you like this article, click here to share: