Protein timing

Does it work?

• -It's a myth. There's no narrow "anabolic window" you have to hit after training. Once your total daily protein is adequate and spread across the day, the exact minute you eat around a workout has little to no independent effect on muscle or strength.

The catch

• -The classic claim is that muscle is built or lost depending on whether you get protein within ~30-60 minutes of lifting. In the meta-analysis that tested this, the apparent timing benefit vanished once researchers controlled for total daily protein. The 'window' effect was really just the timed groups eating more protein overall.
• -Muscle stays sensitized to protein for roughly 24 hours after a hard session, so the practical window is many hours wide. A normal meal before or after training already covers it.
• -Position stands from the International Society of Sports Nutrition reach the same conclusion: total protein and calories are the main drivers; precise peri-workout timing adds little for most people.

Better option

• -Hit your total daily protein target (roughly 1.6-2.2 g/kg) spread over 3-4 meals of 20-40 g each, and the timing takes care of itself.

Safety

• -This is about timing, not amount. Skipping protein for hours because 'timing doesn't matter' can still leave your daily total too low to build muscle.
• -If you train fasted or it's been many hours since your last meal, eating protein near the session is sensible, mainly so you're not going very long without any. That's practical, not magic.
• -Spacing protein roughly every 3-4 hours is a reasonable habit; one or two huge doses with long gaps is less ideal than evenly spread meals.

Key research

• The effect of protein timing on muscle strength and hypertrophy: a meta-analysisJ Int Soc Sports Nutr (Schoenfeld, Aragon, Krieger, 2013) · Meta-analysis
• International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: nutrient timingJ Int Soc Sports Nutr (Kerksick et al., 2017) · Position stand
• International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: protein and exerciseJ Int Soc Sports Nutr (Jäger et al., 2017) · Position stand

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