Protein Recommendations For Endurance Athletes

It’s generally recommended that adults consume around 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight each day. That’s about 56 grams for the average man and 46 grams for the average women. But athletes aren’t average. Consider the findings of a study on endurance runners published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

On separate occasions, 10 experienced male runners in their 30s ran 20 km, 5 km, 10 km and 20 km on consecutive days. During each 4-day trial, they consumed a daily diet of protein amounting to 0.94 grams, 1.20 grams or 1.83 grams per kilogram of body weight.

Rates of protein synthesis and breakdown were not affected by the amount of protein consumed, but net protein balance was maintained only by consuming 1.83 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day.