Is extreme protein needed?

[BigRonWannabee]

Would you care to outline some of the supplements you referred to that aren't the crappy flasy ones? I'd be curious to know what exactly is worth buying, in my experience it's all useless.

Creatine, glutamine, full spectrum vitamin/mineral, vit C, E, fish oil, etc etc.

 

[RJ]

I dunno...I just don't think that growth is that directly related to protein. I agree that you need it to grow, but EXTREME protein. I doubt it. If you look at most nutrition books outlined for athletes, including BB's and wrestlers. You'll find that they recommend UNDER 1 gram of protein/pound of body weight. see Power Eating by Kleiner, where she recommends about 1 gram per body pound for growth phases. Actually I think growth is more related to carbs or more so to calories. If you're eating 400 grams of protein..that'd equal out to 1600 cals from protein, not to mention the fat inculded in there. so, a rough estimate would be that if you are eating that much protein, you're likely getting above 2000 cals from protein and fat. Which, in the end, just ends up being high calorie once you factor in whatever else you're eating. Personally, I am now 230 pounds at around 13% BF and I grow like a weed on just 200 grams. and TONS of carbs. You're body just needs the proper cals to grow with all macro nutrients included. BB's have a habit of following the " nothings succeeds like excess" principle and I don't think it's accurate.

I don't fully agree with you on what you are saying, but I do believe that everyone is different and you have to find out what works for you personally. I think what IA is saying in regards to protein is its better to have too much and not enough. Could you tweak your intake to accomodate growth? Certainly. But I think if we listen to most studies done by doctors and nutritionists who ARE NOT BBing-minded, we would not grow as we could.

Use me for an example, I can take in less than 250g of carbs/d while adding LBM. Could I add more 'weight' if I added more carbs, even clean complex carbs? Maybe, but my body responds by storing that as fat moreso than gaining quality muscle underneath. With that said, i have a friends that can take in 600g of carbs/d while bulking and stay relatively lean. Again, I think it is all individually specific, just find what works for you. But there is no doubting that protein is what builds and repairs muscles, so the 'Extreme-Protein' thing has its validity as well.

 

[iron addict]

And to take that a step further, Gimp is talking about HIS experience. And while that may certainly be the case for HIM, it is simply not how it works for MOST lifters. His experience is with himself, mine is with 70+ training clients at any one time.

Most people need a boat-load of protein to grow properly.

IA