Mike was always very disappointed that he never place higher than 5th place at the Olympia and Dorian Yates kept beating him, some say that contributed to his ultimate demise.
I have done some dietary analysis on some of the top bodybuilders including Phil Heath, that consumes on average over 9400 calories/d with 910g/protein per day (3.25g/bw). Phil won the Olympia 7 times. I have also sat down and talked to others at that level and hear the same thing in regards to protein intake. The big factor is the thermic effect of food. Protein raises the metabolism 25-35% due to the cost of energy to break down the 20 amino acid chains in the food we eat. This forces the body into burning fat at a quicker raee at rest and and with exercise. It also cause satiety during the cutting phase who caloric intake is lowered.
So its not so much muscle growth that is being helped rather than the high thermic effect of protein may make it difficult to gain body weight during times of overfeeding. It has been shown that the greater the protein content of a meal, the higher the thermic effect.
The effect of energy content and protein concentration of a test meal and exercise intensity on the thermic effect of food (TEF) was examined. TEF was measured in eight men in response to meals representing 15, 30, and 45% of daily energy requirement; protein concentrations of 15, 30, and 45% of...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
What does current research show? Schoenfeld and Aragon crafted a guideline based on a huge meta-analysis that will help most people. The current data suggests that optimal protein intake per day falls somewhere between
1.6g/kg – 2.2g/kg – or
0.72g/lb –
1g/lb. Now does this mean that our pro BBers are wrong? Absolutely not because these studies were all done on recreationally trained or untrained subjects. It is absolutely feasible that the higher level you exercise at, especially strength related sports, the higher the need for protein. Throw anabolic steroids into the mix and it could all change. So could Phil heath at 260lbs have won the Olympia 7 times eating the same calories but only 260g or protein? Perhaps the loss of the thermic effect of food and the consumption of extra carbs would have spilled over to fat and he never would have gotten into stage shape to win. But then it seems to the majority of our pros consume very high protein diets.
Now is it feasible that anabolic steroids increase the need for protein? Common sense tells me that because anabolic steroids increase muscle synthesis, the need for amino acids/protein also increases. So I guess if you are trying to maximize growth and take advantage of the training and drugs, you have better plan on eating more protein. Is there research backing this? Good luck finding it. Bodybuilders just don't volunteer to be test subjects.
All of these issues with taking supplements? We are all individual and can react differently. I would change brands and if it does doesn't work just eat food. For most people, supplements are NOT necessary.
I had a friend when I was a child that lived on a ranch. They had dairy cows and always had fresh milk. It was so good.
