We all know that we need protein to fuel our climbing and training.  However, the real questions are how much protein do we need and is protein supplementation beyond our basic needs going to improve our climbing performance?

To help answer these questions, here’s an article by Brian Rigby of Climbing Nutrition in which he responds to a recent paper suggesting that protein supplementation beyond normal recommendations is ineffective.

“Let’s return to the original topic of the article now: is protein supplementation effective? The answer—perhaps unsurprisingly—is that it depends completely on how much protein you already consume!”

“When Reidy and Rasmussen argue that protein supplementation is ineffective, they are not saying protein is ineffective or unnecessary to gain muscle; rather, they’re arguing that most people probably already get enough protein to meet their needs and thus that supplementing—adding protein above and beyond this normal intake—is unnecessary.” – Brian Rigby

Protein Supplementation – Effective or Not?

As with all of Rigby’s articles, his response is detailed and well researched.  He gives us a nuanced response that not only lays out the science behind this debate, but also interprets these concepts for us and gives us practical advice we can use to improve our climbing performance diet.

“Or: training is both necessary and sufficient to increase muscle mass and strength in adults (assuming an adequate diet), but optimal protein intake is neither sufficient nor is it necessary. If you start training harder and never change your diet you’ll get stronger; if you change your diet but don’t start training, the best that can happen is a bit of fat loss. If you’ve plateaued or are no longer experiencing gains in your climbing or training, it’s possible that changing your diet (such as increasing protein) will help you break through, but changing your training is a much more reliable way to begin improving anew. That being said, changes in diet do impact your training, both in terms of how much you can do and the quality of the results—it just cannot affect your strength or muscle size outside of a training stimulus.” – Brian Rigby

Ultimately, Rigby’s conclusions aren’t groundbreaking, but they do contain some good practical advice on how much protein we should be consuming.  Click through below to read the full article.  You will definitely learn a thing or two!

Full Article: Climbing Nutrition – Is Protein Supplementation Effective?

(photo courtesy of climbingnutrition.com)

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