Will eating more protein cause me to bulk up?
Will eating more protein cause me to bulk up?
Ingesting protein does stimulate the rate of muscle protein synthesis, but the signalling the body gets from cycling is very different to weight lifting. Your body will adapt to the stress you put on it, so if you don’t lift heavy weights, you won’t build bulky muscles.
The standard recommendation for protein is 0.8g per kilo of body mass per day. If you train regularly (three times per week or more), you’ll need to increase this to around 1.5g per kilo. For cyclists training at very high volumes and often with an energy deficit, this can increase up to 2g/kg.
The body needs between 20-25g of protein per serving to maximally stimulate the rate of new muscle protein production. To support your lean muscle mass as efficiently as possible, this intake should be repeated every three to four hours, spread throughout the day. Eat any more than this and you won’t see better results, chances are you’ll just excrete the excess.
So where can you get this protein from? And are natural or processed protein sources more effective?