My Review of “How Much Protein?”

by JP – Updated: 09/24/2016

The amount of protein intake that supports optimal muscle growth is a hotly debated topic in the bodybuilding world.  Most bodybuilding programs will recommend 1 gram or more of protein per pound of bodyweight as a daily goal. Most will also emphasize the importance of quickly ingesting protein post-workout.

In his ebook, “How Much Protein?”, Brad Pilon challenges conventional wisdom.  He suggests that the evidence cited to support these views is flawed or even nonexistent.

This is a rather long and not too exciting read.  It is written sort of academically though Pilon does a pretty good job of dumbing down the science (I’m not that bright and I could follow it). Mostly the ebook works through studies that, when examined, suggest that there is little reason to take in the high-protein called for by most bodybuilding diets.

While, again, definitely not an exciting read, the ebook is very interesting in places. The theory he supports is that adequate protein intakes in the 70-120 gram range are sufficient for maximum muscle gain and that ingesting more than that hasn’t been shown to create additional gains. He also suggests that the post-workout protein consumption that is emphasized by almost everyone as critical in the hour or so after a workout really isn’t that important.

Something that confused me in “How Much Protein?” was when Pilon acknowledged that extra protein may increase the speed at which you gain muscle, just not the amount of muscle you ultimately gain?  Isn’t the obvious goal “fast muscle gain”?  Does anyone set out to gain less than they can in two months, instead preferring to get the same gains in four months?

I agree with his point that more protein doesn’t correlate to more muscle.  I agree that the importance of protein is greatly exaggerated in the minds of bodybuilders.  And it should be obvious that the supplement companies are the driving force behind aggrandizing protein.  And even more obvious that those supplement companies are going to use every trick in the book to paint high protein consumption as a necessity for maximum muscle growth.

But, I don’t know that Pilon convinced me that he had a better idea of what the best protein consumption levels were than anyone else.

The ebook read in some places as someone with an agenda, someone trying to cherry pick evidence to support their theory.  I can think of a few popularly referenced studies that Pilon didn’t cover.

Still, I probably did come away from the ebook a little less of a “protein guy”.  Of course, I would never have considered myself a huge protein guy (at least not at the level of some).

2 of 5 stars: Pilon makes some good points.  There is good stuff in here that challenges accepted beliefs.  Good stuff on supplement industry tactics and how exactly things become “accepted beliefs” even without sufficient evidence supporting them. There is also good stuff on creatine.

But, for the third time, it is a pretty dry read.  The trainer that lives and breathes bodybuilding would undoubtedly find “How Much Protein?” of great interest.  I can’t imagine anyone else getting through the whole thing.

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