Other/Mixed Practicing S&S and EasyStrength program vs Protein Intake

[BillSteamshovel]

Was pondering this today - I understand that protein is required to build/repair slightly damaged muscle after the trauma of exercise. This is what makes muscles grow bigger.

If Fred is "practicing" strength skills using "Strength is a Skill That You Practice" or the Easy Strength model then he is not bursting any muscle fibres or chasing hypertrophy.

So does he need to eat the often recommended 1gm per pound of protein ?

Are there any different "maintenance diet" recommendations for example who are practising ie the S&S program vs growing muscles with the various other kettlebell programs ie Total Tension , Giant etc.

Why do I ask ? Recently when I did Swing Press Sandwich and Dry Fighting Weight it was recommended to eat a lot, am now back on S&S and practicing rather than "hypertryphying" so the way I see it I don't need to eat so much protein ?

Any good books web pages previous discussions gratefully accepted and will do some googling to see what I can find.

 

[John K]

Was pondering this today - I understand that protein is required to build/repair slightly damaged muscle after the trauma of exercise. This is what makes muscles grow bigger.

If Fred is "practicing" strength skills using "Strength is a Skill That You Practice" or the Easy Strength model then he is not bursting any muscle fibres or chasing hypertrophy.

So does he need to eat the often recommended 1gm per pound of protein ?

Are there any different "maintenance diet" recommendations for example who are practising ie the S&S program vs growing muscles with the various other kettlebell programs ie Total Tension , Giant etc.

Why do I ask ? Recently when I did Swing Press Sandwich and Dry Fighting Weight it was recommended to eat a lot, am now back on S&S and practicing rather than "hypertryphying" so the way I see it I don't need to eat so much protein ?

Any good books web pages previous discussions gratefully accepted and will do some googling to see what I can find.

If you eat less protein, what would you replace it with?

You do not need that one gram per pound. I would not aim for less than .8 g per lb from a maintaining a healthy diet perspective. There’s lots of benefits to a “higher” protein intake.

If you want a book look up Alan Aragon’s ebook “protein.” That’s the best information you’ll find anywhere.

 

[Adachi]

I weigh 240. I gained a significant amount of muscle from 225 to 240 in about 6 weeks picking up a barbell cycle . My glutes calves and thighs didn't have too much fat on them and they're all larger and more defined after a barbell cycle. The entire way I never had more than 150g protein per day. Maybe would've grown more by eating more. But I grew plenty, got plenty strong and never really noticed any sagging in energy levels or soreness or anything.

 

[BillSteamshovel]

If you eat less protein, what would you replace it with?

You do not need that one gram per pound. I would not aim for less than .8 g per lb from a maintaining a healthy diet perspective. There’s lots of benefits to a “higher” protein intake.

If you want a book look up Alan Aragon’s ebook “protein.” That’s the best information you’ll find anywhere.

Weeeellllll .............. lets see ................. lets live a little ...... how about
Chocolate, Ice cream, toasted cheese sandwiches or maybe just eat less calories now that I am expending less energy per day ?

Thanks for the book recommendation I will find it and read it

I weigh 240. I gained a significant amount of muscle from 225 to 240 in about 6 weeks picking up a barbell cycle . My glutes calves and thighs didn't have too much fat on them and they're all larger and more defined after a barbell cycle. The entire way I never had more than 150g protein per day. Maybe would've grown more by eating more. But I grew plenty, got plenty strong and never really noticed any sagging in energy levels or soreness or anything.

Thanks for the details - you have clearly indicated that nowhere near 1gm per pound was necessary to gain muscle when you did the barbell cycle discussed above. More like 150/225 = 0.7gm per lb ........................ okay I just googled this ....lotsa stuff to read if you google "where did 1gram of protein per pound of bodyweight come from" its could be a myth similar to 220 minus your age.

 

[Adachi]

1gram of protein per pound of bodyweight

I do believe that something I saw on pubmed was citing 1g/lbs lean body mass. Which is not the same. In which case I may have been right on target.

 

[John K]

Weeeellllll .............. lets see ................. lets live a little ...... how about
Chocolate, Ice cream, toasted cheese sandwiches or maybe just eat less calories now that I am expending less energy per day ?

You can try dropping protein lower and see what happens. If you find yourself hungrier than usual or eating more than usual, you may need to reassess your food choices as related to whatever your goals are. From most perspectives that I think from, I would rather look at what else I could manipulate so I wasn't subbing protein for sweets. I don't have anything against sweets, but that's almost always a bum deal.

 

[BillSteamshovel]

Thanks for the replies, was just kidding regarding the chocolate.
I found the book recomended above and will have a read. Am still a bit puzzled regarding nutrition for Easy & Practicing vs Hypertrophy but maybe a bit more reading will solve that.

 

[Halfakneecap]

Was pondering this today - I understand that protein is required to build/repair slightly damaged muscle after the trauma of exercise. This is what makes muscles grow bigger.

If Fred is "practicing" strength skills using "Strength is a Skill That You Practice" or the Easy Strength model then he is not bursting any muscle fibres or chasing hypertrophy.

So does he need to eat the often recommended 1gm per pound of protein ?

Are there any different "maintenance diet" recommendations for example who are practising ie the S&S program vs growing muscles with the various other kettlebell programs ie Total Tension , Giant etc.

Why do I ask ? Recently when I did Swing Press Sandwich and Dry Fighting Weight it was recommended to eat a lot, am now back on S&S and practicing rather than "hypertryphying" so the way I see it I don't need to eat so much protein ?

Any good books web pages previous discussions gratefully accepted and will do some googling to see what I can find.

I’m not a nutritionist by any means, but the strongest i ever got was when I ate the most.

 

[John K]

Thanks for the replies, was just kidding regarding the chocolate.
I found the book recomended above and will have a read. Am still a bit puzzled regarding nutrition for Easy & Practicing vs Hypertrophy but maybe a bit more reading will solve that.

The lowest I see recommended for an active population is about 0.6 g per pound. Nutrition for easy and practicing will be similar to nutrition for health, which should emphasize lean protein, fruits and veggies. There are a lot of ways to “eat healthy,” and that is really advice you’re looking for anyway, but that holds pretty true across the board. The main difference between hypertrophy and health is you’ll likely need less calories. Some of that change can of course come from protein. A diet (or way of eating) doesn’t need to restrictive (I can’t eat that) or prescriptive (I have to eat that). If you look at this infographic you can find where you want to be and what lifestyle traits allow you to live there. It is framed as cost of getting lean but it’s a good snapshot of skills as well, as well as the fact that you do not need t be terribly restrictive unless you have extreme goals.

If you want some sort of guideline, check out this free calculator from Precision Nutrition. You can look at the settings, make it fit you and your goals and all that, including diet preferences to goals.

Anyways if none of this is helping you I’ll show myself the door. I hope you find something that helps!

 

[bluejeff]

I would not aim for less than .8 g per lb from a maintaining a healthy diet perspective. There’s lots of benefits to a “higher” protein intake.

+1

You won't get HUGE off of S&S and easy strength; "strength as a skill" will build less mass overall, but I would drop the extra calories after protein. Focusing on protein first will benefit overall health imo.

Side note:
- there is more evidence coming out that it is overall volume and mechanical tension that drives hypertrophy. Muscular damage is still considered a factor that increases hypertrophy, but the high-frequency studies coming out have shown that equal volume spread over the course of the week induces practically the same amount. In my view, making hypertrophy gains on such high-frequency plans flies in the face of the muscular damage model. That is, you might not need to "tear down to build up."

 

[BillSteamshovel]

Side note:
- there is more evidence coming out that it is overall volume and mechanical tension that drives hypertrophy. Muscular damage is still considered a factor that increases hypertrophy, but the high-frequency studies coming out have shown that equal volume spread over the course of the week induces practically the same amount. In my view, making hypertrophy gains on such high-frequency plans flies in the face of the muscular damage model. That is, you might not need to "tear down to build up."

That is interesting. Will try and read more about this.

 

[MikeL]

I just googled this ....lotsa stuff to read if you google "where did 1gram of protein per pound of bodyweight come from" its could be a myth similar to 220 minus your age.

Sorry, this is incredibly ignorant, are you actively trying to submit to counter-culture in general?

1g of protein per day is a general planning amount for active adults who train. Strength and hypertrophy athletes may want more. The normal RDA is less, depending on who recommends doing it, 0.7 is common. It’s general, because a figure based on the individual would be different. If you want a good figure for you, pay a professional for it. Don’t throw shade on a general principle because it’s not specific though, that’s like critiquing a fish because it’s not a shark.

Same for the 220 - age thing. It might not be accurate but it’s helped a lot of people, especially before the age of Garmin.

 

[BillSteamshovel]

Sorry, this is incredibly ignorant, are you actively trying to submit to counter-culture in general?

1g of protein per day is a general planning amount for active adults who train. Strength and hypertrophy athletes may want more. The normal RDA is less, depending on who recommends doing it, 0.7 is common. It’s general, because a figure based on the individual would be different. If you want a good figure for you, pay a professional for it. Don’t throw shade on a general principle because it’s not specific though, that’s like critiquing a fish because it’s not a shark.

Same for the 220 - age thing. It might not be accurate but it’s helped a lot of people, especially before the age of Garmin.

Thanks for the summary. No am not submitting to counter culture in general.

There is an awful lot I do not know, so yes I am ignorant regarding the amount of protein I should be eating. Am a novice regarding exercising with weights and nutrition and am keen to find out where I can read and learn. The 1grm per pound idea is quite pervasive and quickly & easily found by people investigating exercise and nutrition for the first time. The posts above and your summary all point out the 1gram per pound can be revised and refined to suit the individual. I was naive not to question this previously.......

EDIT : I deleted the previous rant regarding 220 minus age : Short version follows...... When I was 40 I did a 2k PB on a rowing machine holding a HR of 205 for a few minutes and then backed off a bit. I have never trusted any of the HR rules & estimates ever since. PBs on the rowing machine would often see me well above 220 minus age.