The Ultimate Guide to Muscle Protein Synthesis - Jorn Trommelen, PhD

[great_depression]

Article

About Jorn Trommelen:

• Jorn earned his MSc in Nutrition and Health with top honors at Wageningen University & Research Centre
• He then obtained his PhD in Muscle Metabolism at Maastricht University, at one of the leading laboratories in that field.
• He has won several awards for his research.

Summary/TL;DR

• While muscle protein breakdown is an important process, it doesn’t fluctuate much, which makes it far less important for muscle gains than muscle protein synthesis
• Whole-body protein synthesis is not really relevant for athletes. (often just called protein synthesis in studies, don’t confuse it with muscle protein synthesis)
• Muscle protein synthesis is predictive for muscle hypertrophy.
• Muscle protein synthesis studies are more sensitive to pick up anabolic effects than long-term studies measuring changes in muscle mass
• It’s easy to draw wrong conclusions if you don’t fully understand the methods.

How to optimize muscle protein synthesis: exercise guidelines:

• Train each muscle group at least twice a week with multiple sets
• Rep range doesn’t matter if you train (close?) to failure
• Rest at least 2 minutes between sets

How to optimize muscle protein synthesis: nutrition guidelines:

• Eat 4-5 meals spread throughout the day: e.g. breakfast, lunch, post-workout shake, dinner, and pre-sleep.
• Eat 20-40 g protein at each meal. Amounts above 20 g give a small additional benefit.
• Choose animal protein (whey protein is the best). Or compensate by eating larger amount of plant protein.
• If your main goal is to build muscle, eat at least maintenance calories.

Lastly, please reference specific sections from this article when you see a discussion on muscle protein synthesis. People mistaking whole-body protein synthesis for muscle protein synthesis: see section 4.1. Someone skeptical about a conclusion from a paper because muscle protein breakdown was not measured? Section 2 buddy. Someone claiming that protein supplementation is not effective based on a long-term study he read that found no improvement in muscle mass: section 5 got you covered.

 

[dawn16]

@great_depression

https://imgur.com/IxpmPWo

 

[zenjay47715]

@great_depression Excellent, thank you.

 

[rosaryson]

@great_depression I really enjoyed this! Sure it isn't in a major journal, but he includes tons of data analysis and references to other papers and is way above average quality for articles. Def an inspiration, thanks

 

[rosaryson]

Yeah I justed looked, he has peer reviewed papers out there and cited 350 times since 2015 by other papers. and no scandals, def worth understanding even if I'm a layman

 

[mcolley10]

@great_depression This article is super old and he created a bunch of drama and fallout when he wrote this. It is fine to share, but I dont know if I would call it the "ultimate guide" this is the kind of things noobs read and take as gospel, rather than learn how to think on their own.

Look what happened with Brett.

 

[dawn16]

@mcolley10 brett conteras? pretty sure he got cancelled for abusing his gf.

 

[mcolley10]

@dawn16 ehh not really, he did do that, but that wasn't really why

 

[sttruth]

@mcolley10 you sure?

 

[mcolley10]

@sttruth Yeah bro, some new research data came out that basically proved wrong all of his claims and his "research" about the hip thrust being superior. Then people started digging and found that the research and data collection methods he used for PhD were trash. The newer studies were much more comprehensive, and it made him look really bad. Especially since he built his career around this one thing, and was super aggressive and condescending about it. Well after the new research came out he went on a fucking tirade calling out the researchers asking if they even lifted, and attacking everyone that said the things I mentioned above like an 8 year old on a playground. It was an extremely bad look for him. Pretty much anybody who is anybody in the strength and conditioning world immediately distanced themselves from him for this.

A few weeks after this happened, when he was already being chastised, his ex gf went on a podcast and said that he had been verbally, mentally, and emotionally abusive to her. That was the cherry on top where everyone said fuck this guy.

I'm not defending his actions towards his girl at all, but that wasn't the main driver of him being canceled. The thing was is Brett made this name as the "the glute guy" and single-handedly responsible for penetrating the fitness industry with this hip thrust and why its better than the squat and the only way to build glutes, and everyone and their mother is out here doing hip thrusts, and it turns out he is full of shit. It is the reason I caution anybody to follow these "ultimate" or "the only way" proclamations.

 

[great_depression]

@mcolley10

It is the reason I caution anybody to follow these "ultimate" or "the only way" proclamations

I agree with everything else but these should just be seen as recommendations. Science is never certain. We can only make a best guess or strive to make the best decisions possible using available evidence.

 

[sttruth]

@mcolley10 Ah, its just that I had never heard of this guy until other fitness accounts started cancelling him over abuse.

 

[1981jonesy]

@great_depression "rest at least 2 minutes between sets" is there a maximum where you start to get diminishing returns? Also is this flat across the board for all muscle groups?

 

[great_depression]

@1981jonesy There are benefits for up to 8 minutes of rest.

That said, there are some caveats.

1. This was for strength training.

2. Your rest interval matters primarily because it affects your training volume. As long as you perform a given amount of total training volume, it normally doesn’t matter how long you rest in between sets. It’s the total volume, not how you distribute it over time, that determines the signal for muscle growth.

https://mennohenselmans.com/optimal-program-design/

 

[1981jonesy]

@great_depression Awesome, thanks

 

[lov2speaktongues]

@great_depression /@virginiajenkins

 

[virginiajenkins]

@lov2speaktongues Saved to the permaweb! https://arweave.net/LYlK5k0bbvyv7XeFylErbsbhMxNhLhEkPNfpN1iiVXU

ArweaveThis is a bot that permanently stores posts and comment threads on an immutable ledger, combating censorship and the memory hole.

 

[bvfyl]

@virginiajenkins Memory hole

A memory hole is any mechanism for the deliberate alteration or disappearance of inconvenient or embarrassing documents, photographs, transcripts or other records, such as from a website or other archive, particularly as part of an attempt to give the impression that something never happened. The concept was first popularized by George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, where the Party's Ministry of Truth systematically re-created all potentially embarrassing historical documents, in effect, re-writing all of history to match the often-changing state propaganda. These changes were complete and undetectable.

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[cal1]

@great_depression Does his conclusions/guidelines then imply an incompatibility between maximizing muscle protein synthesis and (extended) intermittent fasting? I'm particularly interested as I quite enjoy the benefits I receive from regular fasting, yet also value increasing MPS.

 

[mark1111]

@great_depression The nutrition guidelines are Broscience.