Anyone ever try Protein shifting/cycling?

halljo

halljo

Member
Basically, for 6-8 weeks you keep your protein at .8 grams per pound of bodyweight... then you shift/cycle the protein intake to 2.2 grams per pound of bodyweight. I've read a lot of articles about it over the years but never have known anyone that has tried it to find out true results.
 
This is interesting. I have never done it but honestly I don't really see the need to do it with all of the BCAA products out now and honestly I'm not really sure what the benefit would be to decrease your protein to sub-optimal levels ever. But that's just me. Maybe someone else can chime in on this.
 
The articles I've read say that once you body gets used to a set protein intake... it reduces the bodies ability to absorb and use it (at high levels). Doing the protein drop makes your body utilize as much as possible, if not all...then by the time you shift to the higher intake, your body sucks it up and higher levels of protein synthesis occurs, leading to big muscle gains. A lot of pro's have done it. Still haven't ever met anyone that has done it and what they got for results. The theory seems somewhat logical... just not 100% sold
 
That is really interesting. I honestly don't think I will ever do it just because of the simple fact that I see no need to try something like that (always gotten great results from not limiting protein). I have never heard of that before, but it basically seems like they are trying to do the same exact thing with protein cycling as you do with carb cycling (which I love carb cycling). But I can't really make that idea work in my head. I understand that insulin sensitivity is greatly increased through carb cycling but I can't really think of a process that would allow for "protein sensitivity".

If the pro's do it then maybe it has some merit; however, you always have to remember that those guys are on tons of chemicals/hormones and they probably lower protein off cycle and increase it on cycle. If that were the case then this would really have no weight behind it unless you were cycling anabolics.
 
then i would save this till ypu reach a level that nothing else is working and then use it
 
Interesting concept... I've never heard of it but it's definitely something to research
 
That's how my diet naturally goes. I'll surplus one day, then eat less the next. My protein in take is about .6-.8 depending on how hungry I am that day. I know its less than what most people take in but my recovery time is the same and I have gained 2.5 once I started going heavy. I have been lifting for 3 years, but only have been lifting strictly the past two months.
 
I wouldn't experiment with this in a deficit, or if you're prepping for a show. But I've read articles about lowering protein for a few weeks, and then increasing back to 1-1.5g per pound. I'll look for the study, but from what I can recall your body works to utiilze the amino acids more efficiently when you lower your intake, and then the when more protein is added the body overcompensates. Never tried it, but it sounded like an interesting concept to me
 
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