Young men who lift weights for muscle growth and eat more than 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight each day tend to get stronger on average than those who eat less than that amount, based on improvements in their squat, bench press, and deadlift numbers over 8 weeks.

In young men who lift weights recreationally, eating more than 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day led to slightly greater increases in strength over 8 weeks compared to eating less, even though muscle size increased similarly in both groups. This suggests that strength gains may come from improvements in how the nervous system controls muscles or in lifting technique, rather than just from muscle growth.

Among young men who train recreationally, consuming more than 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day is linked to slightly larger strength gains in the deadlift compared to the squat and bench press, indicating that protein intake may affect different exercises differently.

If guys who already lift weights drink a 20g protein shake after working out for 9 weeks, they’ll gain more muscle and get stronger—even if the protein is a mix of fast- and slow-digesting types.

For young men who exercise regularly, eating more than 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day does not lead to significantly more muscle gain than eating less than that amount over an 8-week resistance training program.

If you lift weights and eat lots of protein, you’ll likely build more muscle and get stronger than if you just do one or the other—because together, they work better than alone.