March 2022 - Rob Hobson

Everything athletes need to know about protein

10Mar12th October 2026 By Rob Hobson

What is protein?

Protein is one of the three macronutrients alongside carbohydrates and fats. These are required in larger amounts for the body to function properly and they provide a source of energy. While protein can provide energy its main function is for the growth and repair of muscle, bone, skin, enzymes, hormones and other components critical to bodily functions.

Proteins are made up of smaller molecules called amino acids. There are 20 different amino acids which link together in different combinations to form complex structures. Nine of these amino acids can’t be made in the body and must be gleaned from the diet which is why they are referred to as being ‘essential’.

How much protein does a healthy adult need?

UK dietary guidelines (based on a sedentary population) recommend 56g of protein for men and 45g for women daily. These guidelines are based on a dietary intake of 0.75g protein per kg of body weight¹.

How much protein do we get in our diet?

The National Diet and Nutrition Survey (2020) has shown that protein intake in healthy adults is well above the recommendations as men consume 85g and women 68g daily². Some people may need more protein in their diets, such as pregnant women, those recovering from illness or injury, and athletes engaged in endurance or strength-based sports.

What are the best sources of protein in the diet?

The topic of protein in the diet is just as much about quality as it is quantity. The quality of a protein is gauged on its essential amino acid content and you could also factor in how it appears in a food; for example, a lean steak would be considered healthier that a meat pie or sausage.

Foods such as meat, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs, and whole sources of soy (tofu, edamame beans, tempeh) contain all nine essential amino acids.

Plant-based sources such as beans, pulses, lentils, nuts, and seeds contain some but not all the essential amino acids. People following a plant-based diet should endeavour to consume a variety of different foods rich in protein across the day.

How does an athletes protein requirement differ?

Despite the importance of nutrition many athletes still seem to be confused about what to eat. Commonly, athletes consume above and beyond the amount of protein required to support their needs. This high intake of protein comes at the expense of carbohydrates which in the case of endurance athletes or team sports players may hamper performance.

Understanding protein requirements in athletes is often about establishing a better macronutrient split in favour of carbs rather than dealing with insufficiency.

Recommendations for protein intake amongst athletes vary depending on the type of sport. They are given as grams per kg of body weight per day^3,4.

Regular physical activity 1.0-1.2 g
Endurance athletes 1.2-1.4g
Team sports (rugby, football) 1.2-1.4g
Strength/power athletes (weightlifting, wrestling) 1.2-2.0g

Timing is key for muscle protein synthesis

Timing is crucial and consuming protein shortly after exercise is beneficial for muscle protein synthesis (MPS). Consuming protein after training is also facilitates the skeletal muscle adaptive response to each session resulting in more effective muscle reconditioning.

Muscle protein gains in response to resistance exercise are influenced by the training load and the amount, type, and timing of protein during the following 24-48 hours. The anabolic muscle response (growth and building) peaks after consuming 20-25g of protein. Excess of this doesn’t appear to have any more significant effect. This means consuming around 25g of protein post-training and at regular intervals (every few hours) across the day is a more beneficial strategy than higher doses less often.

The type of protein is also important

The amino acid leucine increases the rate of protein synthesis. A post-training meal should be in the form of a rapidly digested protein with a high leucine content such as whey, skimmed milk, and eggs. Whey protein seems to be the most effective at increasing MPS due to its rapid digestion and absorption and its composition of amino acids. Other proteins consumed over the day should be lean and high-quality, containing all the essential amino acids, predominantly animal sources. These can also be supplemented with soy, beans, cheese, and nuts.

Consuming 40g of casein protein before bed has been shown to increase overnight MPS and metabolic rate as it is broken down and releases its amino acids more slowly⁵.

What is the role of protein in building muscle?

After consuming protein, enzymes in the stomach and small intestine break them down into chains of amino acids called peptides. Training causes microtears which trigger an immune response involving stem cells and growth hormone that use the amino acids to repair the damage. These amino acids are sent to damaged muscle cells to stimulate myofibrils’ growth, which are the filaments that make up muscles. These myofibrils fuse with damaged areas of muscle fibres which is a process that helps to make them bigger and stronger.

Do athletes need protein shakes?

You can get all the protein you need from the diet, but sometimes it may be more convenient to consume a protein shake. These shakes are most useful after a training session as they take very little preparation and can be consumed on the go. Shakes also guarantee the correct quantity and quality of protein, comprising all the essential amino acids, including leucine.

Athletes with a high requirement for protein or those following a vegan diet may choose to consume more than one of these shakes a day to ensure their intake. Shakes containing less that 20g of protein are better taken alongside a source of carbohydrate as the release of insulin can help with its uptake. You can do this by blending honey and fruit such as bananas or berries.

Is there a danger of consuming too much protein?

There is no benefit to consuming more protein than is required. It has been claimed that consuming more than 3g/kg/day of protein has adverse side effects, including kidney damage, increased blood lipoproteins (substances made of protein and fat that carry cholesterol around the body), and dehydration.

Consuming up to 2g/kg/day is not harmful. Still, this level of protein intake may come at the expense of carbohydrate and fat when trying to keep energy intake constant which is a crucial consideration for endurance athletes. Athletes consuming a high amount of protein in their diet need to ensure an adequate intake of fluids to avoid dehydration.

References

Useful resources

Joint Position Statement on Nutrition and Athletic Performance – American College of Sports Medicine, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Dietitians of Canada

Are sleep trackers useful?

05Mar12th October 2026 By Rob Hobson

What’s the deal with sleep trackers?

Health tech is ever evolving, and trackers such as FitBit and smartwatches are something that has been adopted by anyone serious about looking after their health. These trackers and associated apps can monitor everything from heart rate to dietary intake.

Many people also use these devices to monitor their sleep, even more so as research begins to unveil the true impact of not sleeping well. However, the accuracy of these trackers to monitor sleep accurately has come into question. In some cases, an overreliance and obsession over the data they provide have led to further sleep issues.

How much sleep do you need?

Current advice around sleep is that the average healthy adult needs 6-9 hours a night¹. Like everything related to health, there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ for sleep and indeed no magic number. The variability in sleep times between individuals may be down to genetics and numerous other lifestyle factors. In fact, a decade ago, researchers discovered a genetic mutation in some people linked to short sleep, meaning they got the same benefit on six hours of sleep as those without the mutation who got eight². Since then, several other similar genes have been discovered, contributing to the evidence that functioning well on less sleep is a genetic trait.

Research is ever evolving around sleep. There is plenty to suggest that a lack of it is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, obesity, type 2 diabetes, depression, and anxiety³. However, the definition of ‘lack of sleep’ varies between individuals, so it’s wrong to assume that there will be health consequences if you get less than eight hours a night. It is also not just about total sleep time but sleep quality.

What are the stages of sleep?

Four sleep stages make up a single cycle that lasts around 90 minutes and the number of cycles that occur is dependent on how long you are asleep.

Stage one is short only lasting 5-10 minutes. Sleep is shallow during this stage, and while your brain is dipped into sleep, you may not feel as though you are asleep. This is the stage at which you can be easily woken.

Stage two is often referred to as light sleep. It’s an important stage that takes up much of the night and is characterised by a slowing down of breathing and heart rate. During the first sleep cycle, this stage lasts around 10-25 mins but increases during subsequent cycles to make up half of the time you spend asleep.

Stage three is deep sleep, and it is difficult to wake people up from this stage in the cycle. The body totally relaxes during this stage, and your pulse and breathing rate drops even further. This stage is restorative and essential for recovery and growth and bolstering the immune system. The body is vulnerable during this stage, so after the first couple of sleep cycles, the time spent in this stage reduces as you spend more time in REM sleep.

The final stage of sleep is REM. During this stage, the body is inactive, but your eyes move rapidly hence the name. Heart rate increases and breathing becomes more irregular during this stage. Bodily functions such as protein synthesis peek at this stage, which is also when you are most likely to dream. This stage is also essential for cognition, learning, and creativity.

So, back to sleep trackers.

How do sleep trackers monitor sleep?

Sleep trackers monitor sleep by movement and heart rate, but their accuracy is certainly not 100%. Just because you’re not moving doesn’t necessarily mean you are asleep, which is a flaw in the tech. Wearables that monitor heart rate are likely to be a little more accurate at defining between the sleep stages as it fluctuates between them.

Only a few studies compare the accuracy of sleep monitoring devices set against the recognised lab testing called polysomnography, which looks at brain waves, blood oxygen levels, heart rate, breathing, and eye and leg movements. One such study published in the journal Sleep Medical Reviews found that sleep trackers were only accurate 78% of the time when identifying sleep versus wakefulness. This accuracy dropped to just 38% when estimating how long it took participants to fall asleep⁴.

What information do sleep trackers provide?

Most sleep trackers will tell you how long you were asleep and awake during the night. The data is also broken down into the different stages of sleep, and how well you slept is given as a percentage score. This data is helpful to help identify your sleep pattern and provides a way of monitoring your sleep over time.

How people interpret, this data is an issue with these trackers. Most people do not understand how sleep cycles work and how the timing of each stage varies during the night. A common misconception is that you should be getting lots of deep sleep when this is the stage you spend the least time in during the night.

Sleep trackers also have no way of assessing exactly how much sleep you need. Most trackers give you a higher score for getting closer to eight hours a night, but this is misleading if you only need six hours to function optimally.

Can sleep trackers do more harm than good?

While the information provided by sleep trackers can be helpful, it can’t be relied upon to give you an accurate analysis. In some instances, people have become too focused on this data in their quest to achieve the perfect sleep score. This obsessive focus can cause anxiety and unhealthy sleep behaviours, ironically disrupting sleep.

Researchers have coined the term ‘orthosomnia’ to describe the potential risks associated with people who develop an unhealthy preoccupation with improving the data from their sleep tracker⁵. Studies on the topic have shown how people self-diagnose and convince themselves they have a sleep disorder based on their sleep data even though they may not⁵. The knock-on effect is increased stress and time and money wasted investigating the issue.

Some people may also spend excessive time in bed to improve their sleep scores. The problem with this behaviour is that it reinforces poor sleeping habits and can condition the body for sleeplessness, leading to future issues with insomnia further down the line.

How useful are sleep trackers?

Sleep trackers provide some helpful insight into your sleep patterns, and they offer a way to monitor this over time. They won’t help you get a better night’s sleep, as this is down to good sleep hygiene habits.

The problem with many health techs is that it needs to be programmed around a set of algorithms based on generic data or information imputed by the user. As far as sleep is concerned, wearables do not have the functionality to establish precisely how much sleep you need to function at your best. Research has shown how people become more reliant on their tracker to tell them whether they got a restful sleep. The only way to figure this out is by listening to your own body. Rather than focusing too much on numbers, it is better to assume you are getting enough sleep if you wake up fully rested and perform well during the day.

References