Timing Protocol
What researchers say about when, how and with what to take sarcopenia & muscle loss, and how strong the evidence is.
The verdict on Sarcopenia & Muscle Loss overall
Leaning for
Resistance training prevents and reverses age-related muscle loss.
18 sources: 6 positive, 11 partly, 1 neutral
Short answer
Total daily protein matters more than timing for younger, trained people; timing matters more with age and anabolic resistance. Anchor protein around training, prioritize the first meal (~30g) and protein before sleep. A fast-absorbing shake helps older adults overcome anabolic resistance (Luc van Loon, on The Drive). Do resistance before cardio if you combine them.
One verdict, worked out from every counted mention. One dot is one source: a researcher or a study. Tap a dot to see its receipt.
positive partly neutral negative Each researcher and each study counts once per claim, however often they come up.
Protein timing matters more for older adults than for younger trained people.
1 source: 1 positive. Fewer than 3 sources so far.
Researchers say
1 positive
Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, 4 mentions on this claim
Positive Video
on Huberman Lab, at 27:53 · positive
“if you are young and healthy the timing doesn't really matter matter and I would say when it begins to matter is when you're older”
on Huberman Lab, at 2:06:04 · positive
“if you are young and healthy and you are training I don't really care when you ingest your protein”
on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 10:47 · partly
“we know that if you are coming up on anabolic resistance your muscle as a nutrient sensing organ is less effective and efficient”
on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 1:18:13 · partly
“we know that if you are coming up on anabolic resistance your muscle as a nutrient sensing organ is less effective and efficient”
Studies show
No study counted yet.
Dr. Gabrielle Lyon Video · positive · 4 mentions
on Huberman Lab, at 27:53 · positive · Opinion
“if you are young and healthy the timing doesn't really matter matter and I would say when it begins to matter is when you're older”
on Huberman Lab, at 2:06:04 · positive · Opinion
“if you are young and healthy and you are training I don't really care when you ingest your protein”
on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 10:47 · partly · Opinion
“we know that if you are coming up on anabolic resistance your muscle as a nutrient sensing organ is less effective and efficient”
on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 1:18:13 · partly · Opinion
“we know that if you are coming up on anabolic resistance your muscle as a nutrient sensing organ is less effective and efficient”
Built from every credited researcher and cited study on each claim.
Resistance training prevents and reverses age-related muscle loss.
Researchers
Mark Hyman, 2 mentions on this claim
Positive Video
on The Dr. Hyman Show, at 21:59 · positive
“we have the capacity we just have to use it or we lose it and if we we get the problem of sarcopenia”
on The Diary Of A CEO, at 1:22:38 · partly
“it will keep your muscle strong it'll prevent what we call sarcopenia which is muscle loss”
Vonda Wright, 2 mentions on this claim
Positive Video
on The Dr. Hyman Show, at 22:11 · positive
“it is never too late because our body is meant to respond to the strategic stress we give it.”
on The Diary Of A CEO, at 51:29 · partly
“over a very short amount of time 6 months a year you can reverse the trajectory of your Frailty but it takes consistency”
Studies
University of Illinois, cited on FoundMyFitness, at 30:12
Positive Study
Open the tape at 30:12 →“they saw significant increases in lean mass cross-sectional area muscle quality”
Pooled analysis, Med Sci Sports Exerc, 2011, PMID 20543750
Positive Study
Read the paper on PubMed →As such declines appear to precipitate a heightened risk for functional disabilities, including deficits in strength, gait, mobility, and essential activities of daily living, preservation or increases in lean muscle mass through RE may serve as a powerful treatment/preventive strategy.
Pooled analysis, Sports Med, 2015, PMID 26420238
Positive Study
Read the paper on PubMed →This systematic literature review and meta-analysis confirmed the effectiveness of RT on specific measures of upper and lower extremity muscle strength and muscle morphology in healthy old adults.
Pooled analysis, BMC Womens Health, 2023, PMID 37964288
Positive Study
Read the paper on PubMed →A subgroup analysis of exercise type revealed that resistance exercise had a small positive effect on lean body mass.
Researchers
Gabrielle Lyon, on The Diary Of A CEO, at 52:34
Partly Video · Opinion
Open the tape at 52:34 →“there is a transition that happens if you are not constantly fertilizing these muscles through strength and hypertrophy training through resistance exercise”
Darren Candow, on FoundMyFitness, at 08:20
Partly Video · Opinion
Open the tape at 08:20 →“after about the fourth decade unfortunately we start to lose these type two muscle fibers and so exercise has to be foundational”
Dr. Andy Galpin, on The Dr. Hyman Show, at 1:08:01
Partly Video · Their own research
Open the tape at 1:08:01 →“the folks who don't lift weights, they don't tend to have as high muscle quality. They don't they start to lose power and speed”
Andrew Huberman, on Huberman Lab, at 11:45
Partly Video · Opinion
Open the tape at 11:45 →“you perform at least five sets of resistance training per muscle per week. If we don't do that, we lose muscle over time.”
Rangan Chatterjee, 2 mentions on this claim
Partly Video
on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 32:16 · partly
“once you hit 30 you start to lose muscle mass every year unless you're doing something about it”
on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 1:26:40 · partly
“above the age of 30 we start to lose muscle mass every year unless we're actively doing something about it”
Rhonda Patrick, on FoundMyFitness, at 55:22
Partly Video · Opinion
Open the tape at 55:22 →“once you start to reach a certain age, it becomes very hard to gain muscle mass, although you can still gain strength.”
Jeff Cavaliere, on The Diary Of A CEO, at 46:14
Partly Video · Opinion
Open the tape at 46:14 →“You can dramatically slow that down by engaging in strength training and engaging in regular weight training”
Rose Anne Kenny, on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 1:15:02
Partly Video · Opinion
Open the tape at 1:15:02 →“because that's how you prevent sarcopenia by keeping muscles moving.”
Chris McGlory, on FoundMyFitness, at 50:30
Partly Video · Opinion
Open the tape at 50:30 →“people up to the age of 90 can certainly gain strength um when engaging with resistance exercise”
Alan Couzens, 2 mentions on this claim
Partly Video
on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 1:07:42 · partly
“you don't do anything that's um not not hard, but but has some some resistance to it, then then you lose muscle.”
on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 1:17:00 · partly
“keeping the strength uh that we already have so that these fibers don't think that they're not needed anymore and start to atrophy.”
Studies
Maria Fiatarone, cited on The Dr. Hyman Show, at 25:50
Partly Study
Open the tape at 25:50 →“over 6 weeks they increased in function 150%. Now, a lot of that was by retraining neuromuscular pathways”
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