“Your body can only digest 30 grams of protein.”

How many times have you heard this?  Better yet, how many times have you said this to someone?  Now the interesting thing is how often it changes;  I’ve heard that you can only process 30 grams per day–  More often, though, it’s 30 grams at one time.

So, where did this thought come from?  No one knows, and when you ask someone for evidence to support this, everyone will point to something that a bodybuilder said, or that a mesomorphic gym rat said.  The simple truth is. . .   This is completely untrue, and has led to people not getting enough protein.  So, where does this idea stem from?

My guess would be it comes from how much protein is needed to boost amino acid levels in the blood to kick start muscle building.  30 grams is all that’s needed, and by having more, you can’t increase the efficiency of muscle building.  At some point, I’m sure someone was trying to convey this to someone who was consuming an obscene amount of protein post workout, and since no one would listen, they decided to add some invalid arguments that somehow stuck.

Is that how this myth came to be?  Who knows, but I can speculate.  Either way, this is one of the most widespread myths in health and fitness;  Don’t listen to me though.  You can read countless essays and articles from Dr. Mike Roussell, who got his Ph.D. in Nutrition from Penn State University.  In one such article that discusses amino acid levels in blood for muscle building, Mike says:

“For whatever reason, people have long assumed that you can only digest 30 grams of protein at a time. Perhaps people thought our intestines contain a magical sensor that stopped absorbing protein once it registered 30 grams. Whatever the logic, your body can certainly digest much more than 30 grams of protein in one sitting.”

Think about it. . .  There are sweeteners that your body does not digest, which is why they are both zero carb and zero calorie.  If your body wouldn’t absorb the protein at a certain point, that would mean that there are less calories than you are tracking.  Today, I’m going to eat a 12 oz. chicken breast, which contains 330 calories and 75 grams of protein.  If my body could only absorb 30 grams of the protein (40% of the protein content), that would mean only 132 of those calories would count.  Another question I would ask is, there are only 3 macro nutrients that make up calories  (Unless you count alcohol, which are empty, non nutritive calories)–  If your body isn’t digesting that protein, and there are no carbohydrates nor fat in that chicken. . .  Where are those calories coming from?  Nothing?

Simply put, your body can digest all of the protein you give it, and you should never use a myth to dictate your diet.

Filed under: Fitness Myths, Nutrition by DeVinePhysiques
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I love deadlifts.  It is no secret. . .  When I talk to people about lifting weights or bodybuilding, at some point, I will start talking about deadlifts.  There’s a reason why I love them–  It’s not just because it is my most impressive lift, though that certainly helps.  Before I give my thoughts, here are some quotes relating to Deadlifts:

“There is no easy way to do a deadlift – no way to cheat, which explains their lack or popularity in most gyms around the world.” – Mark Rippetoe

I really enjoy this quote, because it’s true.  I was squatting 365 lbs., but had to take most of it off because I found out that not all of my reps were parallel.  Now, I started them “ATG,” and I’m down to 245 lbs.  That’s a big difference when you’re not cheating, and luckily, I can’t cheat with my deads.

“Half the movements you see people doing in gyms these days are movements you’d never do in the “real world”. Deadlifting has a basic, straight forward, real world application… picking heavy things up off the ground!”

This is a fun one just because you’ll often hear the phrase, “Just pick up some heavy weights and put them down” in the bodybuilding world.

“Your back doesn’t hurt because of deadlifting. Your back hurts because you DO NOT deadlift.” – Mark Bell (Here’s the Article this is from)

Someone told me recently that, after my suggestion, they tried deadlifting but didn’t like it because it hurt their back.  I responded with this quote.

Anyway!  I have been struggling with my goal for a while now.  My goal is to accomplish a “four plate deadlift,” (The amount of plates, when referenced like this, speak only of 45 lb. Olympic plates on one side. . .  This is 8 plates total, or 405 lbs.) I don’t just want my one rep maximum to be four plates–  I’m looking for a working weight, where I can do 1 set of 5 repetitions.  I’ve been steadily working my way toward this goal, until I got to 375 lbs.  It was supremely difficult to complete 375 lbs., and when I moved up to 380, I could barely do two reps.  But last Monday, I hammered out 3 strong reps, and the fourth was one of the greatest physical struggles I’ve encountered.  I eventually locked it out, but it was so taxing.  Until you do this, you can’t explain how this feels. . .   This feeling of complete exhaustion with the euphoria of lifting two times your body weight off the ground multiple times.  It goes along with another quote regarding deadlifts:

“Our bodies are designed to work this way, and when you lock out a heavy deadlift, there is some kind of primal satisfaction you feel because of this.”

The ultimate struggle, and the ultimate satisfaction that comes with it.  On top of that, it’s an exercise that works almost your entire body in one movement;  It’s so effective, that most bodybuilders agree that all you need is 1 set of 5 reps for it to be most effective.  Anything more and you’re not lifting enough weight.  Above all, though, it’s the ultimate judge of how strong you are.  I’ve had people ask me how much I can bicep curl, and I laugh, because it’s a useless exercise practiced by vanity muscle warriors.

“[Everybody] dies, but not [everybody] really deadlifts.”

Filed under: Body Building, Fitness by DeVinePhysiques
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