It is apparent that, a meaningful recommendation for strength training athletes for a recommended dietary protein intake, based on the literature, is confounded by numerous factors including training status and combination of strength training with other modalities (sprint or aerobic exercise) and methodological considerations. What is certain, however, is that, even those athletes who have as their goal the gain of an impressive amount of lean mass, they do not require an enormous increase in protein intake.
Consequently, as with my recommendation for the dietary protein intake for endurance athletes, I believe that even the most ardent strength-training athletes need not consume any more than 15% of their dietary calories in the form of protein.
These same athletes should, however, be getting at least 10% of their dietary energy from protein, so long as they are consuming sufficient protein to cover their energy needs or surfeit energy required for optimal weight gain. It should be emphasized that, for even for larger athletes (100 kg and greater); a sufficient energy intake to cover caloric requirements for weight gain during intense training may be in excess of 18MJ/d–1 (~4300 kcal). Hence, protein intakes as high as 20% of such an energy intake would mean a daily protein intake of 215g/d–1, which would definitely be excessive by any standard (2.15 g protein•kg–1•d–1). Hence, protein needs of this group of athletes generally should be balanced against what is onsidered necessary.