Dr. Layne Norton Says Total Protein Intake ‘Biggest Lever’ for Muscle Growth, Lays Out How to Train to Failure

Dr. Layne Norton is revered in the fitness industry, having pushed his natural limits as a bodybuilder and powerlifter. In a recent episode of the Andrew Huberman Lab Podcast published on August 12, 2024, Norton unpacked training to failure, reps in reserve, protein intake, timing, and how to maximize muscle growth. 

As mentioned above, Dr. Norton has substantial experience testing himself in sanctioned sports, but his academic résumé is just as impressive if not more. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry with Honors at Eckerd College PhD and studied Nutritional Sciences at the University of Illinois. 

His contributions to the scientific community have turned him into a star on and off the campus. Today, he boasts a staggering 402,000 YouTube subscribers, regularly imparting wisdom and tips supported by his athletic ventures alongside years of studying fitness, nutrition, and exercise.

Fans continue to absorb any knowledge they can from Dr. Norton, who was known for some top-notch lifts, including a 668-pound squat (former IPF World Record), 391-pound bench press, and a 727-pound deadlift (105-kilogram weight class). 

Dr. Layne Norton Defines Training to Failure, Talks Reps in Reserve, and Protein Intake Being the ‘Biggest Lever’ for Muscle Growth

According to Norton, training to failure is defined as being unable to complete another concentric repetition without breaking form. 

“You define failure as the way I define failure which is you cannot take the weight through another concentric repetition without breaking form. Reps in reserve would be an RIR of one means you stopped one rep shy of failure. An RIR of two, you stop two reps shy of failure, and so on and so forth.” 

While he argues that you need to get ‘close to failure’ for muscular hypertrophy, when it comes to strength gains, he says you’re probably better off not going to failure very often. 

“I’ll give you the answers first that are straight down the line scientific answers. For muscular hypertrophy, you need to get close to failure but you probably don’t need to train to failure to maximize hypertrophy but you’ve got to get pretty close. You can be stronger but to maximize strength, you’re probably better off not touching failure very often.” 

As Arnold Schwarzenegger has referenced, protein timing or distribution isn’t as important as the overall intake, which is why Dr. Norton described it as the ‘biggest lever’ for gaining as much muscle as possible.

“The randomized control trials say eh protein distribution doesn’t seem to matter but again, when you inject the truth serum, I think it does matter a little bit. Does it matter as much as total protein? Absolutely not.

That is by far the biggest lever. But again, if my context is I want to become the most muscular strongest human being I can be which I do because that’s where I compete, I’m going to distribute my protein probably over four to five meals a day.” 

Dr. Norton has trained for over 20 years all for the sake of building power and muscle. He prefers eating 3-5 meals a day with an average of 50 grams of protein during each sitting. 

“My first meal is usually within an hour [of waking up]. Then I usually eat within an hour of going to bed, then I’ll have two or three meals in between those. Usually, I have about four meals a day, sometimes I’ll have five,” shares Dr. Norton. “Sometimes it ends up being mostly protein, or whatnot, but for the most part there’s a mix in each one. Usually around 50 grams of protein at a meal. I eat about 235 grams of protein a day. Some people would argue well that’s more than you need.”

Although optimal protein intake amounts differ depending on who you ask, Dr. Norton underlines that scientific studies and experiments often ‘tell you what not to do more often than they tell you what to do.’ With that in mind, he doesn’t believe there is a specific amount of protein that ‘maxes out’ the protein synthesis response. 

“The research has shown 1.6 grams per kg maxes out the response. Here’s the thing, scientific experiments are big blunt instruments. They’ll tell you what not to do more often than they will tell you what to do. When it comes to protein, my personal opinion, I guess this is a little bit of intuition based on years of studying the stuff, I don’t know if there’s an actual amount of protein that maxes out the protein synthesis response.” 

He adds that no one can add ‘slabs of lean tissue’ with protein alone; an effective stimulus is needed, which has to come from resistance training or hard stretching. 

“The process because when you eat protein, you’re not just going to start laying down slabs of lean tissue just from eating protein. There has to be a stimulus, which is resistance training or some people would argue you could stretch really hard and get the same thing, there might be some evidence of that,” shares Dr. Norton. 

Dr. Norton explains that even if training doesn’t result in noticeable muscle growth, the ‘remodeling’ process thanks to protein use is good for you. 

“Either way it’s mechanical tension. So, that’s the stimulus to build muscle, to lay down lean tissue. But the process of remodeling is probably beneficial for multiple reasons. So when you eat protein, like we said, synthesis goes up degradation goes up because you’re stimulating that process, stimulating protein turnover.” 

“Remodeling, you are making sure that that protein is higher quality in that tissue by continuously breaking it down and building it back up. So, I would probably agree with that. Then, again, even if you’re on a resistance training program where you’re not really building much muscle anymore, the process of remodeling is probably good for you,” Layne Norton shared. 

From his best and most sustainable dieting methods for fat loss to protein intake being the winning ticket for muscle building, Dr. Norton hopes to enlighten his fanbase on the information he’s collected and curated for years as a career student of fitness and nutrition. 

RELATED: Dr. Layne Norton Compares Powerlifting vs Bodybuilding Training Approaches

Watch the full video from the Dr. Andrew Huberman YouTube channel below: 

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