Do Beginners Need Protein Shakes? What These Trials Can and Can’t Show

A beginner question that comes up fast: Do I need a protein shake to grow and get stronger?

The best available evidence from these resistance-training trials doesn’t establish that protein shakes are required for beginners to benefit from resistance training. In trials where extra protein was added during resistance training, effects on lean mass were mixed across protocols and populations, and in the young-men trial muscle strength wasn’t different between protein treatments and placebo; importantly, these studies don’t test whether a protein shake choice (rather than reaching protein targets another way) is necessary for a beginner’s decision.

If you strip the word “shake” out of the question, the studies you can actually point to are about protein supplementation during resistance exercise.

One randomized trial in untrained men ages 30–50 allocated participants to HIT alone, HIT plus protein supplementation (overall intake 1.5–1.7 g/kg/day), or a waiting control that later cross-overed to HVHIT. Lean body mass improved in all exercise groups; only the HIT+protein and HVHIT groups differed significantly from control (as reported), and the protein-supplementation group was not different from the higher-volume/higher-intensity group. PUSH trial in untrained middle-aged men

A different double-blind randomized trial in healthy young men (18–30) added a daily 22 g soy-dairy protein blend during supervised whole-body resistance training over 12 weeks. Muscle strength and several muscle size measures improved over time, but strength was not different between the protein treatments and placebo (P > 0.10), and protein made only minimal differences overall in lean mass outcomes. Protein supplementation minimal effects in young men

A third trial in postmenopausal women compared a higher-protein dietary plan (about 1.2 g/kg/day) versus an RDA-based intake (about 0.8 g/kg/day) alongside resistance exercise for 10 weeks. Higher protein did not produce greater lean mass gain than the RDA-based plan. Again, this supports that simply increasing protein doesn’t guarantee extra gains for everyone in these trials. Higher protein vs RDA in postmenopausal women

Even with these trials, there’s still a gap for the specific question of whether beginners need a protein shake (vs other ways to meet protein targets).

1. None of the cited trials directly randomize beginners to a shake-vs-no-shake decision. They test protein intake/supplementation during resistance training, often using a specific product, dose, and form.
2. The results are mixed across populations and outcomes. Lean body mass improved in some contexts: for example, it improved in the PUSH trial, while added protein did not produce greater lean mass gain than an RDA-based intake in postmenopausal women. Also, in the young-men trial, muscle strength was not different between protein treatments and placebo.
3. Beginner status isn’t identical across studies. One trial focuses on untrained middle-aged men, but another focuses on young men and another on postmenopausal women. These populations and intervention designs don’t let you assume that every first-month lifter will respond the same way.

So the evidence supports a narrower conclusion: extra protein can sometimes augment lean mass changes, but these trials don’t establish that a protein shake is necessary for a beginner to benefit from resistance training. Protein Supplementation to Augment the Effects of High Intensity Resistance Training in Untrained Middle-Aged Males: The Randomized Controlled PUSH Trial - PubMedProtein Supplementation Has Minimal Effects on Muscle Adaptations during Resistance Exercise Training in Young Men: A Double-Blind Randomized Clinical Trial - PubMed

If you’re starting resistance training, these trials directly compare different protein intakes during training—not a randomized shake-vs-no-shake decision. In the studies here, extra protein sometimes improved lean body mass outcomes, and in the young-men trial muscle strength was not different between protein treatments and placebo.

These trials don’t directly test whether choosing a shake (vs other ways of meeting protein) is necessary for beginners. They also don’t test a randomized shake-vs-no-shake decision; they focus on the protein intervention during training. What they do support is that added protein during resistance exercise can have mixed effects on outcomes, including strength (for example, one trial found no strength difference between protein supplementation and placebo despite gains over time).

What’s still not settled

The key limitation is straightforward: the included sources do not contain a trial that directly randomizes beginners to protein shake vs no-shake; they instead randomize protein supplementation/higher protein intake during resistance training. That’s why results can look mixed—sometimes for lean mass, and in the young-men trial muscle strength wasn’t different between protein treatments and placebo. Protein Supplementation to Augment the Effects of High Intensity Resistance Training in Untrained Middle-Aged Males: The Randomized Controlled PUSH Trial - PubMedProtein Supplementation Has Minimal Effects on Muscle Adaptations during Resistance Exercise Training in Young Men: A Double-Blind Randomized Clinical Trial - PubMed

That means the most evidence-aligned answer stays bounded: these trials don’t establish that protein shakes are required for a beginner’s shake-vs-no-shake decision. They do support that protein supplementation/higher protein intake during training can have mixed effects on lean mass, and in the young-men trial muscle strength wasn’t different between protein treatments and placebo.