Research shows that 1.7 g/kg of protein tends to be the plateau in which people see results. Eating a little more than that won't be much of an issue but is likely unnecessary. As for eating it during the day, spread it out. Research also shows that balance is best. For example, if I'm to eat 90 g/day, I should do 30g at breakfast, 30g at lunch, 30g at dinner or whatever your schedule is that day; the point is, don't gorge on your protein all in one meal. Additionally, protein shakes are not necessary, their an expensive and trendy way of getting protein. The point is getting whey protein in roughly less than 20 minutes after a workout because it's metabolized faster than protein in high-fat meats, or casein. I recommend just drinking some milk with a little CHO on the side (or drink chocolate milk). People will probably tell you to drink protein shakes for the 'amino acids' or some other junk. The currently researched 'golden amino acid' for muscle growth is Leucine, and it's quite abundant in milk.
As for the workout portion, you likely don't need to spend more than 30-60 minutes in a gym. As long as you are truly pushing yourself to exhaustion by rep 6-10, you're probably doing it right.
My personal choices:
-I'll lift only 3 days a week with my current schedule, so I don't make huge strides, but I'm close to moving back to about 5 days a week.
-When I lift, I usually do for 45-60 minutes, give or take 10 minutes. I do 4 sets of 6-8 reps.
-Protein: the only 'meat' I eat is fish or eggs (personal choice, nothing to do with working out). I still drink milk, cheese, any dairy. I've not had a 'protein shake' in 5 years and seem to gain muscle weight just fine.
Hope this helps.
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