Gaining weight to increase exercise performance for sports requiring strength and power, or just for appearance, creates a unique problem. Most people want to decrease weight while the athlete wants to gain weight. If an athlete wants to gain weight it should be composed of muscle mass and the connective tissue that comes with it. This comes from an increase in caloric intake; carbohydrates for energy and proteins, with their amino acid breakdown, for tissue growth, combined with a good resistive exercise program.

Until an athlete reaches puberty they don't even have the hormones necessary for muscle growth and may or may not have the genetics necessary. Simply taking a protein supplement does not guarantee bigger muscles, even though the manufacturers would like you to think so.

As a result of misleading advertising and misinformation given out by teammates and or coaches, athletes easily fall prey to the health food and diet manufacturers who market "high-potency, tissue building" substances.

The key to gaining muscle is heavy muscular overload through resistance training, with adequate energy and protein intake, along with sufficient recovery. A good recommendation is to increase protein intake to 1.6 grams per kg (2.2 pounds) of body weight during the resistive training period. A wide variety of plant and animal proteins should be consumed rather than relying only on animal protein which is high in saturated fatty acids and cholesterol, potentially increasing the risk of heart disease. If the athlete simply added 700-1,000 calories to a well-balanced diet he can expect a 0.5 to 1.0 kg gain in lean tissue per week. This assumes all the extra calories are used by the body for increasing lean tissue.

1. Train hard.

2. A well balanced nutrition program is a must.

3. Most athletes do not require protein supplementation for optimal muscle growth.

4. Eat 8-10 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram (2.2 pounds) of body weight every day. Emphasize cereals, fruits and vegetables as carbohydrate sources because they contain more nutrients than do sugars and sweets.

5. Don't expect miracles! There is no quick and easy way to get big and strong regardless of what you are told.

Literally thousands of supplements are marketed as muscle builders, and almost all of them have no effect at all on muscle mass. Those few that are supported by scientific research are effective mostly in elite athletes who have had many years of training. Plus you have the possibility of adverse side effects to deal with.

I'll say it again: there is no control over the supplement industry. You cannot simply take a protein supplement and watch the muscles suddenly appear. It doesn't work that way. The manufacturer doesn't have to tell you what is or is not in the container. This is scary because some have been found to use "crushed glass" and "fecal" material as fillers.

For a the best pre- and post-workout drink, I personally recommend Juice Plus+ Complete® because of the balance of protein and carbohydrate. Combining a carbohydrate with the protein allows the protein to be re-synthesized faster, not only as a pre-workout meal but for quicker recovery afterwards. JP+ Complete® is also one of the highest-rated drinks in Nutripoints, scoring at 31.0.