Find Out How You Can Use a Protein Supplement to Enhance Your Sports Specific Performance

If you have a sport that you play as an amateur or a professional then you can benefit from this advice. The first thing that you have to realize is that any change in activity level will affect your protein requirements. The more physically taxing the activity or the more frequently performed, the higher the need for protein.
Protein has umpteen roles to play in the body, but for the purposes of this article, as it is geared towards athletes, we will focus on just two: muscle building and recovery.
The body uses protein to first and foremost, repair the damage that you have inflicted upon it while practicing your sport of choice and, once that is complete, build itself up more strongly. Now, I know that in the beginning I said muscle building, but actually, the body will also strengthen the bones, will make your nerve impulses travel faster and will increase your metabolic rate.
Protein requirements remain elevated for up to 48 hours following intense physical exertion - be it from resistance training or playing a sport. If during this period the body does not have enough protein to properly repair and then strengthen itself it will do the next best thing: patch itself up. The results: you will be actually weaker than you were before. This is the problems facing many amateur athletes who exercise like crazy and never seem to be going anywhere and sometimes regress. Note: please be aware that the best protein differs from individual to individual based on genetic and metabolic factors.
The simplest and most efficient way to fix this problem is to add a protein supplement to your diet. This will cover the basic requirement of protein and allow you to eat normally and still make gains. To make things even better use a protein supplement immediately after your activity. This will prevent your body from cannibalizing itself and will also help you feel better - I affirm this because after exertion your bodies highest priority is repair, this leaves you drained of energy; luckily this condition can be easily overcome by a quality high protein meal.
The problem is that there are many brands of protein supplement out there that are actually detrimental. This is due to low quality manufacturing (denaturates protein), or low quality protein source (antibiotic filled milk) or improper macronutrient ratios (too much fat or carbs) or many other sources of trouble.