The simple answer is yes. Athletes need more protein because they put more stress on their bodies. The muscle growth and tissue repairs that accompany exercise require protein. And protein's amino acids are crucial to many physical processes involved in exercise. For example, some amino acids influence hormones and neurotransmitters that play a role in athletic fatigue and performance. An athlete—or anyone else, for that matter—who doesn't eat enough high-quality protein will feel weak and lethargic and will be more susceptible to colds and other ailments.

However, that doesn't mean athletes need protein supplements or a super-high-protein regime. Most people, athletes included, already get more than enough protein from their diets. The RDA for protein for sedentary adults is 0.36 grams per pound of body weight, or about 42 grams of protein for someone who weighs 130 pounds. Health experts say that at maximum, athletes may require 0.55 to 0.73 grams per pound. So a 130-pound athlete who works out strenuously would probably need about 94 grams at most. When you consider that the average woman eats 64 grams of protein daily, and the average man 92, and that athletes generally eat more calories and thus more protein than average, it's clear there's not a big protein gap to be filled.

Consuming more protein won't make your muscles grow faster. Exercising your muscles is the only way to make them grow. If you consume more protein than you need for tissue repair and other body functions, the excess will be burned as fuel, stored, or expelled. None of these is highly desirable. Unlike carbohydrates and fat, protein is not an efficient form of body fuel. Your body has to expend more energy to break down protein because its structure is more complex. Protein that's not burned as fuel may be converted to fat and stored in adipose tissue (where it will make you fatter, not more muscular). Protein that's not used as fuel or stored in the body is eliminated, and that causes its own problems. Excess amino acids are converted into urea, a nitrogen-containing waste product that puts a strain on your kidneys.

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