The level of your recovery tells you many things about your preparedness to reach into a higher level of fitness. Your feeling of inadequacy is never a proof of your lacking in physical talent. It is a proof that your current sports nutrition does not providing you enough nutrients for harder regimen. Sports Nutrition Supplements: Proteins and Carbohydrates Protein and carbohydrate are two of the most important sports nutrition supplements. Protein help the muscle grow and gain strength while carbohydrates fuel the body for long hours of exercise ahead. Although an athlete can get protein and carbohydrates through his daily diet, he can get the large amount he needs by drinking protein shakes or eating a protein bar. Yeah, sports nutrition supplements sound so good but they can also put a strain on your liver and kidneys, which is the main reason why sports nutrition experts discourage taking them. Some other sports nutrition supplements also have high amounts of nitrogen, which will only be excreted from your body as urea. While it is true that dedication, good training techniques, and genetics are still the main element in an athlete s effectiveness, the lack of a proper nutrition coupled with the absence of nutritional supplement like sport nutrition product can inhibit an athlete s performance in any other forms of exercise. Food that provide good calcium stores are the following: dairy products, fish with bones, broccoli, and fortified cereals and juices. Iron depletion, the first stage of iron deficiency is the most common type of iron deficiency among athletes. Lean red meats, dark poultry, fortified cereals, whole grains, and legumes are good iron sources. The significance of water can never be discounted because the human body is composed of sixty percent of it, and every bodily function cannot work without water. The good old eight-cups-of-water-a-day recommendation is essential because the body must replace the water it eliminates, like sweat and urine.