It depends. If I were a money hungry protein marketer, I’d say “sure thing” and then proceed to sell you a massive tub of something with a name like GET HUGE or BULK UP along with an assortment of supplements promising everything from ripped biceps to slabs of muscle in as little as 12 weeks. But that alone will probably just make you fat and poor.

The truth is that protein is just one part of the equation. Not that I’m knocking protein at all, if you are planning on gaining as much permanent muscle as possible, then it’s critically important that you are eating the right type and amount of protein at the right time every day. It takes more protein for your body to grow new muscle than to keep the muscle it already has. So firstly you need to find out how much protein you need a day to maintain your existing muscle, how much you need to recover from training and then how much you need to support new muscle growth. The rest is all dependent on your over all diet, your training, your age, sex and body-type. Don’t make the mistake of believing that you can gain 10 kilos of muscle in a short period. It takes months to develop quality muscle.

For best results and to eliminate any guess work, find out your body composition and calculate your present lean mass. Make sure you are eating adequate calories spread out over the day.  Base your protein requirements between 1.4 - 2 grams per kilo no more. Then spread the protein evenly over the day. If your body fat percentage is high, get it down to 14% before you try to gain more muscle. Protein is only part of the equation, your diet needs to provide all the necessary nutrients for full athletic performance. For example a deficiency in zinc will interfere with testosterone production. Water, which comprises up to 70% of your muscle weight is hugely important too, as well as Omega 3 fats which form the membranes of all your cells.

Before you spend hundreds of dollars on worthless supplements. Sit down with a sports nutritionist and get a personalised food plan. One that fits in with your life style and budget.