Common Belief's About Nutrition And Exercise

Strength Trainers and Extra Protein.
Whilst it is true that protein is responsible for laying down the basic building blocks of muscles, poor muscle building is unlikely to be due to any deficiency. A typical diet is more than adequate to supply needs. Since muscle itself only consists of 22% protein to put on 4kg of muscle per year requires less than 1kg of protein i.e 2.4g extra per day. Remember that a strength trainer will be eating more total calories anyway. So a daily intake of 15% of those calories will automatically increase protein intake.

Protein supplements may be beneficial for athletes with large build who are on heavy resistance training schedules. This makes protein requirements very high and difficult to meet from normal eating alone (e.g. a strength training athlete weighting 100kg may require as much as 150-180g protein per day). Protein supplements may also be beneficial for athletes on weight loss plan (they seem to help conserve lean tissue) or for vegetarian athletes to account for the incomplete digestion of the plant sources of protein they consume.

Carbohydrates are the only fuel used for exercise.
Fat is actually a major store of energy in the body and it is used mainly with carbohydrates in low intensity, longer duration exercise. At higher intensity and in anaerobic activities, carbohydrates in the form of glycogen will be used as the fuel since fat has low water solubility and cannot be metabolised quickly enough to keep up with the demand.

Through training, the body will become better at using fat as its energy source since the cause of fatigue or "hitting the wall" is depleted glycogen stores. If both glycogen and fat stores are low, the body will call upon its protein energy, hence diminishing protein stores in the muscles.

Hydration Before, During and After Training Sessions or Endurance Events.

To ensure peak performance it is essential you start completely hydrated. Sipping water throughout the day will ensure you maintain hydration levels. This may not sound practical for everyone but carrying a bottle of water, or having one sitting on our desk can prompt us to drink regularly.

Pre-exercise or event:
Aim to drink 500mls of water in the two hours leading up your session. This will allow for adequate hydration and urination.

During:
To ensure adequate hydration aim to drink 120-180mls every 15minutes, this is equivalent to  few gulps.

Post exercise or event
Aim to replace the fluid you have lost during the session plus half again to account for the thermal effect of exercise