I woke up this morning excited about my day and went straight into the kitchen to fix myself some breakfast. As I looked into the cupboard (do people say "cupboard" anymore?), I was disappointed to see the same boring protein shakes staring back at me. I know that I have to get enough protein everyday to complement my weight lifting. If I don't get enough protein, then my muscles won't be able to grow, right? But does it have to be so bland?

Well, the first thing you can do to improve the taste and not traumatize your taste buds is to add flavoring to your protein shakes. Fruit, peanut butter, flax seeds, even chocolate (but watch that sugar!) can add some much needed zest to your daily routine. Even so, you'll still probably get tired of drinking liquid meals all the time ' so what's the solution? Simple: Don't drink them all the time.

Most of your meals should be coming from whole foods anyway. You need to get plenty of fiber, vitamins, and other nutrients which are often not available in your everyday protein powders. Even if they are, it just isn't the same, is it? Remember one protein shake supplements were created. Of course, the supplements make their companies money, but they're also helpful for filling gaps in your diet. Most of our protein sources are less convenient for our busy lifestyles. We can't always drive around with chicken, milk, tuna, or almond butter (trust me when I say that all you'll get is a dirty shirt and a bunch of laughing coworkers).

Nevertheless, these whole foods should make up the bulk of your diet, at least the protein part of it. This will make life a little more exciting, and when you do need to add some liquid meals they won't be such a drudge. When you consider that many experts recommend 1.5 g protein per pound of body weight each day, you will likely need some protein shakes as part of your overall weight gain plan. Add some variety to make things easier for you.

In a previous article, I shared the story about my friend who drank protein shakes without lifting weights. In all his excitement, my friend failed to add a tiny, minuscule, trivial little ingredient ' resistance exercise.

If you don't add strength training to the picture, just increasing your calories will not build muscle. You have to force your body to build muscle, since it requires much maintenance. In other words, you have to force your body to build muscle by exposing it to strength training. When your muscles are challenged by unusually heavy weights (at least unusually heavy for your muscles), your body will respond by gradually increasing muscle mass.