A: Dietary protein is important for growth and repair. Your protein needs are calculated based on body weight. Multiply your weight in pounds by .8 to get your protein goal in grams. For example, a 130-pound athlete needs about 100 to 130 grams of protein each day. A 175-pound athlete needs about 140 to 175 grams of protein each day.
* This is one of the most frequent questions we receive from athletes of all ages and sports. For the answer, we turned to Kristen Steele, a senior nutrition scientist at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute.