Then he walked me over to the next aisle and pointed to another shelf of large canisters that contained more powder, this one called creatine, a very popular supplement among college and prep athletes. It's a naturally occurring substance that the body uses to replenish adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energy system for vigorous muscle contraction. There are some side effects, such as water retention and the need for constant hydration to keep the kidneys from backing up with the stuff. Creatine is supposed to increase strength, speed, size and endurance and aid workout recovery. Cost: $80 per month.

Finally, Collin showed me a fourth supplement he would add to my "stack": NO2 or nitric oxide. It's a hemodilator, which means it swells the blood vessels, allowing them to transfer more nutrients to the muscles. The bottom line: It increases strength and size. Cost: $80 a month.

Collin said if I wanted to add one more supplement he would recommend glutamine. I thought I was already sitting on enough glutamine, thank you, but he was referring to an amino acid that aids recovery. Cost: $20 a month.

Total cost of my stack: About $230 a month for all five supplements.

All these supplements are legal and available and supposedly have minimal side effects, but I couldn't help but wonder where we're supposed to draw the line.

Is it carbo loading? Muscle milk? Anabolic steroids? Creatine? Performance-enhancement surgery? Protein powder?

What's the difference? They all aid performance.

I have no answers, but somebody better come up with some soon. It's easy to rationalize these things because everybody is doing one or all of the above, especially when so many are readily available. You can walk into a store and buy substances that aid performance, in broad daylight with no legal issues.

I don't think I'd cross the line by taking those five supplements.

Or would I?

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Doug Robinson's column runs on Tuesdays. Please e-mail drob@desnews.com.