Competition Preparation for Women – Scientifically Proven Facts: What Works, and What Doesn’t? – Part 2

Dear Readers, Dear Peak Performance Products Customers,

In Part 1 of my three-part series, I shared with you the interesting findings of a long-term study from the TV weight-loss show “The Biggest Loser.” To sum it up in one sentence: “Participants lost weight quickly and then regained it just as quickly, with lasting metabolic changes that persisted even six years after the program ended.” Examples like these naturally raise awareness among active athletes—and female athletes in particular—who push themselves to the absolute limit while preparing for competitions. Until now, women in particular have found it difficult to obtain comprehensive and reliable information about the changes and effects of such training. My post today presents a study that set out to change that. The researchers followed active female competitive athletes over several months of their actual preparation period and beyond to determine what really happens in a woman’s body when she attempts to minimize body fat while maintaining muscle mass. You’ll find out the results today!
Enjoy the read!

Representative Study with IFBB Female Athletes

A study covering the preparation period and beyond

Hulmi et al. (12) investigated how classic competition preparation—consisting of a hypocaloric diet combined with a high training load—affects physiological and psychological markers in female athletes over several months. What makes this study particularly interesting is that it also tracked the typical “re-feeding” phase following the diet over several months to determine to what extent body composition and strength levels—as well as endocrine and cardiovascular markers—return to their baseline states or, as seen on “The Biggest Loser,” remain permanently altered.

Who were the participants, and what was tested?

In total, after accounting for all dropouts, the study consisted of 50 volunteer participants, 27 of whom were in the “athletes’ group”—17 of whom competed in the IFBB Bikini division, 9 in the IFBB Figure division, and 1 athlete in the IFBB Fitness Performance division (which, unfortunately, does not exist in Germany). All participants had similar baseline characteristics at the start of the study and followed similar guidelines, including their preparation strategies. Fifteen of the active participants were undergoing their first competition preparation; the remaining participants had already completed 1 to 4 preparations prior to the study. Twenty-three female volunteers without competitive ambitions formed the control group. The diet phase lasted an average of 19.8 weeks, and the recovery phase 17.5 weeks. The researchers examined periods of 22.4 and 19.2 weeks, respectively. Blood samples were collected on each of the three test days. Body composition was determined using DXA, BIA, and calipers. To determine additional values, ultrasound measurements, blood pressure measurements, and strength tests were also conducted.

The Training

During the preparation phase, all participants followed a typical split routine, primarily performing HIIT (10–25 minutes at intervals of 15–45/30–60) or a combination of HIIT and steady-state cardio. Cardio training was sometimes conducted separately from strength training but also took place in conjunction with it. Overall, the participants in the test group trained 4.7 times per week in strength training throughout the entire study period and increased their cardio training frequency from 3.6 to an average of 4.9 times per week. On average, the lower body was trained 1.4 times per week, while the upper body was worked out 1.1 times per week. In addition, there was, of course, posing training with sessions ranging from 40 to 90 minutes in length.

Note
: As an experienced competitor, one would describe a workout program like this as “completely normal” and therefore entirely representative.

Nutrition

Nutrition was adjusted primarily through carbohydrate intake throughout the preparation period. Protein intake was high, while fat intake was kept at a moderate level. Overall, energy intake decreased by an average of 22.9% during the diet (for example, from 2,000 to 1,542 calories). Toward the end of the preparation period, training frequency was reduced in the final week, while carbohydrate intake—and thus energy intake—was adjusted to near baseline levels. The specific goal here was to replenish muscle glycogen stores to give the muscles a full, plump appearance.

  Conclusion
: By reducing the carbohydrate content of their diet almost exclusively, the participants reduced their energy intake by about 23%, while simultaneously increasing their level of physical activity. Here, too, we see a completely standard approach from active competition coaching, although there are certainly cases in which female athletes are prescribed much stricter calorie-restriction guidelines—even below their basal metabolic rate—for several weeks. Thankfully, this mistake was not made here.

Results

Body Composition

In terms of body composition, there was a reduction in fat mass from an average of 14.6 kg to 7.1 kg (a reduction of approximately 48% to a body fat percentage of about 12.5%) as measured by DXA, which then rose again to 12.7 kg after the recovery phase. According to BIA, the changes were similar. Starting at an average of 12.8 kg, the values dropped to 6.6 kg (a reduction of approximately 49% to a body fat percentage of about 11.68%), only to rise again to 11.2 kg. According to caliper measurements, the initial fat mass averaged 16.3 kg; after a reduction to 10.4 kg (a reduction of approximately 36% to a body fat percentage of about 18.4%), it increased again to 16.4 kg following the recovery phase. There were hardly any differences in body fat distribution before and after the examination.
The competition diet resulted in fat loss ranging from about 36% to 49%, bringing body fat percentage to between about 11.7% and 18.4%.
According to DXA measurements, the participants actually gained lean body mass (0.4 kg) during the preparation phase and increased this value by another 0.3 kg during the recovery phase. According to BIA measurements, lean body mass decreased by an average of 1.5 kg by the time of the competition and subsequently increased again by 0.8 kg, resulting in a slight net loss of 0.7 kg. According to caliper measurements, there was a significant reduction in fat-free mass, initially by 1.9 kg and still by 1.7 kg during the recovery phase.
Depending on the measurement method, muscle mass was either gained—in the best-case scenario—or lost by up to 1.7 kg over the entire duration of the study.

Bones

Bone composition did not change negatively.

Strength Values

As expected, the diet affected strength performance in the bench press, while isometric and explosive strength performance in the leg extension remained unchanged.

Hormones

Over the course of the preparation phase, levels of leptin, testosterone, T3 (active thyroid hormone), and estrogen (estradiol) decreased. During the recovery phase (as we recall—a 17.5-week period), leptin and estrogen levels returned to baseline, while testosterone and T3 were still measured as slightly, though no longer significantly, below baseline after the observation period (19.2 weeks). Interestingly, no significant changes in cortisol levels were observed in either the control group or the active group.

Conclusion

Competition diets significantly alter hormone markers! Not all of them returned to baseline levels within 4 months or more.

Side Note—Free Thyroid Hormone Levels

It is interesting to note, particularly with regard to the active thyroid hormone T3, how levels plummeted again—especially during the final weeks of the preparation period—only to rise rapidly again afterward, at least in the short term, due to the return to the baseline diet (cheating/refeed?!). After this brief spike, the available amount dropped sharply again, recovering only very slowly and not fully. This clearly demonstrates the dependence of free thyroid hormone levels on nutritional status.

Cardiovascular Markers

In fact, markers of the cardiovascular system also changed over the course of the diet phase. These include systolic blood pressure and heart rate. Interestingly, the latter did not fully return to its original value even after the recovery phase. I will propose a theory regarding this in Part 3. Hemoglobin levels (red blood pigment) also decreased during the weight-loss weeks but returned to their original levels during the recovery phase.

Conclusion

Competition preparation does not stop at changes in cardiovascular markers and blood properties.

Menstrual Cycle

With regard to changes in the menstrual cycle, the diet group reported a higher rate of missed periods compared to the control group (44% versus 22%). Similarly, more irregularities in menstrual bleeding were observed in the group of female athletes (63% versus 30%). Interestingly, even after the recovery phase, 7 out of 25 women in the active group had not yet resumed menstruation, while the rate in the control group was only 3 out of 22 (in total, three participants from both groups did not provide data on this). Incidentally, hormonal contraceptives had no significant influence on the occurrence of menstrual cycle disturbances.

Conclusion
: Competitive bodybuilding does not always, but frequently, disrupt the menstrual cycle in female athletes—even within the described range of 11.7 to 18.4% body fat and a calorie reduction of “only” 23%. It can be assumed that such irregularities occur relatively more frequently with even fewer calories and even lower body fat levels.

Mood

Interestingly, apart from a slight decline in vitality among the female athletes compared to the control group, no further mood fluctuations occurred during the first half of the study.

Summary
Now we have them: the results of a fully representative, controlled study involving active female athletes and real-world training preparations. While some of the changes were certainly predictable, there were definitely a few surprises as well. Of course, I don’t want to leave you, dear readers—both female and perhaps male as well—in the lurch when it comes to interpreting these results. All you have to do is wait a little longer until the publication of Part 3.

STAY TUNED
Holger Gugg
www.body-coaches.de

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