Post-Competition Recovery in Natural Physique Athletes: Body Composition, Metabolic Adaptation, and Refeeding Responses

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Post-competition refeeding in physique athletes is poorly understood. We aimed to characterize physiological and psychological changes in natural physique athletes across contest preparation and a 12-week recovery period, and to explore the influence of post-competition refeeding strategies. METHODS: Nineteen natural physique athletes (8 male, 11 female) were assessed at baseline (~21 weeks pre-competition; T0), 1-2 weeks pre-final competition (Tpre), and 2, 6, and 12 weeks post-competition (T2, T3, T4). Measures included body composition (DXA), resting metabolic rate (RMR), thyroid hormones (FSH, FT3, FT4), absolute strength (IMTP peak force), and psychometric questionnaires (POMS, ASSQ, EDE-QS). RESULTS: Body weight decreased from T0 to Tpre (-7.1 kg [-8.3, -5.9]), driven primarily by FM loss (-5.8 [-6.8, -4.8]), with modest FFM loss (-1.7 [-2.6, -0.9]). Both FM and FFM rebounded predominantly within the first 6 weeks post-competition (Tpre→T3: +3.4 [2.3, 4.4] and +2.7 [1.8, 3.6], respectively). By T4, FM was not clearly different from T0 (-0.8 [-1.8, 0.3], while FFM exceeded T0 (+1.6 [0.7, 2.5]). RMR·FFM-1 showed a small, uncertain reduction from T0 to Tpre (-0.9 kcal·kgFFM-1·day-1 [-2.7, 0.9]), followed by increases from Tpre to T4 (+2.4 [0.7, 4.1]). Thyroid hormones decreased from T0 to Tpre (FT3: -1.4 [-1.8, -0.9], FT4: -1.4 [-2.6, -0.2]) and returned within reference ranges by T4. Strength was broadly maintained, while mood and sleep worsened from T0 to Tpre, and improved by T4. Eating-disorder symptom severity was highest during preparation and declined across the recovery period. In exploratory Bayesian modelling, larger post-competition increases in energy intake were associated with greater recovery of adjusted RMR. CONCLUSIONS: Contest preparation was accompanied by fat loss, thyroid hormone suppression, and modest reductions in RMR, with recovery characterized by early increases in RMR and tissue restoration following competition. Larger post-competition increases in energy intake were associated with faster recovery of adjusted RMR, although FM regain occurred concurrently. Post-competition recovery should be treated as an active, structured phase, with refeeding individualized to athlete goals and psychological readiness and guided by multi-system monitoring rather than RMR alone. Athletes and coaches should plan ahead for this phase, with structured increases in food intake, realistic expectations around fat gain, and avoidance of unnecessarily prolonged restriction that may delay physiological recovery.