Research
Energy balance
Powerlifters increase energy intake on hard training days but do not reduce intake on easier/rest days, prioritizing recovery and muscle growth over caloric deficit on low-volume days.
On easy or rest days, do not automatically slash your calories. Most powerlifters maintain intake to support muscle recovery and growth. Only reduce calories if your specific goal is fat loss and you are managing the deficit carefully, but prioritize recovery needs.
ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
Compared to normal dietary intake, most reported eating more on harder training days (n = 219, 71.8%) and refraining from eating less on easier training days (n = 186, 61%).
Why this rating
Self-reported survey data.
Source
The general nutrition practices of competitive powerlifters vary by competitive calibre and sex, weight, and age class
Andrew King et al. · European Journal of Nutrition · 2023
DOI 10.1007/s00394-023-03233-6
cross_sectional · n=305Cited 7×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Powerlifters commonly use IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros) and flexible dieting as long-term nutritional strategies to support performance and body composition goals across competitive phases.Moderate
- Female powerlifters are more likely than males to restrict energy intake and diet for body composition reasons during competition preparation and competition phases.Moderate
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