Research

Hormonal

Intense competition (five 5-min bouts) induces significant physiological stress (decreased testosterone, alkali reserve, FFA) and psychological fatigue regardless of prior dietary restriction.

Prepare for the physiological toll of competition, not just the technical aspects. A full tournament of multiple bouts will significantly drop your testosterone and metabolic reserves even if you are well-fed. Recovery strategies should focus on post-competition hormonal and metabolic restoration, not just pre-competition weight management.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Our data are the first to demonstrate that a competition including five 5-min bouts induced the same changes of physiological and psychological variables and performance whatever the dietary intake (dietary restriction or not) during the seven days before the competition.
Fabrice Degoutte et al. · International Journal of Sports Medicine · 2006

Why this rating

Clear observation of post-competition changes in both groups.

Source

Food Restriction, Performance, Biochemical, Psychological, and Endocrine Changes in Judo Athletes

Fabrice Degoutte et al. · International Journal of Sports Medicine · 2006

DOI 10.1055/s-2005-837505

rct · n=20Cited 249×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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