Research
Energy balance
Long-term low caloric deficit diets (20-28 weeks) with high protein and carbohydrate diets are main strategies in the precontest phase.
Bodybuilders should adopt a structured approach to dieting over several months leading up to competitions.
ModerateSupportsmedium confidence
Long-term low caloric deficit diets (i.e., 20-28 weeks) jointly with high protein and carbohydrate diets are the main strategies in precontest phase of natural elite AMA and PRO bodybuilders.
Why this rating
The study is cross-sectional, providing a snapshot of dietary strategies.
Source
Nutritional and supplementation strategies of Spanish natural elite bodybuilders in precontest
Henar GONZÁLEZ-CANO et al. · Gazzetta Medica Italiana Archivio per le Scienze Mediche · 2023
DOI 10.23736/s0393-3660.22.04877-x
cross-sectional · n=11Cited 5×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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