When people initially think of bodybuilding it’s normal to envision a hard-working individual who’s following a very meticulous plan and dieting toward a specific competition date. However, bodybuilding doesn’t just “end” the moment someone steps off stage. Instead, it’s followed by a post-show period which can heavily dictate someone’s overall experience within the sport, and their chance of having a sustainable, long-lasting career in it.
This is where the terms “recovery diet” and “reverse diet” come into play. While there’s still some debate on the exact definition of these two, we’ll explain our interpretation and rationale for which one we advocate for.
The term recovery diet speaks for itself, as the overarching goal is to RECOVER from a stint of chronic dieting experienced in a comp prep. The recovery diet encourages physique athletes to gain 5-10% of their stage weight within the first 4-8 weeks post show. This is with the intention to accelerate body fat gain and have the competitor back within a “healthy” body fat range sooner rather than later. Following this, athletes are advised to slow their rate of gain and be in a controlled surplus which has them gaining 0.5-1% BW on average per month. This is until they reach a point where further weight gain is considered unproductive.
A reverse diet can still be implemented with good intentions to help a competitor recover post-show. However, if adhered to and followed correctly, small ~weekly increases in food of ~100 calories could still have a competitor in a deficit, and thus prolongs the dieting period. While this can be a useful strategy in some circumstances, for example within the competition season and having someone “eat-up” into their shows, for most athletes, especially post-show, it’s unnecessary.
It’s well-known that a bodybuilder in peak-condition is not necessarily at their peak health status, and this is largely correlated with their level of bodyfat. Therefore, we argue that it’s imperative to prioritise health post-show. Accepting some fat gain will have positive effects on training performance, hormonal markers, energy availability, quality of sleep and overall longevity in the sport.