Fig. 12

Time course analysis during 16-week pre-contest preparation of reproductive, metabolic, and energy balance hormones with accompanying mean average (mean ± SEM) comparison between BC and MBC on a) Total Estradiol (E2) (pg⋅mL^− 1), b) Luteinizing hormone (LH) (IU⋅L^− 1), C) Total Triiodothyronine (T₃) (ng⋅dL^− 1), d) Total Ghrelin (pg⋅mL^− 1), e) Leptin (ng⋅mL^− 1), and f) normalized leptin to kg body fat (ng⋅mL^− 1⋅kgFM^− 1). The BC showed to have a higher mean E2 concentration (11.02 ± 1.61; 95% CI: 6.53–15.5 pg⋅mL^− 1) compared to MBC (9.45 ± 2.24; 95% CI: 3.22–15.69 pg⋅mL^− 1). The MBC showed to have a higher mean LH concentration (88.34 ± 6.01; 95% CI: 71.65–105.0 IU⋅L^− 1) compared to the BC (3.66 ± .23; 95% CI: 3.00–4.31 IU⋅L^− 1). The BC showed to have a higher mean T₃ concentration (122.9 ± 6.46; 95% CI: 105–140.9 ng⋅dL^− 1) compared to the MBC (93.64 ± 10.75; 95% CI: 63.78–123.5 ng⋅dL^− 1). The BC showed to have a higher mean Ghrelin concentration (91.63 ± 8.14; 95% CI: 69.01–114.2 pg⋅mL^− 1) compared to the MBC (40.05 ± 5.71; 95% CI: 24.18–55.92 pg⋅mL^− 1). The MBC showed to have a higher mean leptin concentration (25.55 ± .98; 95% CI: 22.81–28.28 ng⋅mL^− 1) compared to BC (3.61 ± .17; 95% CI: 3.13–4.09 ng⋅mL^− 1) and a higher normalized leptin to kg fat mass concentration (2.89 ± .24; 95% CI: 2.22–3.56 ng⋅mL^− 1⋅kgFM^− 1) compared to the BC (.37 ± .03; 95% CI: .28–.47 ng⋅mL^− 1⋅kgFM^− 1)