'The aftermath'

Since bodybuilding is a sport that focuses on looks, Leone said her initial focus with any new client is on possible body image issues and dangerous eating habits.



Given the sport's intense focus on shape and dieting, it's easy to understand how some competitors could develop these kinds of issues, she said.

"But it's difficult to pinpoint when it actually is an issue."

For Leone, one of the biggest indicators of dangerous eating habits is when a woman stops getting her period — as was the case with Earles.

When the body goes into survival mode, she said, the systems that aren't responsible for staying alive — like the reproductive system — shut down first.

In the case of athletes, it's usually a sign they aren't eating enough nutrients to meet their energy needs.

In other sports, Leone said, the athlete would be removed from training right away. But it doesn't work like that for bodybuilders.

"That's the protocol, for example, for soccer players," Leone said. "If they’ve lost their period, they are taken out of competition until their period resumes because of the detrimental effects."

Those effects can include an increased risk of developing osteoporosis and stress fractures.

Leone said part of the problem is too many bodybuilders get their training and diet information from the internet or friends at the gym rather than nutrition professionals.



For Micheline Poncelet, not having the right information is what got her into trouble.



Micheline Poncelet says she didn't prepare properly for 'the aftermath' of her second bodybuilding competition. (Shyla Berger)

Micheline Poncelet says she didn't prepare properly for 'the aftermath' of her second bodybuilding competition. (Shyla Berger)

Just a couple days after Poncelet took to the stage in her second bodybuilding competition back in April 2002, she woke up and looked at herself in the mirror and was horrified by her reflection.



The 27-year-old from Ottawa stared at her body. To her, it looked bloated and soft. Far from the lean and muscular form she had spent months building for the figure competition.

The night after the competition, she had gone out for a celebratory dinner with her coach and her mother at a 1950s-style diner. She had a chicken burger and fries, and several glasses of water.

Earlier that day, right after the competition, she ate strawberries, oranges and oatmeal cookies.

On stage, she'd been a size 5 and felt like she was in the best shape of her life.

Her preparation had been far more extreme than for her first competition. In the two months leading up to the second show, she was in the gym at least four hours a day. Her diet was also very strict, and she dehydrated herself during peak week.

Two days after the show, she couldn't fit into her size 8 jeans.

"I told myself that my body was just compensating for all the restrictive eating and drinking and that I did not just get fat overnight," she said.

Poncelet didn't know it at the time, but she was about to descend into a six-month depression that would end her bodybuilding career.

"What we didn't really prepare for well," Poncelet said, "was the aftermath."

Bodybuilders call the aftermath "the rebound."

One strategy to help limit the impact of a post-competition crash is what's known as a reverse diet.

It involves gradually increasing the amount of water and calories the bodybuilder consumes post-competition.

Reverse dieting can be tricky. After weeks of deprivation, it's difficult to resist the urge to eat everything in sight once the competition is finally over.

If the reverse diet isn’t done slowly enough — dietitian Ashley Leone said the pace depends on how extreme the diet was before the show — a bodybuilder can experience digestive problems and extreme weight gain.

That's what happened to Poncelet, who hadn't even tried to reverse diet.

"You go from being, hopefully, what you perceived as being the best shape of your life," Poncelet said, "to all of a sudden being this puffy marshmallow where all of your tissue will hang over the top of your jeans, just because you’re so waterlogged.

"It does a funny thing to your head."

Rebecca Bassett-Gunter, an associate professor of kinesiology and health science​​ at York University, recommends bodybuilders try to be open and discuss any mental-health challenges they may be facing during training. (Submitted by Rebecca Bassett-Gunter)

Rebecca Bassett-Gunter, an associate professor of kinesiology and health science​​ at York University, recommends bodybuilders try to be open and discuss any mental-health challenges they may be facing during training. (Submitted by Rebecca Bassett-Gunter)

Rebecca Bassett-Gunter, an associate professor of kinesiology and health science at York University, said those "funny things," as Poncelet put it, are common among athletes who are focused on their bodies and attach a significant amount of their self-worth to how they look.

"If you're in the world of bodybuilding," she said, "you're probably going to be immersed in this mentality of 'all or nothing' or 'sacrifice at all costs.'"

Research into the mental health of female bodybuilders is lacking, she said, but there is a lot of research on body image issues generally.

Symptomatic behaviours can include over-exercising and following a rigid diet that lacks nutrients — both of which are common features of the bodybuilding lifestyle.

"Some of their behaviours can take over their lives, really, where it becomes such an obsession that they aren't actually able to enjoy a normal life," Bassett-Gunter said.

"It can become a sort of obsession to engage in these rituals and different practices that allow them to, in their minds, excel at the sport."

The culture of bodybuilding encourages that kind of commitment, but it's that same intense commitment that can also make it more difficult to recognize when someone actually needs help, Bassett-Gunter said.

It makes you feel like you're in control.

Body image issues can lead to depression and anxiety, she said, which can last long after competition day.

Her best advice for competitors is to be open and talk about the mental-health challenges they are facing throughout their training, especially with peers who may be in the same situation.

Proper sleep and nutrition can also be mentally protective, she said.

Squires hard at work in training. (Doc Ajay Johnson)

Squires hard at work in training. (Doc Ajay Johnson)

Like a hockey player who decides to continue playing despite several concussions, most bodybuilders aren't scared away by the potential health risks of their sport.

Earles said the gratification of bodybuilding comes from pushing through the training needed to become show-ready.

Despite the health problems she has experienced, she still enjoys competing.

When she became part of the relatively small club of people who can handle elite bodybuilding training, she felt special.

"It makes you feel like you're in control," she said.

Dana French on stage competing in the IFBB Toronto Pro Show back in 2016. (Garry Bartlett)

Dana French on stage competing in the IFBB Toronto Pro Show back in 2016. (Garry Bartlett)

That sense of control and self-improvement is part of the sport's appeal for Dana French, 44, a bikini pro from Newfoundland who has competed six times internationally.



She said people who have never competed probably don’t understand what it's all about.

"It's not just to look good," she said. "It's to push yourself to a level where you haven't gone before. It motivates you to be a better person, to work harder."

When you're pushing yourself to the point of passing out on stage, is that really healthy?

Some of those same people who have never competed might also assume most bodybuilders use performance enhancing drugs for that extra push. Bodybuilding, like several other sports that depend on muscles and power, has a reputation for PED use.



It's an issue the sport has yet to totally rein in.

“Unfortunately, PED use is fairly rampant in the industry,” Ultimate Fitness Events said in an email to CBC News.



UFE also noted it is the only bodybuilding organization in Canada to randomly drug-test its competitors and publish the results, including the competitor's name and what they were tested for, online.



It's no secret that PED use can have dangerous side-effects, but what about the potential consequences of extreme dieting and dehydration, or the mental toll the sport takes on some competitors?



When asked about these issues, the Canadian Bodybuilding Federation, a national governing body that hosts amateur competitions, said the sport promotes a healthy lifestyle by encouraging regular exercise and healthy food choices.

In an email to CBC, the federation said bodybuilding itself doesn't cause mental or physical problems, but short-term training designed to achieve fast results can.

"Now, most [competitors] enter the sport seeking almost immediate glorification, and it has been made easier by trainers or coaches willing to offer services to short-cut and fast-track," the federation said.

The federation said competitors used to spend years developing their bodies, and that accelerating the process is not sustainable.

The bodybuilding lifestyle wasn't sustainable for Poncelet.

She gave up the sport years ago and is now a nursing student and a personal trainer in Toronto. She said she's a bit torn in her views about the sport.

"When it comes to bodybuilding, it's not really functional strength that they're developing," she said. "It's just, I stand here and I look good or I look a certain way.

"People are really putting their health at risk."

Poncelet said she appreciates the hard work bodybuilders put in; she knows first-hand what it takes. But she doesn't think the industry promotes a healthy lifestyle.

"When you're pushing yourself to the point of passing out on stage, is that really healthy?"