The School of Fitness - Lesson 7: The Ron Burgundy Principle: "It's Science"
Mr Delia Steele
"Women have a brain a third the size of us, it's Science" - Ron Burgandy from the film Anchorman.
Fitness is science, but it's not so cut and dry.
YOU MUST LISTEN TO THE RESEARCH
Scientists spend thousands of hours studying the human body, testing, hypothesising, testing some more, debating, researching and searching for knowledge. They know more than you.
On the road to fitness success, whenever you can - take advantage of this. Learn from the science...get where you wanna be, faster.
Too many people make silly mistakes because they don't know, ignore or fail to apply the principles taught to us by exercise scientists.
I'm not suggesting the average Joe or Mary go out and read scientific papers - it wouldn't hurt but maybe it's going a little far - just ensure you listen to people who do!
For success make sure your programme is grounded in science.
YOU MUST KEEP AN OPEN MIND - YOU MUST REALISE THAT YOU DON'T KNOW IT ALL
Its important to think a little scientifically about your training and methodology. Do you know what you think you know? - how do you know you know what you think you know you know? Is your way the best way? Did you do enough work? Did you do too much? Where did what you know come from? What do the experts say? How did they form this opinion?
We know now, more than we used to know. Much of what we used to think we know we now know we didn't know, we just thought we knew. How much wood could a wood chop chop if a wood chop could chop wood?
Seek first to understand, then to decide if it's worth doing. Don't write off new techniques or exercises easily and don't be suckered in by clever marketing, your body reacts to the stimulus it faces, it doesn't matter what you call it.
On your quest for fitness success, don't be arrogant, don't think you know it all. There is a lot of information out there that can help make your life easier, get you there faster and help you train smarter. There is also a lot out there which will lead you astray.
"Why think scientifically I just wanna get on with it?" You ask - The less time, attention & energy you waste, the better your chances of success. This is the school of fitness - you lift hard, but you lift smart. That's smart.
There are many ways to skin a cat. Just because you have not heard about it, it doesn't mean its wrong. Keep these thoughts in mind when deciding where to read fitness and what is worth doing in the gym, all training is certainly not equal.
THE TROUBLE WITH SCIENCE
Whilst listening to the science is useful, it's important not to get obsessive - For any individual training success is as much art as it is science. There are too many variables for it to be cut and dry: varying body types, varying perception of what is hard work, lifestyle complications affecting your sleep and nutrition plans, difference in biochemical make up, injuries, dodgy movement patterns, different bone lengths and muscle fibre make up and many more...and they all mean we need slightly different training methods to get the best results.
There is good science and bad science. Logical and illogical, big picture thinking and closed thinking. A scientist could spend years trying to prove that doing sit ups on a slight decline are harder than doing sit ups on the floor..but what if you shouldn't be doing sit ups at all because you need to be training your whole body not lying around like a lazy bastard?
It's nice to know that studies have backed up your training methods. But the trouble is:
Science is slow - it's a lengthy process to get a scientific study planned, commissioned, set up, carried out, written up and published in a peer reviewed journal. A lot of work. A lot of time. If your 2 months away from an important competition, event or beach holiday and you believe a certain technique is going to produce the best results you can't always wait for the research. You would never get anything done.
Science is hard - it is not easy to control a scientific study using humans. Especially when training is concerned. It's not so easy to find 20 people who will eat exactly what you ask them for 6 months (or even 6 weeks), it's not so easy to find 20 people with good squat technique - and if you do manage the chances of them being willing to do as you ask for a scientific study to test different methods is pretty low. Due to this, any study that claims a certain technique produces superior results needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. Lessons can be learned but you have to look at the circumstances, length and type of person involved when deciding if it is effective.
Science is biased - if you're a scientist and a supplement company pay your wages, what are the chances your going to design a study with the best possible chance of proving your companies products are the balls? ...just wondering. Everybody has biases, conscious or otherwise.
With this in mind, It's best to follow a number of experts who actually train people for a living as they are often more holistic and realistic than folks in White coats...but you get the point.. it's science not magic. There's an art to the application, but wishful thinking will always be significantly less effective than doing smart work.
Take home message - we have a firm understanding of what happens to the body as a result of training. Try to ensure that your programme is founded on scientific principles not wishful thinking, wild marketing or nonsense.
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