What you say, not Where you say it...

I was recently directed by a colleague to a website which has discussed our recent publication Evidence Based Resistance Training Recommendations (click to follow link). Intrigued as to how it has been accepted/discussed I had a bit of wander through the google hits....

Well it's been discussed on a Men's Health site, where whilst considered an interesting read, was discussed in regard to anecdotal vs. scientific peer reviewed evidence. It was also a little criticised by those who don't agree with High Intensity Training (HIT) philosophies. Finally there was an intelligent comment in there discussing how we had only considered articles and guidelines for 'healthy' adults whilst stating that we had cited an article in our introduction that had considered elderly participants. This is an accurate observation, we did indeed do this. However, the introduction was simply clarifying the health benefits of resistance training in all sorts of areas including insulin resistance, bone mineral density, etc.

Another site discussing the article is a physiotherapist's called One to One Wellness Centre. This is a very favourable review of the article summarising it simply as well commenting on the applicability to health and fitness professionals. Unfortunately the article also mentions that many medical or exercise professionals would likely be unable to site the research presented herein. (Many thanks David Lee).

Free Muscle Building Tips.com also discusses the article, interestingly picking up one of the lesser mentioned points, of using a training journal to record your progress. Chris Cannon continues discussing some of the other major points of training to muscular failure, as well as the lower volume required to stimulate strength gains as well as health and fitness benefits.

Ultimately this is just a few of the sites that have discussed the article, but generally I think there's been a pretty positive response. I received multiple personal emails thanking me for the article, both from the lay person enthusiastic about their health and training and from some experts in the field pleased to see a more thorough scientific review.

On a side-note, it has caused a little bit of a stir by someone feeling that we had copied many of Mike Mentzer's philosophies without giving him due respect. At this stage let me clarify; Mike was a hero of mine, both for his training and his philosophical outlook (Ayn Rand and Objectivism). Alas, while many people consider Mike to be an exercise scientist, he wasn't research based. Yes, yes, anecdotal research, but not scientific, peer reviewed and published. I know that for many people that won't be much of a difference, but ultimately it is. The evidence discussed in our article supports most of Mike's ideas, alas Mike couldn't be cited in the reference list as he hadn't performed any published scientific research. Thus don't be upset that we haven't cited him; we couldn't.

Interestingly this has been a catalyst to a conversation considering publishing articles in open access journals which are available for the general public to read. I won't go in to much detail on this, but at the moment my perception is that what you publish is ultimately far more important that where you publish.

Albeit a tenuous link this reminds me of Charles Bukowski poem; 'The Strongest of the Strange'....

the strongest of the strange

you won’t see them often
for wherever the crowd is
they
are not.

those odd ones, not
many
but from them
come
the few
good paintings
the few
good symphonies
the few
good books
and other
works.

and from the
best of the
strange ones
perhaps
nothing.

they are
their own
paintings
their own
books
their own
music
their own
work.

sometimes I think
I see
them – say
a certain old
man
sitting on a
certain bench
in a certain
way

or
a quick face
going the other
way
in a passing
automobile

or
there’s a certain motion
of the hands
of a bag-boy or a bag-
girl
while packing
supermarket
groceries.

sometimes
it is even somebody
you have been
living with
for some
time -
you will notice
a
lightning quick
glance
never seen
from them
before.

sometimes
you will only note
their
existance
suddenly
in
vivid
recall
some months
some years
after they are
gone.

I remember
such a
one -
he was about
20 years old
drunk at
10 a.m.
staring into
a cracked
New Orleans
mirror

facing dreaming
against the
walls of
the world

where
did I
go?

It stirs images of the funny guy at the bus-stop writing profound and revolutionary ideas in marker pen over bus times and routes. Like I said what you say, not where you say it.

Maybe we should all listen a little more.

Be Well

JF