Research
How to Read Scientific-Sounding Fitness Blogs
In short: Treat a scientific-sounding fitness blog as a route to evidence, not evidence itself: identify what the author is really saying, spot the subtext, and check each claim against multiple sources.
This is an opinion post for personal trainers. I want to give you a simple way to look at a so-called scientific blog and break it into its useful parts, if any exist at all. Trainers who want to be seen as industry leaders increasingly use these posts to convince people they are on the right side of an argument.
Most of what I write is based on the science I have read, but it is clearly opinion. My goal is to get you to go away, read the research and form your own view.
Why science rarely gives you a clean answer
Science measures the precise, so it has to report in the vague. It is unusual to find a definitive answer. Usually the answer is a weighted statistical result, which is then assessed for its actual impact. Blogs and weak journals do not hold themselves to that standard. Reading more papers, and recent papers that replicate well-designed earlier ones, is a good way to answer a question, but first you need a good question, and that is half the battle.
The problem with "scientific" posts
A blog post is not scrutinised the way a paper is, and it often carries an underlying agenda. Some of these even get published in less reputable journals, where the agenda belongs to the author, the journal, or both. If you have done one of our specialist courses, the Motor Skills Application Specialist or the Injury to Performance Specialist, you will already use these articles as a route to your evidence, not as the evidence itself.
How to break a post down
- What is the author actually saying? Right now I am saying that scientific-sounding blog posts are mainly opinion, propped up by a few papers and the author's name.
- What is the subtext? Mine is that I am annoyed with pretend-science posts trying to convince good trainers they are learning from gurus.
- Check each important statement against multiple sources. If a claim is not backed up, it is opinion. This article is clearly built on my opinion of the posts written in our industry.
- Look at the claims each statement sets up. Look at my third paragraph. It could easily be challenged. It is clearly my opinion and lacking references, so at that point I am building on opinion.
- Examine the research itself. Is it balanced? Do the counterclaims have research too? I once read a piece in an NSCA journal, dressed up as a paper, that took two pages of unreferenced statements to reach any actual research, and then leaned on one to three papers only to counter points it had invented. Without referencing the claims it says the industry makes, the argument falls apart.
Do all that, and you will usually see the conclusion coming. Still, read the conclusion carefully, looking for the real message and the subtext beneath it.
I will be honest: this post is as much about me getting frustrated with bad experts as it is about reading content. I hope it helps you all the same.
Want to go deeper? The FASTER Sports Scientist programme.
View the course →Frequently asked
Are fitness blogs the same as scientific research?
No. Most so-called scientific blogs are opinion using a few papers and the author's name to claim authority, without peer scrutiny.
How do I judge a fitness blog's claims?
Look for each important statement and check it is backed by multiple sources. If it is not, it is opinion, however confident it sounds.
Why does science rarely give definite answers?
Science measures the precise but reports in the vague, usually as a weighted statistical answer that is then judged for real-world impact.
How should trainers use blogs?
As a starting point on the way to the evidence, not as the evidence itself. Read the papers and form your own view.
