Can research help your training?

Let's discuss everyone's favourite topic: the external validity of scientific studies!

It's understandable if you just threw your phone into the ocean, but I promise it's not as boring as it sounds, and you'll come away with a better grasp of the information you see in the fitness, training, and sport science world.

Let's start by understanding what external validity is. It refers to how well the findings of a scientific study can be applied to other groups or in another setting.

This is a challenge in research, as studies are generally designed to reduce as many variables as possible to isolate the effect being studied. This can reduce the external validity of a study and how well the results can be applied outside of it.

Let's look at an example. This study investigated the effect of the Nordic Hamstring Exercise on injury rates in soccer players, using the following protocol:

The researchers did find a significant reduction in injury rate between players who completed Nordics and those who didn't. However, if you've done Nordics before, you'll know just how challenging they are and how sore they can leave you feeling. Completing this exercise protocol outside of a scientific study would be incredibly difficult, due to challenges with adherence, exercise execution, and soreness. Three sets of 10, 9, and 8 reps is extremely demanding, let alone training that twice a week for 9 weeks straight.

So how do we get good information to support our training?

Dismiss the idea of "optimal training" or a "top tier exercise". The best exercise you can do is the one you enjoy, that you'll train hard, and that allows you to progressively overload.

Find and follow experts who can critically analyse scientific studies and apply what is practical and effective for you. This is what I've done when creating a few of my Free Programs that are available to download.

More research needs to be done investigating minimum effective doses (the least you need to do to gain a positive effect).

The main takeaway is that just because someone tells you a training strategy worked in a study, it doesn't mean it will automatically work for you (especially if you die of boredom). Sometimes you do need to train in a way you don't enjoy to get a desired outcome. But for the most part, you can progress a long way by training what you enjoy, training it hard, and progressively overloading.

Here is the study from above:

van der Horst N, Smits D-W, Petersen J, Goedhart EA, Backx FJG. The Preventive Effect of the Nordic Hamstring Exercise on Hamstring Injuries in Amateur Soccer Players: A Randomized Controlled Trial. The American Journal of Sports Medicine. 2015;43(6):1316-1323. doi:10.1177/0363546515574057

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