It isn't all about the science

If you've read any of my previous articles, especially the early ones you'll understand that I come from a science background. It's quite obvious, the writing style, there referencing and the careful nature with which I state 'facts'; there's always a qualification to cover myself.

In science, you can never be right. You can just present data which back up your point. In the real world there are many things which we consider complete fact, e.g. the earth rotates around the sun. But the truth is, in the strictest sense we just have an overwhelming majority of data pointing in that direction. It could theoretically be wrong.




This principle applies in health and fitness. It seems from the evidence that for optimal body composition it is best to control sugar intake, exercise intensely for a short period of time and perform weight training to failure. But there was a time not so long ago that the brightest minds in the world thought differently. Carbs were king and going for a jog three times a week was the best thing for your health.

So that's it then. Ignore the science completely and go out in to the world basing all decisions on experience.



Not quite.

You see, I still love science, but not for the same reason I used to. Where it used to be the only thing which I thought about, it has now become a more flexible tool.

It offers a grounding and a baseline of knowledge, so you can interpret the results you get. But in the same way science results are all about the majority and unfortunately the world has outliers. People who don't offer the result you want when you make the necessary and appropriate changes.

So it all comes down to experience and personal experimentation. All the best coaches in the world operate firstly on generally proven principles backed by the science, and then they move onto working on instinct. They do what they feel is the right thing to do.

They get their credibility from the results they get not from the things they know.

So think about this when selecting a coach. If they come at you with a system which will take you from start to finish with no individualisation towards the end then they are only ever going to get you sub par results; the human body is not a mathematical formula.

Systemisation is essential at the beginning, because achieving a state of nutrition and training is a requirement (control) for making more specific changes later on. But when you get to the sticky bit at the end and you are still on the same diet you always have been, how do you think you are going to change?