Fitness Science Explained : A Practical Guide to Using Science to Optimize Your Health, Fitness, and Lifestyle (Muscle for Life)

In 163 pages, James and Mike teach you how to search out, read, analyze, evaluate, and then apply the best of scientific research regarding fitness training and nutrition to your life. They explain things relatively simply, and give you the tools you need to do your own research. No more relying on "bro science" or "I read this on the Internet" for finding great ways to improve training and nutrition. And no matter what any RCTs or meta-analyses may conclude, I am convinced that Mike Matthews and Batman ARE the same person (LOL!).

In this day and age, it is easy to get false or misleading information about well, everything. This book will give you some key tools to help you cut through a lot of the junk info.

Firstly, this book is not about fitness studies exactly, but how to better understand them. Mike has several books that delve heavily into the "how to" of fitness, but that is for another review.A lot of books about fitness just regurgitate information, which is fine, but going beyond just what or how the author interprets a study, and their conclusion is of immense importance."Believe half of what you see and nothing of what you hear."Always ask questions. With this book it helps you to see behind the curtain and get some low down on how to better understand terms and how studies are conducted. Mike lays it out about as simple as it can be done. I am still notating pages and looking up stuff, but Mikes book mostly gets the job done all by itself.Is this book necessary? Of course not. Not a single book is needed for one's entire lifetime, but books are nice to have so you can expand your world beyond what is around you and what you can see.So bottom line is this; having a greater understanding of any subject enriches your perspective and understanding which leads to better focus and discipline if you understand the "how" or the "why", not just the "do" while taking everything tossed at you for face value. Always scrutinize and vet what you read using any tools at your disposal. This book will help you accomplish just that.

Once I better understood what the book is about, I found it to be an excellent resource. It provides a sound way to EVALUATE FITNESS RESEARCH ITSELF. However, I initially misread the book's purpose based on the title; and I assume others might, too. The book isn't necessarily about the best scientifically-founded fitness practices. It's about how to evaluate the science methods used for that purpose. For that possible miscommunication (which goes both ways), I give it a 4 instead of a 5.

In a world that is increasingly becoming science illiterate or even distrusting science this book should really be required reading for everyone, no matter what industry you're in. This book focuses on fitness science but is applicable to anything related to the scientific process.The authors did a fantastic job of writing this in a way for lay people, such as myself, to understand and become better critical thinkers.I saw another review of someone bagging on the book because they thought it was a "fitness book" and said it's a waste of time unless you want to understand the science of fitness. What? That's exactly what the purpose of this book is! Fitness professionals that understand the science behind their processes are far better fitness pros than those that just do what a book tells them to do.This book will teach you to THINK!I highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to be a better critical thinker and understand the "why" behind the "what".

I got flashbacks to my undergraduate days. The authors do a pretty good at explaining how science should work. Unfortunately many professional become sell outs at the mention of large grants. Do you remember the studies that said smoking was harmless ?? As to what is studied, that depends on the money. Right now the government hands out the millions in grants. They decide. I would check the sponsor of any study. That tells you a lot. Look at the sponsors for the Heart Assoc. You'll be surprised. Still a good read.

I’ve been a long-time follower of Mike Matthews and his content. I have usually taken his analysis of scientific studies at his word because the rest of his program has yielded me results. I find reading scientific studies to be boring and full of unnecessary jargon that is intended to detract from your average knowledge-seeker from forming their own opinion. In Fitness Science Explained, Mike has done an outstanding job of providing someone at my knowledge level with the fundamentals needed to read fitness studies. I found the chapter about how the media twists and sensationalizes studies with the goals of ratings instead of spreading actually useful information. I’d recommend this book to anyone who wants to dip their toes into learning about fitness studies.

Mike Matthews has penned an excellent primer for anyone interested in making educated and unbiased evaluations of scientific data. Focused on the subjects of nutrition and fitness studies, the strong principles he outlines are broadly applicable to the current outpouring of COVID-19 literature as well as any disease process, intervention, or field of inquiry.Data and statics can be quoted inappropriately to “prove” anything. It is the job of the educated reader to review the strength of the data and make their own decisions about what to believe and/or what to implement.The book is succinct, well written, and narrowly focused to provide the reader with the background necessary to weed through the piles of inadvertently or in some cases intentionally misguiding writings on any topic. By reverting back to the original studies, the educated reader and understand the supporting or literature and come away with the purest understanding of what is known.

100% recommended

I read the book after an interview with James Krieger at the @Biolayne podcast. It is about the 4th or 5th book I’ve read on the subject and I found it so far the most helpful for me. The authors describe in a conscience manner the basics of the scientific method, how studies are conducted, what common errors and misconceptions are produced and how to read and interpret studies and their results, as well as the quality of a study.I wish everyone, especially the ideological key board warriors on social media.

Se si è operatori del settore - allenatori, preparatori atletici o PT - questo è un libro da leggere per avere alcune nozioni base su come si fa ricerca nel settore dell'attività motoria e su come questa ricerca poi si deve leggere e interpretare. È abbastanza base, ma sufficiente - considerato la popolazione a cui è indirizzato.Lo consiglio vivamente!

Mike did it again. I've read all mike's books and all of them are worth it. This book explains in a really simple way how to do research on any topic you are interested. This book gives you the tools you need to start making your own conclusions about fitness instead of believing everything you are told.

If you are someone who is interested in reading research and evidence based info on the topics of fitness and nutrition and new to this(research study) then fitness science explain can be a great guide for you. I thank Mike and James for this and I highly recommend this for the individuals who are interested in fitness science