Michael Matthews - Fitness Science Explained : A Practical Guide to Using Science to Optimize Your Health, Fitness, and Lifestyle

We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology.

CARL SAGAN

In this book , youll learn everything you need to know to read, understand, and apply scientific research to optimize your health, fitness, and lifestyle, and also how to protect yourself against misguided, misleading, and even menacing advice supposedly supported by research.

This book cant deliver the depth of understanding provided by a formal education, but itll give you a crash course in identifying good and bad science and credible experts and fake gurus.

Furthermore, this book doesnt require that you have any higher learning or background in science or health and fitness. We designed it from the outset to teach you in simple terms what most people will never know about how to understand and evaluate scientific research.

We wont skimp on details, either. Well cover all of the big moving parts, including the basics of the scientific method to the differences between randomized trials and observational studies, the placebo effect, blinding, statistical analysis, and more.

In the first section, youll learn why diet and exercise science seems so confusing and contradictory.

Youll discover how the media sometimes accidentally and sometimes intentionally misinterprets research, how people cherry pick data to support conclusions, why quality research is so scarce, and more.

The second section is all about the heart of science: the scientific method.

Youll learn what the scientific method is and what its limitations are, including external validity, sample sizes, animal vs. human research, and more.

In the third section, youll learn about the different types of studies that can be conducted and why some carry more weight than others.

The fourth section of the book is the meat and potatoes: how to read and understand scientific research.

Here youll learn the precise definitions of key terminology used in all research, the anatomy of a scientific study and statistical analysis, and how to put it all together and assess the validity of studies, including two sample analyses for you to sink your teeth into.

Youll also get a cheat sheet checklist thatll help you quickly and accurately estimate the quality of research you want to review.

In the fifth and last section, youll learn about scientific journals, including why some are more reliable than others, how to get access to full-text studies (without spending a fortune), and the most popular journals for exercise, nutrition, and supplementation.

Youll also find out how to locate studies on topics youre interested in, whether its something weve covered or not.

Thatll wrap up the book, but it wont be the end of the line for us.

Itll be the beginning, because youll be ready to take everything youve learned and use science to enhance your health, body composition, physical performance, and any other aspect of your body and life you want to improve.

Before we get into all of that though, lets answer a question you may be asking yourself: Who are you two and why should I trust you?

First, our official bona fides:

James Krieger is a published scientist with over twenty scientific papers published in journals such as the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research , Sports Medicine , and the European Journal of Sports Science , as well as a frequent speaker at academic conferences on advances in health and fitness research.

James also runs the popular Weightology research review ( weightology.net ), where he analyzes the latest scientific research on building muscle, losing fat, and getting healthy and shows you how to turn it into immediately actionable tactics and techniques.

And I (Mike Matthews) am a bestselling evidence-based fitness author whose books have sold over 1,500,000 copies around the world and helped thousands of men and women lose fat, build muscle, and get healthy, and my work has been featured in many popular outlets including Esquire , Mens Health , Elle , Womens Health , Muscle & Strength , and more, as well as on FOX and ABC.

Im also the founder of Legion Athletics ( legionathletics.com ), which produces all-natural science-based sports nutrition supplements, and the host of The Muscle for Life Podcast ( muscleforlifepodcast.com ), a top-rated fitness podcast that receives over 600,000 plays per month.