(This is a recent article passed on to us by Coach Jamie Hale . . ..)
“Coach Hale why are you so skeptical?” “Why do you have such a negative view of the fitness industry?” “You are so cynical.” I hear these types of questions and statements on a weekly basis. The people that approach me with these statements are almost always supplement salesman, homeopathy practitioners, equipment salesman etc.. Generally, people that do not like to have their authority questioned.
Skeptic or Cynic
Some people believe that skepticism is the rejection of new ideas. Often people confuse “skeptic” with “cynic.” The Fitness Skeptic (Skeptic is derived from the Greek skeptikos, which means “inquiring” or “to look around) applies reason to any and all ideas promoted by the fitness industry or ideas promoted by anyone making fitness claims. The Fitness skeptic (the term Fitness skeptic applies to health, nutrition and supplement claims as well) requires evidence before claims are accepted as fact. It is important to consider who are making the claims, but no matter who makes the claim evidence is required. In reality, the person’s reputation, authority or credentials do not make the claim correct. The evidence determines whether the claim is correct. Skepticism is a method used to question the validity of a particular claim. In it’s simplest form skepticism requires evidence for a claim to be accepted as fact (valid evidence = Primary Research Data, valid evidence doesn’t include “they say” “my instructor says” “the gym staff says” “I have always heard”..).
There are many different aspects of fitness so it becomes obvious that science has not investigated every topic. Many claims are so outlandish and unjustifiable (according to already established scientific facts) they do not warrant scientific investigation. These are the type of claims that violate basic laws of biochemistry, kinesiology, endocrinology and so on. The people that promote these claims generally make up their own terminology and attempt to impress people with fancy words (in many cases words that do not exist or words they cannot accurately define). read more »
