Yesterday we talked about financial literacy and how hard it is to find quality information about it. Well written books, blogs, and information in general are rarity nowadays. Sports science is a topic that gets a lot of traction lately and there is a lot of research happening. As it is with everything, the more interesting and modern is a topic, the more people will talk about it. Taking this into account, it’s crucial to narrow down your sources. Below I’ll try to list a few of the information resources I use and why I use them.
If we divide the space into separate segments, we would have them a few groups: blogs/web pages, social media, and independent coaches/personal trainers (PTs). Getting quality over quality is the way I’m approaching this, so that’s why I’m not going to propose to you a bunch of people and blogs. What I’m going to do instead, is share with you only the ones in which I trust a lot. Most of the time I’m even cross-referencing data between multiple sources.
Finding quality information about sports science goes through reading scientific research.
It’s inevitable. Science is key in sports and that’s why we’re referring to it as ‘sports science’ here. People are investing a lot of time, resources and efforts in proving their theory actually works. In terms of scientific research, the raw data is something you may found in the source directly: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ Still, in some cases the research published there is written in a way that we can’t really understand it. In these cases to our help are coming blogs and web pages like Stronger by Science. Stronger by Science deserves a special mention here as they have their Mass monthly research review. I don’t use it currently, because I feel it’s more targeted to professional athletes and PTs and I’m currently neither of these.
Looking at the social media space, you will inevitably meet a lot of people claiming they are certified coaches.
As I wrote in a recent blog post, certifications are something common nowadays. Everybody could get them for questionable experience and skills. It just goes with the industry and the market, nothing bad about it. The people I refer to the most, are Obi Vincent and Jeff Nippard. They have a strong social media presence, have a customer base, clients, and a lot of content. Through their content, they share scientifically proven methodologies for training and nutrition. They are not perfect, of course, but I found they are as close as possible to what I desire.
In terms of PTs, one name stands out: Menno Henselmans.
Menno is somebody who to me embodies sports science. In his posts, he frequently talks about scientific research, refers to it, shares links, and aims to be transparent. Menno has a PT course, which is very comprehensive and offers quite a lot of information. I haven’t taken the course, it’s a bit on the expensive side for my preference and needs right now, but I am certain it has a lot to offer as a value for money. I’m sure you will be able to locate reviews of the course and make your own choice. Menno is also a host of workshops, is a guest speaker in podcasts, and has a lot to share.
As I mentioned initially, I often combine multiple sports science resources before making a decision about my training. I strongly recommend you do the same if you want to be certain on a specific topic.
How do you inform yourself about new research in the field of sports science?
None of the coaches, magazines or PTs has paid me for an ad. The opinion and information here is my own.
