Read & Review Exercise Science Research

Scientific papers are often perceived as puzzles by the uninitiated reader. University students and faculty frequently have voluntary journal clubs to learn disciplinary dogma from older research and also to collectively review and discuss new research papers and data. Within the fitness industry, trainers and coaches educated outside of academia miss this opportunity. In this course a critical analysis of selected classic papers, unreliable papers, and those that have made their way into popular headlines will be presented, with the intent to enable students to independently read and assess other scientific papers and press reports, then independently decide on those publication’s merits.

This course is presented as a combination of short video lectures accompanied by instructional text. All lecture materials present and explain the basic concepts of science, scientific method, scientific paper structure, and how to understand their basic contents. The student is then presented with five scientific papers, one paired with an online news report of its findings, to read independently and using the principles from the lectures. The intents of the readings are to develop analytical skills that can lead to applying relevant knowledge into practice, and also to learn how to fact check news reports of research against original papers upon which the news report is based. The student is assessed through short quizzes following the student's literary explorations and analyses of original research papers and news article. This is pre-approved for 6 Continuing Education Units (CEU) for CrossFit Level 3 Certified Trainers and Level 4 Coaches.