Let me explain why.

[BigFiveFive]

Originally Posted by Rich Knapp

BUT my piont in this thread was its a mind set for me to drive harder.

I didn't want to open a can of debate. Never intended that.

Absolutely Rich, same for me. If Casey Butt is right just like he has been through a study of more than 300 natural bodybuilders ill be the next big thing, that only makes my drive to want to achieve it that much greater.

[MC]

Just want to add a few things for consideration (as a researcher):

Studies have to be read and understood within the context and parameters in which they are designed. I am talking about all research studies, not just ones specific to body building or athletic performance.

The problem with a lot of studies is that they aren't designed to be generalized back to larger and more general populations, even when and while their results are presented, misrepresented and repeated.

News media rarely talk about the context of a study. Think of studies in reading. One study may be examining children's ability to recall facts from a story (reading comprehension) while another may be investigating their ability to decode "cat", "bat", and "ball" (reading decoding). Two different studies, both about "Reading" but the two studies have carved out different aspects of reading upon which to focus.

The problem becomes when media tout different factors, variables and results across the two, without explaining that "reading" is defined differently within each.

No single study is definitive. Our knowledge and understanding grow and evolve from repeated replication of studies. When studies are repeated with similar and different groups and reveal similar results, we can begin to uncover causation.

So, IMHO, some of the major problems with studies involving exercise and body building are:

a. Faulty study design (based on participants, setting, controls, or methodology)
b. Lack of replication over time and across settings (to go from correlation to causation)
c. fluid definitions of "exercise", "body building", etc.

Statistics and research don't have to be your enemies. As with all else, if you can educate yourself on how to digest the information, you can't be misled.