What is the problem?
If the results from a new study reveals an amazing training method it can often become a lite skewed as the studied group may not represent the general public at all. The analysis used can also be very specific for a certain group of athletes extremely focused on just their training to f.ex. reach the Olympics in a specific sport.
To translate results showing that certain dietary recommendations can lead to increase health in a specific group of individuals, f.ex. with a certain illness, is also totally unlogic.
Another issue with presenting new research, based on specific groups, is that the trend is almost always short-lived and the long term effects are seldom studied.
Is there any specific training better than another?
The easy answer is No. The best training is the one that gets done. If you are not very well trained you should remember to not go too hard or high-intense in the beginning, and more focus on technique and creating a stable foundation when it comes to strength and stamina. From there you can gradually increase.
An effective way of increasing stamina is by doing interval training. Anyone can do it and it is always based on their own level and basically means splitting a training session up into smaller portions with rest in-between. That way, you can maintain a higher level of intensity than if there was no rest in-between. Interval can be varied indefinitely and you can mix running on flat surfaces, stairs, hills or on a treadmill. You can even change between running, cycling, a rowing machine, cross-trainer etc.
So what should you do?​
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Be skeptical – if something sounds too good to be true it probably is.
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Follow the training and dietary recommendations based on the collective research presented and not based on small, specific groups. That way the findings are much more relevant for you and your peers.
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If the health tips you read mean you need to buy specific products not widely recommended by the general health care the risk is pretty big you are being scammed.
About the authors Jessica & Maria
Challengize health tips are written for us by Jessica Norrbom and Maria Ahlsén, both with PHDs in medicine. Since 2013 they run their own business Fortasana working mainly with diet, training and health from a scientific perspective. Maria and Jessica have written several books and regularly lecture focusing mainly on popular health myths and explain what is actually true from a scientific perspective when it comes to diets, trends and newspaper headlines.