Test Group
- Thread starter lina9496
- Start date
SNM Videos
Administrator
We really don’t have any current plans to do a controlled study on STS as it is really very difficult to do so for any type of exercise program and be accurate. But who knows, maybe a leading University will want to do this someday.
In our test group we looked for more immediate things like; Did you feel the exercise where you were suppose to?, How did the exercise feel? Did you feel any discomfort? We’re you sore the next day? Was the rest period too short or too long? Would a dumbbell have felt better or did you like the barbell? ……etc…
If you examine some “actual” exercise research studies that have been done in past they all seem to have the same problem that goes something like this: They start with 40 people, but after two weeks half of the participants just disappear. By the time the study is done at least 80% or more have vanished. Of the 20% that stuck it out to the end most missed anywhere from a few days to a lot of days for various reasons. To make things even more complicated it is very difficult to measure or to know the intensity and effort of an individual exerciser during any workout. Just showing up doesn’t mean the exerciser performed the required task at the correct intensity. Because of all these variables and problems it is really difficult to conduct a “true” scientific study on STS that would mean anything. Not saying it can’t be done, just very difficult to do.
We do plan on using our new software to let you and us track results and progress of STS users. You will have the option of letting your information be seen by your friends and you will be able to compare your results with the entire group of Cathe exercisers. This will not be a true scientific study, but the results should be at least interesting and of some value.
In our test group we looked for more immediate things like; Did you feel the exercise where you were suppose to?, How did the exercise feel? Did you feel any discomfort? We’re you sore the next day? Was the rest period too short or too long? Would a dumbbell have felt better or did you like the barbell? ……etc…
If you examine some “actual” exercise research studies that have been done in past they all seem to have the same problem that goes something like this: They start with 40 people, but after two weeks half of the participants just disappear. By the time the study is done at least 80% or more have vanished. Of the 20% that stuck it out to the end most missed anywhere from a few days to a lot of days for various reasons. To make things even more complicated it is very difficult to measure or to know the intensity and effort of an individual exerciser during any workout. Just showing up doesn’t mean the exerciser performed the required task at the correct intensity. Because of all these variables and problems it is really difficult to conduct a “true” scientific study on STS that would mean anything. Not saying it can’t be done, just very difficult to do.
We do plan on using our new software to let you and us track results and progress of STS users. You will have the option of letting your information be seen by your friends and you will be able to compare your results with the entire group of Cathe exercisers. This will not be a true scientific study, but the results should be at least interesting and of some value.
Vee
Cathlete
Chris,
That sounds like a very practical approach to testing exercises when designing a workout. I for one am glad you are not doing a controlled study bcause it would mean STS will take a lot longer to produce (and I have already have a long wait as I am holding out for STS gym).
Periodization is proven enough, and I think I read somewhere it is the approach that Cathe has used in her own training, so I am convinced the program has enough to back it up.
I am so excited about the software to track results. That makes it sound like the Nike+ ipod feature that allows users to chart their own progress or see how they are faring versus others if they choose to. I can imagine how checkins will be so much more fun.
~* Vrinda *~
That sounds like a very practical approach to testing exercises when designing a workout. I for one am glad you are not doing a controlled study bcause it would mean STS will take a lot longer to produce (and I have already have a long wait as I am holding out for STS gym).
Periodization is proven enough, and I think I read somewhere it is the approach that Cathe has used in her own training, so I am convinced the program has enough to back it up.
I am so excited about the software to track results. That makes it sound like the Nike+ ipod feature that allows users to chart their own progress or see how they are faring versus others if they choose to. I can imagine how checkins will be so much more fun.
~* Vrinda *~
lina9496
Cathlete
Have you considered having a group of participants take part in your program before it is released, take before and after photos and track their progress. You could ensure that they were using the appropriate weight and following the program as designed. Posting their results would be testimonial to the gains the program says you can achieve. Just a thought.
goldenrun358
Cathlete
Good idea Lina.
But, personally, I hate testimonials. The results are either uninspiring or unrealistic and I am always skeptical.
For example, the results that P90X showed all looked fantastic, but there are so many variables involved that there is no way the results one person got are an accurate portrayal of the results I or another will get.
I think making claims about inches lost, muscles gained, or percentage of fat lost on a certain program cheapens the program. That is why I am sooo glad that Cathe never makes these type claims.
JMO
But, personally, I hate testimonials. The results are either uninspiring or unrealistic and I am always skeptical.
For example, the results that P90X showed all looked fantastic, but there are so many variables involved that there is no way the results one person got are an accurate portrayal of the results I or another will get.
I think making claims about inches lost, muscles gained, or percentage of fat lost on a certain program cheapens the program. That is why I am sooo glad that Cathe never makes these type claims.
JMO
SNM Videos
Administrator
This is really not something we currently plan on doing. As I stated above it is very difficult to conduct a meaningful controlled study on any workout group. Even if we could get a group of people to show up for 3 days every single week for a three-month- study (FYI: this would nearly be impossible to do) we still could not control what happened outside of our facility. A person’s other activities, eating habits and lifestyle would also play a major role in each individuals results.
As an example of the difficulty of conducting a controlled study I remember a research project conducted at the University of Virginia. In this particular study researchers at UVA took several football players that needed to lose weight and put them on a 2000 calorie per day diet. All players were required to write down everything they ate daily into their journal book no matter how small or insignificant. These were large football players that daily consumed a lot more than 2000 calories per day and each should have lost a very significant amount of weight by the end of the study.
Researchers were shocked by the results when they weighed all of the participants on the last day of the study to find that hardly any of the players had lost any weight. In fact several had gained weight. The researchers were perplexed by the results because they just didn’t make any sense. The only conclusion the researches could come up with was the players had cheated, so they called every player in for an individual interview. During every interview all the players swore they had had written everything down and never cheated or forgotten to write anything down in their journal. All the football players were very convincing and the researchers believed they were all telling the truth, but still the results made no sense.
The only thing the researchers could figure out to do was to eliminate any possibility the football players were not telling the truth. So, they took all of the player’s food journals from them and then pretty much locked them in their dorm rooms for two weeks. During this time they only fed each player what they had previously written in their own journal and guess what? – They all lost weight as expected!
I mention this study to show as an example how difficult it is to conduct a study that produces meaningful information. If the UVA researchers would have taken the original results from the study they would have come to a totally wrong conclusion. It was only by eliminating any outside variables that the UVA professor’s were able to get accurate and correct data and this was only for two weeks. The UVA football players didn’t lie; they just had honestly and unknowingly eaten bigger proportions and forgotten some snacks they had during the day.
For these same reasons it would be very difficult to conduct a meaningful controlled study on STS by us. If a study were to be done it would need to be done by an independent professional organization that had the resources to conduct the study.
Only an independent controlled scientific study would have any significance as research can always be skewed by a business that has a financial interest in its outcome. But I feel we have something better and that is our forums and new “Workout Manager” software. With our forums you can hear from all of our customers about their results with STS… Good or bad… and our workout manager software will allow us to track the results of thousands of people!
As an example of the difficulty of conducting a controlled study I remember a research project conducted at the University of Virginia. In this particular study researchers at UVA took several football players that needed to lose weight and put them on a 2000 calorie per day diet. All players were required to write down everything they ate daily into their journal book no matter how small or insignificant. These were large football players that daily consumed a lot more than 2000 calories per day and each should have lost a very significant amount of weight by the end of the study.
Researchers were shocked by the results when they weighed all of the participants on the last day of the study to find that hardly any of the players had lost any weight. In fact several had gained weight. The researchers were perplexed by the results because they just didn’t make any sense. The only conclusion the researches could come up with was the players had cheated, so they called every player in for an individual interview. During every interview all the players swore they had had written everything down and never cheated or forgotten to write anything down in their journal. All the football players were very convincing and the researchers believed they were all telling the truth, but still the results made no sense.
The only thing the researchers could figure out to do was to eliminate any possibility the football players were not telling the truth. So, they took all of the player’s food journals from them and then pretty much locked them in their dorm rooms for two weeks. During this time they only fed each player what they had previously written in their own journal and guess what? – They all lost weight as expected!
I mention this study to show as an example how difficult it is to conduct a study that produces meaningful information. If the UVA researchers would have taken the original results from the study they would have come to a totally wrong conclusion. It was only by eliminating any outside variables that the UVA professor’s were able to get accurate and correct data and this was only for two weeks. The UVA football players didn’t lie; they just had honestly and unknowingly eaten bigger proportions and forgotten some snacks they had during the day.
For these same reasons it would be very difficult to conduct a meaningful controlled study on STS by us. If a study were to be done it would need to be done by an independent professional organization that had the resources to conduct the study.
Only an independent controlled scientific study would have any significance as research can always be skewed by a business that has a financial interest in its outcome. But I feel we have something better and that is our forums and new “Workout Manager” software. With our forums you can hear from all of our customers about their results with STS… Good or bad… and our workout manager software will allow us to track the results of thousands of people!
lina9496
Cathlete
Hi JMO and SNM, Unfortunately, I'm an informercial junkie. SNM's reply made a lot of sense. I plan to give STS 100% because I've reached some workout plateaus and hope to make progress with this series. Knowing others made progress or surpassed their goals would be enough to keep me motivated. See what I mean?
Regards
Regards