Question thread for our AMA with Dr. Brandon M Roberts and Dr. Peter J Fitschen starting Wednesday April 15th!

[robertven]

@mcolley10 Absolutely! I'm glad you enjoyed the Q&A. If there is enough interest we will have to do it again sometime!

 

[niecey85]

@paparazi257 Q4Both:

Do you find bodybuilders in general to be interested in learning and being up to date with the recommended practices, or are they mainly relying on coaches who are the ones who keep up to date?

 

[robertven]

@niecey85 I think that depends upon the individual. Some like knowing the "why" while others just want to be pointed in the best direction to be at their best onstage.

 

[thepcwife]

@niecey85 Some of my clients are interested and want everything explained. Others just want directions and trust me. I think both of our clients know we try to educate, so I tend to get those people more often.

 

[niecey85]

@paparazi257 Q4Both:

As someone who's involved in science, I see that when it comes to researchers and the material they put out, the state pretty much around the world in many fields (not necessarily this one) is that they are "forced" to follow a certain rate of publications in a given time or they lose their grants and budget, which often results in pointless research that just adds to the noise that makes the truly useful things that come up now and then harder to identify. Do you see that happening in your field? And if so, do you find that it becomes an obstacle when you have to conduct research and you need to rely on previous work, and how do you see it affect research in general?

 

[robertven]

@niecey85 The "publish or perish" mentality was definitely a thing when I was in grad school. Honestly, that (along with all of the hoops you have to jump through in academia) were a large part of the reason I got out of academia and have been coaching full time since graduating in 2015.

 

[thepcwife]

@niecey85 I think I can give some good insight into this one because I've been on the job circuit this year in academia.

There is usually an expectation to publish. In our field, it's normal to have to publish between 2-5 studies to be promoted to tenure. People go up for tenure promotion 5-7 years after they start their job as an assistant professor. Grants aren't as common in sports science, so those aren't generally expected. You will probably be expected to apply to a few. Getting one is a feather in your cap.

The noise you mention isn't an issue for me. It's helping students complete graduation requirements, helping promotion to tenure, and there are generally a few good things to learn from a study - even if it's how NOT to design it.

 

[niecey85]

@paparazi257 Q4Both:

Which topics are you looking forward the most to come out of research, or to look into yourself in the future?