Coaching & Programming
Finding Research Is A Skill You Can Learn Even If You Cannot Remember It All, And A FASTER Specialist Course Teaches It From Crappy Evidence To Awesome
From the FASTER syllabus: this article is taught in full in The specialist course where finding the research is taught →
In short: A FASTER specialist course teaches trainers to find information without having to remember it all. Everyone calls themselves evidence based, but the evidence behind that can be anything from a bloke down the pub to a PhD scientist. The course ranks sources from crappy (a chat with a friend, gurus, guru books, tweets) through better (review papers, single papers, a body of evidence, peer reviewed work) to awesome, and asks trainers to check the question for bias, whether the study is on humans, citations, author credibility, the journal, the age of the study and the number of participants. Everything goes in a personal library, and the filtering happens when a decision has to be made.
The short version
Finding good research is a skill you can learn, and you do not need an academic background or a memory like a filing cabinet to do it. One of our specialist courses teaches you to ask a good question, look in the right places, rank what you find, and save it in a personal library so it is there when you need it. You make the decision at the moment it matters, with the evidence in front of you.
Key Takeaways
- Everyone says they are evidence based. The course asks which level of evidence sits behind the claim.
- Sources run from crappy to awesome, and a few quick checks tell you where a study sits.
- Save everything in your own library. Filter it when you have a decision to make.
Everyone is evidence based
The lesson opens with a line that makes most trainers smile. Everyone seems to be an evidence based trainer these days. What they mean is that they have a level of evidence they see as the answer to a problem. The course says that could be anything from a bloke down the pub to a PhD research scientist.
So the useful move is to ask what sort of evidence it is. That is a friendlier habit than arguing about who is right.
Where to ask
The course sets out three places to ask the same question: Dr Google, YouTube or Instagram, and PubMed and Google Scholar. It names the last one as where evidence should come from. The question stays the same, and the level you ask it at changes.
From crappy to awesome
The course lists the levels in plain words.
Crappy: a chat with a friend or family member, gurus and their opinions ("I've seen it mate"), books written by gurus, and books, blogs or tweets by scientists.
Better: science review papers, a single research paper, a body of evidence with lots of papers (with a warning that the papers could be cherry picked), classic papers specific to your question, and peer reviewed PhD work alongside a body of evidence.
Awesome sits above all of those.
Nothing is thrown out. A chat with a friend can still give you an idea worth looking up. The list tells you how much weight to put on it.
Four quick checks before you trust a study
The course gives you a short list of things to look out for when you start searching.
- The question should not carry bias. The course's own example is asking whether foam rolling improves hamstring flexibility, where the word "improves" already leans one way.
- Check it was a study on humans. Animals do not count unless you train dogs.
- Look at how many times it has been cited, who wrote it, and the impact factor of the journal.
- Look at the age of the study, how many people took part, and whether the experiment matches your question.
Keep it in a library, decide later
Here is the part that makes it workable for a busy trainer. You do not have to remember what you read. Save it all in your personal library. All levels of evidence are welcome in there, and the filtering happens when you need to make a decision for a client. The words you write about it are your own, because the aim is for you to have the knowledge.
Research is about finding the best question and then the best fit group of evidence to help you make a decision. The course shortens the time it takes to learn that.
Where PT Manager fits
PT Manager, our free software, opens the moment you sign up with FASTER, so you can explore and set it up in your name straight away. Adding real clients unlocks the day you pass a course. Two routes in: new to the industry, the Level 2 and Level 3 course gives you PT Manager from the start of a career. Already qualified, the Movement Coach course or anything above brings you in without repeating Level 2/3. Take a look at PT Manager, and read about the Injury Recovery to Performance specialist course, where finding the research is taught.
The course is visual, interactive and multi-modal, so you can learn by listening, reading, writing answers or dictating them.
Frequently asked questions
What does evidence based mean for a trainer?
The course says it can mean anything from a bloke down the pub to a PhD scientist, so the useful question is which level of evidence sits behind the claim.
Where does the course say to look?
PubMed and Google Scholar, rather than Dr Google, YouTube or Instagram.
What should I check in a study?
Whether the question is biased, whether it was on humans, how often it was cited, the author, the journal, the age of the study and the number of participants.
Do I have to remember all of it?
No. You save it in a personal library and filter it when you have a decision to make.
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You just read one answer. The course is all of them.
The specialist course where finding the research is taught: every answer marked by a real tutor, with free return access for life. The price is on the page, payment plans at checkout, no sales calls.
Also worth a look: PT Manager, free with any FASTER course.
See what the course covers →What every FASTER student gets
Built around you, not around the course
- A real person marks every answerEvery answer is read and marked by a tutor, with written feedback.
- Marked as you goEach teaching point is marked as you answer it, not at the end of the module.
- Dictate instead of typeA microphone on every written answer: say your answer and it types it for you (Chrome, Edge and Safari).
- Listen to the lessonsVoice-overs on the lessons, and the audio to download.
- Built for the way your brain worksShort lessons, one point at a time, marked as you go, with the choice to listen, read, print or speak your answers.
- Streaks that never punish youYou set how many days a week you want to study. Miss a day and your streak pauses; it is never lost.
- Accessible to WCAG AA, with an AAA optionEvery page measured against the WCAG accessibility standard: no faults at level A or AA, with a skip link, screen-reader labels and pages that hold together zoomed to 400%. A high-contrast option takes it to AAA.
- Keep it plainOne switch turns off the extras, the streaks, the badges, the celebrations and the movement, so the site stays plain and calm. Switch them back on whenever you like.
- Bigger text and wider spacingTwo steps of bigger text, and more room between lines, words and letters, on every page.
- Calmer motionOne switch stops animations and videos that play on their own. It is on already if your phone or computer asks for reduced motion.
- A personal video lessonWhen an answer needs real explaining, your marker records a video that lands in your course.
- A note before you sendBefore you send, the page tells you if your answer copies the lesson word for word, so you can put it in your own words.
- The skeleton and muscle labsTap any bone on the skeleton, and see the muscles light up on the model.
- Print the notesPrint the lessons and go old school.
- Case studies on your phoneBuilt into the site, saved as you go, there on your laptop when you sit down.
- Pin it to your home screenNo App Store and no Google Play. It is just there.
- No resit feesWork sent back is a chance to add more, with no resit fee.
- Return access for lifeQualify once and come back to the content whenever you need it.
- PT Manager from day onePT Manager is yours to learn on from the day you sign up. Using it with real clients comes once you hold your Level 3 and are listed on the FASTER Trainer Register.
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And PT Manager, free
51 tools to run your business, with no monthly fee and no cut of your money
PT Manager is yours to learn on from the day you sign up. Using it with real clients comes once you hold your Level 3 and are listed on the FASTER Trainer Register.
See all 51 tools
Set-up
- Import clients Bring a whole client list across in one go.
- My quotes Daily lines your clients see — yours, not stock.
- Programme templates The programme shapes you reuse — a session or twelve weeks. Pick one for a client, get your own copy.
- Exercise library Every exercise with FASTER coaching detail.
- Money Products, payments and who owes what.
- Send from your own email Connect your own email service so invites arrive from you, on your domain.
- My brand & client view What your clients see when they walk in — views, header, accent, logo.
- Your enrolment pack What every new client gets the moment you enrol them — your forms, ours, or a mix.
- Products and services What you sell — blocks, packages, memberships and one-offs, with their prices.
- Insurance Your policy on record — provider and expiry. Client features unlock while it is valid.
- My menu Switch any tool on or off — for your menu, your home and your whole account.
- Your website A free website on your own web address, filled from PT Manager. Or just the client sign-in door on your domain.
- Your public page Your verified Trainer Register listing, linking out to your own site and socials.
Business day to day
- Clients Your client list — invite, open a client, manage their space.
- Clubs Group your clients — a board they share, a programme or a monthly price if you want one.
- Challenges A dated push everyone logs against — for everyone you train, or for one club.
- Calendar Sessions, classes, capacity and bookings.
- Reminders The dates your business can't let lapse — insurance and first aid, nagged ahead of time.
- Nudges Who needs a nudge today — opportunities, one tap each.
- Who needs chasing Every conversation about money, in the order to work through them.
- What needs doing Your own list, in your own words — the jobs you keep meaning to get to.
- Till Sell at the desk — cash, card or on their phone — and download the sales sheet.
- What you are making What is coming in every month, what was paid in the last 30 days, and what sells.
Templates and systems
- Forms & interviews PAR-Q, consent, consultations and your own forms.
- Coaching room The coaching tools shelf — wheels, journeys and resources in one place.
- Radar wheels Build a life or performance wheel a client fills in — see change over time.
- Nutrition by FASTER Nutrition sheets and habits without meal-plan pretence.
- Pathways Automated coaching journeys you assign to clients.
- Programmes Start a programme — a session, a month, 12 weeks or a season — and find the ones you have built.
- Games & drills planner Build game-based sessions and drills.
- Sport screens Pick a sport — the shots to film, the analyser, and a ready-made radar of the qualities that matter.
- Movement screen → radar Read joint angles off the analyser — they auto-score and fill a radar wheel.
- Assessment builder Build and run client assessments and re-tests.
- Tag analytics Every tag across your clips, grouped and exportable.
Client
- AI prompts Your reusable prompt library for coaching copy.
- Before & after Side-by-side progress comparisons.
Trainer tools
- Exercise generator Fresh exercise ideas from constraints you set.
- FASTER dice & wheel Spin-and-roll session variety for groups and games.
- Movement demonstrator A 3D model of the FASTER movement patterns — body or skeleton view, prime movers lit up, live joint angles.
- Client video analysis Your media library — client folders and your own. Pick a clip to analyse.
- Movement by FASTER (HMAC) Human movement analysis charts — see how a client moves.
- Live analysis Mount your phone and coach live — skeleton, reps, angles and depth in real time.
- Tell a group One thing, to the right people — and you see exactly who it reaches first.
Media centre
- Video builder Reels, stories and client report videos, in your own branding.
- Image builder Branded posts and cards for your socials, at the right size.
- Shot list builder Every shot with its size, angle, lens, location, people, kit and sound; sorted into shooting order, ticked off on the day, printed or sent as a sheet.
- Storyboard builder Plan a video shot by shot: what the camera sees, what is said, the move and the cut.
- Script writer Write what you will say, with the word count and how long it takes to say.
- Teleprompter Read your script off the screen at your speed, and film yourself behind it.
- Video and image organiser Everything you have made and every source you can pull from.
- Ad builder Make your own ads, coached as you go, in your branding. As many as you like, no fee, no cap.
Frequently asked
What does evidence based mean for a trainer?
The course says it can mean anything from a bloke down the pub to a PhD scientist, so the useful question is which level of evidence sits behind the claim.
Where does the course say to look?
PubMed and Google Scholar, rather than Dr Google, YouTube or Instagram.
What should I check in a study?
Whether the question is biased, whether it was done on humans, how often it has been cited, the author's credibility, the journal, the age of the study and the number of participants.
Do I have to remember all of it?
No. You save what you find in a personal library and filter it when you need to make a decision.
Does the course reject low-level evidence?
No. All levels go in the library. The filtering happens at the moment of the decision.
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