Is supervision really that important? What does the research say about the value of supervision? Does the ratio matter? How about the quality? What really qualifies as an unsupervised workout?

In this week's episode of "The Discover Strength Podcast," I sat down with Solent University Senior Lecturer, James Fisher, Ph.D. Dr. Fisher is a leading researcher in the field of exercise science and his lab recently published an exploratory review and meta-analysis on the value of supervision.

There is a BROAD spectrum of what could be considered "supervision," and it's not very well defined in the research. However, as we parse through the evidence, it seems clear that supervision is more than likely an intricate part of any effective strength training program.

Something as simple as having someone explain an exercise to you adds significant value to your strength training experience and likely results in greater "gains," both in the short and long term. The issue, as with many things in the exercise science field, is that supervision is very poorly defined. Because of this, and without a deeper analysis with an expert like Dr. Fisher, it might be easy to dismiss supervision as unimportant.

It seems clear that when left entirely unattended and with no direct explanation of what to do (or how to do it), the effectiveness of any training program decreases drastically. With the meta-analysis now available, we are hopeful to see researchers take up the challenge of truly and effectively analyzing supervised versus unsupervised workouts.

The real value of supervision is multifaceted and extends well beyond simply "gains" in the gym. It includes aspects of accountability, motivation, and habit-building. We're excited to see how this research expands in the future, and we're confident that the value of supervision (when properly defined) will continue to be proven substantial within the research.

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The meta analysis HERE

Study James Referenced HERE

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