Author's reply to steele and fisher: 'scientific rigour: A heavy or light load to carry?': The importance of maintaining objectivity in drawing evidence-based conclusions

摘要

I appreciate the opportunity to respond to the letter by Steele and Fisher, "Scientific rigour; a heavy or light load to carry?" [1] regarding my recent review paper [2]. I welcome the platform that this letter provides to further expound on the role of loading in muscular adaptations. Steele and Fisher [1] begin by questioning my use of the word "intensity" to describe the relative magnitude of load lifted. In principle, I agree that this is a valid criticism. The term "intensity" is rather ambiguous and its employment should be taken up for scientific discussion to clarify proper terminology. Although my use of the term followed commonly accepted jargon, in retrospect I should have used the phrase "intensity of load" or simply "load" and will do so in the future.