Science is hard. Exercise science is especially hard. Small effect sizes, difficulty ensuring blinding, and numerous confounders are among the reasons that high-quality studies are, as you say, relatively rare. However, this does not make the medieval pre-science you advocate any more effective; it just means we know…

What are you basing this advice on? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I see no references to anything supporting your conclusions. The question being addressed is fascinating and could be germane to real, scientific study, if designed appropriately. Too much fitness advice is based on nothing but opinion and anecdote, and…