! ! ! Athletic records are broken year after year, and the limits of human performance continue to be debated.

Just as soon as we think something cant be done, someone comes along and shows us that it indeed can be done. There was a time when no one thought a human could run a four-minute mile. Roger Bannister did that in 1954 and soon, many others followed. Ultra-marathons, Ironman Triathlons and 24-hour races are now commonplace.! Is there any limit?! ! Surely there must be some limit. So what factors limit performance? Most physiologists agree that the current limits have to do with our genetics specically genes that regulate our cardiovascular endurance and muscle ber type, but some factors are much more variable. Things like nutrition, motivation, environment and advances in equipment (running shoes, swim suits, skis, bicycles) all allow for dramatic improvements in athletic performance.! ! Genetics and Sports Performance! ! Genetics shape us in many ways including our potential to excel in sports. Training, diet, and other factors play a large role in developing our potential, but our genes may also limit performance. You may have the genetic potential for being a champion athlete, but if you live a lifestyle of overeating and no exercise you are unlikely to achieve that potential. On the other hand, someone with limited genetic potential can nd ways to compensate and become a solid performer.! Genetics have a large inuence over strength, muscle size and muscle ber composition (fast or slow twitch), anaerobic threshold (AT), lung capacity, exibility, and, to some extent, endurance.! ! One major limitation for endurance athletes is cardiac capacity, or the hearts ability to deliver enough oxygen (via the bloodstream) to the working skeletal muscles. This, too, is largely determined by genetics.! ! The other limitation for endurance athletes is the ability of muscle tissue to e"ectively use oxygen and create ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the fuel that allows muscular contraction and movement. (see: Creating Energy for Exercise.) The e#ciency of this process is measured by something called VO2 max (maximum volume of oxygen).! ! How Genetics Inuence Response to Training!

! Your genes may also determine how your body responds to training, diet and other external factors.! Research on aerobic endurance shows that some people respond more to training than others. So even if you have a low genetic potential for endurance, you may respond well to training and develop your potential more completely than someone with genetic 'talent' who doesn't respond to training.! ! Training also increases cardiac e#ciency, but the extent of this increase may depend upon genetics. Genetically gifted athletes will have a much greater response to training and will have a large increase in the number of mitochondria in cells. (The mitochondria are organelles in cells that produce the ATP, so the more mitochondria a person has, and the more e#cient they are.)! ! Other Factors That A"ect Sports Performance! ! Genetics appear to have less inuence over characteristics such as balance, agility, reaction time and accuracy. Many of these skills can be greatly improved with the proper training.! ! ! ! ! Fast twitch: generates short bursts of energy, strength & speed but fatigues ! faster! ! Slow twitch: contracts slowly, providing endurance rather than strength ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

! ! ! ! Great athletes are often referred to as naturals in their respective sports, but how much of their talent can be traced back to DNA is still uncertain to scientists. Are there genes that make some of us fantastic sprinters? Was Michael Jordan just born with the right mitochondrial makeup to be a basketball star?! ! Since the release of the full human genome in 2003, researchers have been trying to pinpoint the specic genes and genetic mechanisms for everything from diseases to intelligence. Athletics is no exception. In this weeks Sports Illustrated, which hits newsstands Wednesday, David Epstein writes about the latest research to examine how much of athletic performance is genetic.! ! Essentially everybody falls in the muddled middle, di"ering by only a handful of genes, Epstein writes. Its as if weve all played genetic roulette over and over, moving our chips around, winning sometimes and losing sometimes and gravitating toward mediocrity.! ! There are some genetic markers that have been identied to contribute to athletic ability. The ACTN3 gene, for example, has been linked with speed. We all have two copies of ACTN3, which controls the production of a protein found in muscle bers responsible for explosive or quick movement. Although we all have two copies of the gene, it comes in two variants, an R and X. The X variant prevents the protein for being created, so having two X variants of ACTN3 blocks the muscles from getting this quick movement protein. Researchers who have been examining the DNA of current and former world-record-holding runners are yet to nd even one of them with two Xs, while eighteen percent of the control group of normal people did.! ! Another 2006 study, of more than 37,000 pairs of adult fraternal and identical twins from six European countries and Australia, concluded that about half to three quarters of the variation in the amount of exercise people engaged in could be accounted for by their genetic makeup, while environmental factors, such as access to a gym, often had less inuence, writes Epstein.! ! However, other studies have highlighted the impact of environmental factors on athletic performance. Ethiopians and Kenyans hold claim to the 18 fastest marathon times in history, and the top 10 100-meter sprinters are all of African descent. Genetically however, Ethiopians and Kenyans vary widely, more so than general populations outside of Africa. Yannis Pistaladis of the University of

Glasgow has been studying the East African runners and found that 81 percent of elite Ethiopian runners relied on running to get to and from school as children.! ! We spoke with David Epstein about these ndings and how they may a"ect the future of competitive sports.! ! ! ! ! So what factors limit performance? Most physiologists agree that the current limits have to do with our genetics specically genes that regulate our cardiovascular endurance and muscle ber type, but some factors are much more variable. Things like nutrition, motivation, environment and advances in equipment (running shoes, swim suits, skis, bicycles) all allow for dramatic improvements in athletic performance.! ! Genetics and Sports Performance! ! Genetics shape us in many ways including our potential to excel in sports. Training, diet, and other factors play a large role in developing our potential, but our genes may also limit performance. You may have the genetic potential for being a champion athlete, but if you live a lifestyle of overeating and no exercise you are unlikely to achieve that potential. On the other hand, someone with limited genetic potential can nd ways to compensate and become a solid performer.! Genetics have a large inuence over strength, muscle size and muscle ber composition (fast or slow twitch), anaerobic threshold (AT), lung capacity, exibility, and, to some extent, endurance.! ! One major limitation for endurance athletes is cardiac capacity, or the hearts ability to deliver enough oxygen (via the bloodstream) to the working skeletal muscles. This, too, is largely determined by genetics.! ! ! How Genetics Inuence Response to Training! ! Your genes may also determine how your body responds to training, diet and other external factors.! Research on aerobic endurance shows that some people respond more to training than others. So even if you have a low genetic potential for endurance, you may respond well to training and develop your potential more completely than someone with genetic 'talent' who doesn't respond to training.!