What you can learn: In this article, we will show you how your genetics and muscle structure influence your sports predispositions, performance and goals. You will find out how useful a certain type of training can be for you.
Physical activity in general affects our health, but some sports activities are more suitable for some individuals than for others. For example, genetics has a large influence on various athletic characteristics such as strength, power, endurance, muscle fiber size and composition, flexibility, neuromuscular coordination, temperament, and more. And that's why we can use DNA analysis to give you recommendations that will help you on your way to achieving your goals.
MUSCLE STRUCTURE
Did you know? The human body has approximately 640 skeletal muscles? When walking, we don't even realize that more than 200 muscles are activated. The longest muscle in humans is the tailor's muscle (musculus sartorius), which runs along the thigh; the smallest is the stapedius muscle (musculus stapedius), which is located in the ear drum. It measures only 1.27 millimeters.
Humans have two different types of muscles, type I and type II muscles. Sprinters tend to have type II, or fast-twitch, or more active muscle fibers in their body, while endurance runners tend to have more type I, or slow-twitch, muscles in their bodies. Studies by Australian scientists included more than 400 top athletes divided into two groups. The first group included athletes from disciplines that mostly require strength and speed, and the second group included those that require endurance. These scientists discovered that in the first group there was a predominance of people with two copies of the functioning ACTN3 gene, and in the second group there was a predominance of people with two copies of the non-functioning ACTN3 gene. This proved that the aforementioned gene determines the efficiency of a certain type of muscle fiber. In addition to this gene, a mutation of the PPAR-alpha gene is also known. The PPAR-alpha gene determines the presence of a specific type of muscle fiber in our body. By simultaneously analyzing both genes, it is possible to predict the physical activities in which you are likely to be most successful.
Analyzed genes: ACTN3, PPAR alpha(2)
STRENGTHENING
Did you know? Men have more muscle mass than women. The hormone testosterone is responsible for this - we all have it in our bodies, but young men have it the most. The connection between the hormone testosterone and muscle mass is very strong. Intense exercise increases the level of this hormone, so muscle strength is also increased.
Strength training can be defined as the use of resistance in muscle contraction to increase both strength and muscle size and anaerobic muscle endurance. When done correctly, strength training can improve overall health and well-being, as well as increase bone strength and the health of muscles, tendons and ligaments. It reduces the risk of injury and improves heart function. If we want to get rid of excess fat, intensive training is not equally effective for all people. As part of scientific research, people who completed a 12-week intensive training program were examined. After completing this training program, it was found that some people gained approximately 6 percent more subcutaneous fat. It has been proven that this phenomenon is caused by genetic makeup that affects our sensitivity to certain movements. In the case of women, these findings were not confirmed. But this is not surprising, because men and women have a completely different system of fat accumulation and burning.
Analyzed genes: INSIG2
WARRIOR GENE (COMT gene)
Did you know? The COMT gene is downregulated by estrogen, so total COMT activity in the prefrontal cortex and other tissues is about 30 % lower in women than in men. This limited COMT activity manifests as 30 % higher basal adrenaline levels in women compared to men.
Despite years of preparation and training, some people just can't handle it under pressure, while others seem to thrive on pressure and adrenaline. The answer is hidden in the COMT gene. The product of this gene is responsible for breaking down adrenaline. A variant in this gene results in some being "fighters" while others are more "worried" in nature. Fighters have a very active COMT enzyme; therefore, their adrenaline breaks down quickly, resulting in a low baseline adrenaline level. The anxious have very little active production of the COMT enzyme, which leads to a higher basal level of adrenaline. Everyone has an optimal adrenaline level. Worry is probably already at its optimal level, so the automatic increase in adrenaline in a difficult situation will make them lose control. Their hands start to sweat, their muscles shake, their motor movements don't work, their brain is overloaded resulting in unfocused thinking, and they suffer from tunnel vision. Looking at a fighter whose adrenaline levels are normally low, an equally challenging situation will cause adrenaline to rise to an optimal level.
Analyzed genes: COMT
What you could learn: We are all different, there are simply no two identical individuals with the same genetic equipment, and therefore there is no training plan that will work equally well for everyone. We have different types of muscles and strength training affects us differently. It is more difficult, but not impossible, to achieve top sports success without the warrior gene. Only the right combination of knowledge about the training process and facts about your body based on genetic analysis will allow us to achieve the desired sports goals.
So far you have learned basic information about 3 out of 10 sports genetic analyses, which are only a small part of BODY4fit+ genetic analysis. You can read more in other articles.
References used:
https://bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12864-016-2462-3
