What you have already learned: In the first three articles from the series of articles Find out in which sport you will excel I, II, III you could already familiarize yourself with the topics of muscle structure, muscle volume, strengthening, proportion of fat-free mass, heart capacity, warrior gene, muscle fatigue and regeneration.

What we can teach you: In this article, we will show you how your genetics affects your aerobic potential (VO2max) and thus also 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 great influence on various athletic characteristics, such as strength, performance, endurance, size and composition of muscle fibers, flexibility, neuromuscular coordination, temperament, but also the risk of injury, regeneration 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.

VO2max

Did you know? As you increase the intensity of your exercise, your oxygen consumption will increase, but only up to a certain point, after which the oxygen consumption will no longer increase even if we continue to increase the intensity of the exercise. This is the so-called VO2max point. Thus, VO2max significantly affects our ability to perform endurance exercises.

VO2max is the term for an individual's maximum oxygen consumption and represents the maximum volume of oxygen your body is able to use in one minute. It can be given as an absolute value in liters per minute (l/min) or a relative value in milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of body mass per minute (ml/ (kg x min)). VO2max is partly dependent on the ability of the heart to pump blood and partly on the ability of the muscles used to use oxygen. High VO2max values require good cooperation of the respiratory, cardiovascular and neuromuscular systems. VO2max is really closely related to the performance of athletes, but it does not fully explain their success. There are other factors that contribute to an athlete's performance, such as body weight, body fat percentage, metabolism, and the economy of our movements. Therefore, two athletes can have the same VO2max, but their racing success is different.

Analyzed genes: ADRB2, PPARGC1A, ACE, VEGFA, PPAR alpha 2

MEASURE YOUR CURRENT VO2max

You can measure your own oxygen capacity using a practical test. The Queens College Step Test is one of many popular variations of the step test designed to determine your current VO2max. You only need a roughly 40 cm high step and a (stop) watch.

Approach: go up and down the stairs at a pace of 22 steps per minute (women) and 24 steps per minute (men). Ascent and descent must take place in four phases "up-up-down-down" and last 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, stop immediately and count the number of heartbeats for 15 seconds after 5-20 seconds of recovery. Multiply this number obtained from 15 seconds by 4 to get the beats per minute (bpm) value that you will use in the calculation below.

Rating: you can calculate your VO2max estimate using the test result using the formula below:

men: VO2max (ml/kg/min) = 111.33 – (0.42 x heart rate (bpm))

women: VO2max (ml/kg/min) = 65.81 – (0.1847 x heart rate (bpm))

Report your current aerobic fitness using the standard VO2max chart 

Remember that the Queens College Step Test is a rough estimate of your VO2max. If you have experience with running long and medium distances, the second alternative for estimating VO2max. can be 3000m Cooper Test. Advanced athletes can have VO2max laboratory tests done, which are based on gas analysis and are performed under the supervision of a physiologist.

With this article, we conclude a series of articles on 10 sports genetic analyses, which are only a small part of BODY4fit+ genetic analysis. You can read more in other articles.

References used:

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• Defoor et al. (2006). The CAREGENE study: ACE gene I/D polymorphism and effect of physical training on aerobic power in coronary artery disease. Heart. 92(4):527-528
• Hagberg et al. (1998). VO2 max is associated with ACE genotype in postmenopausal women. J Appl Physiol. 85(5):1842-1846
• Hagberg et al. (2002). ACE insertion/deletion polymorphism and submaximal exercise hemodynamics in postmenopausal women. J Appl Physiol. 92(3):1083-1088
• Hennis et al. (2015). Genetic factors associated with exercise performance in atmospheric hypoxia. Sports Med. 2015 May;45(5):745-61. doi: 10.1007/s40279-015-0309-8.
• Lucia et al. (2005). PPARGC1A genotype (Gly482Ser) predicts exceptional endurance capacity in European men. J Appl Physiol (1985). 99(1):344-348
• Maciejewska et al. (2012). The PPARGC1A gene Gly482Ser in Polish and Russian athletes. J Sports Sci. 30(1):101-113
• Masschelein et al. (2015). A genetic predisposition score associates with reduced aerobic capacity in response to acute normobaric hypoxia in lowlanders. High Alt Med Biol. 16(1):34-42
• Patel et al. (2003). Angiotensin-converting enzyme genotype and the ventilatory response to exertional hypoxia. Eur Respir J.22(5):755-60.
• Sarpeshkar et al. (2010). Adrenergic-beta(2) receptor polymorphism and athletic performance. J Hum Genet. 55(8):479-485
• Stefan et al. (2007). Genetic variations in PPARD and PPARGC1A determine mitochondrial function and changes in aerobic physical fitness and insulin sensitivity during lifestyle intervention. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 92(5):1827-1833
• Tsianos et al. (2010). Associations of polymorphisms of eight muscle- or metabolism-related genes with performance in Mount Olympus marathon runners. J Appl Physiol. 108(3):567-574