High-performance sport requires a proper balance between good physical and mental preparation, a specific nutritional plan, good genetic conditions and sports planning appropriate to these individual characteristics.
With regard to genetics, it is possible to present a greater predisposition to respond to physical exercise more effectively, hence the importance of taking a DNA test for athletes such as the one we offer you in the tellmeGen Starter DNA Kit.
For all these reasons, we have decided to prepare this special on how to use our DNA test for sports so that you can learn all about how genetics influences your athletic performance and how you can extract the maximum benefits from this valuable information to reach your maximum potential as an athlete.
What factors influence your sports performance?
Sports performance, like other complex traits, is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors.
The genetic factors that influence athletic performance are inherent to each athlete, i.e., they are part of your biology regardless of your level of training. In addition, they are susceptible to inheritance, i.e., they can be passed on from generation to generation.
On the other hand, environmental factors are susceptible to being modified through your training routines and level of preparation.
So what genetic factors can I find out about myself with the tellmeGen athlete DNA test?
At this point it is important to understand the concept of genotype:
When we talk about genotype we refer to your individual and personal genetic endowment. That is, the genes you have inherited from your parents.
To find out how your genetics influence your athletic performance, at tellmeGen we rely on the study of one of the main genes associated with athletic performance, the ADRB3 gene, within the report on response to exercise.
How does the ADRB3 gene influence my response to physical exercise?
The ADRB3 gene is the main receptor in the regulation of thermogenesis, that is, the ability to generate heat to carry out metabolic reactions such as lipolysis, catabolism or fat burning.
The choice of this gene as one of those studied in our genetic test lies in the fact that, by studying the rs4994 polymorphism of this gene and knowing whether you are a carrier of the Trp64Arg allele, it is possible to establish more specific and effective nutritional and physical exercise guidelines.
And what are the environmental factors that influence my response to the sport?
When we refer to environmental factors, we are referring to all those factors external to your genetics that can influence your health and, by extension, your athletic performance, i.e., from the temperature or humidity of the place where you practice your sport to social or educational variables.
All these factors should also be taken into account to avoid reducing your athletic performance and use them to further enhance your positive capabilities.
How do genetic factors (my genotype) and environmental factors interact?
At this point it is important to understand another concept. In this case, phenotype.
The interaction between genetic factors (genotype) and the aforementioned environmental factors results in the determination of your individual phenotype, i.e. your personal qualities, both general and related to your athletic performance.
What are the benefits of a genetic test for sports in general and for athletes in particular?
The importance of taking a genetic test for sports is that, thanks to the results and information you get from it, you will be able to adapt all your sports routines and training to what is most suitable for you from the point of view of your genetics.
Some of the benefits you will get are:
- You will get to know yourself better through your body’s responses
Exercise physiology is the body’s response during activity to provide energy to the muscles involved in exercise and to maintain body balance or homeostasis during exercise.
The response to physical exercise is an individual characteristic of utmost importance for optimal athletic performance.
- You will be able to optimize your routines and types of training
With a DNA test for athletes you can also find out if your genetics influence you to be more effective than others in some aspects of sports practice or in your muscle endurance, for example, when carrying out endurance or strength physical exercise.
Knowing in which aspects of sports practice you are more predisposed or effective thanks to your genetic characteristics will allow you to optimally plan your training routines.
- You will be closer to achieving your sports goals and objectives
The knowledge about your body’s response to physical exercise, as well as the optimization of the planning of your routines is what will allow you to achieve your sports goals and objectives.
In addition, your genetic report can also be used as a support tool so that your coach, physiotherapist and/or nutritionist can, based on the data provided by the results of your test, carry out a more detailed and personalized follow-up of your sports routines and your response to the diet to help you achieve these goals.
- You will develop your maximum potential and your best version
As you know, at tellmeGen our main objective is to take care of your health and well-being, as well as to bring the great potential of genetics to everyone, so that your genetic information becomes the source of power and knowledge that allows you to improve and maintain your quality of life.
That is why we developed our genetic test and we have prepared this special on genetics and sport with the sole objective that you can reach your maximum potential as an athlete.
I would like to try the tellmeGen DNA test to improve my athletic performance, which product would I be most interested in?
Any of our DNA kits can offer you very complete and useful information about your response to physical exercise since they all include the results related to your well-being (Wellness section) that we analyze. All you have to do is purchase the tellmeGen DNA test that best suits your needs, submit your saliva sample, and in about 4-6 weeks you will receive your fully customized online reports.
