Athletic disposition is predetermined. There I said it. I have learned several facts in my kin class that I think you might be interested to know.
Reflex speed/fluency(cognitive not motor reflex "how fast you think"): In healthy individuals the only thing that determines the speed of these traits is axon diameter which is genetically predetermined and cannot be trained. In case you were wondering bigger is better in this case.
proportion of muscle fiber types: Muscle type cannot be converted from fast twitch to slow twitch and the average human has around 50% of each. In a muscle bi-opsy of Hussain Bolt's Vastus Mediallus it was determined that there was 82% fast twitch muscle fiber. Similarly Lance Armstrong would have unusually high proportion of slow twitch muscle fibers. And of course, you guessed it, proportion of muscle fiber type is genetically determined.
Muscle size: you may believe that muscle size is very training dependent, and you would be right, sort of. In a study of untrained mature males on max bicep curl weight there ended up being a very large distribution. The lowest weights were in the 20s and the highs were somewhere in the 80s range. So, assuming a 50% increase in strength via training the lowest would be 30 and the highest would be 120. In other words, though muscle size is trainable, your base mass/strength is genetically determined and as seen, that makes the most significant difference.
Aerobic endurance/VO2 Max: also genticly dependant.
sorry the last one was lacking but I am tired and I still have to do physics homework. punch line--> None of us can train to be lebron james :,(
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7 comments:
so this is why black people are so awesome?!
all this sounds too fatalistic--is this what your teacher tells you "Muscle type cannot be converted from fast twitch to slow twitch and the average human has around 50% of each." --it seems plausible that though you cannot shift them around--you could nurture one muscle type over the other...
A sad truth for some, for others a legitimate excuse for not being athletic. It's just easier for some people!
Interesting, I need to take a KIN class at UMass sometime. Was there a control for lifestyle factors or previous training (e.g. during adolescence) in the subjects? Adaptation made during adolescence have a potent impact on future capacities (this is why Chris will probably always be a better runner than I am), but it's hard to gauge in retrospect. No surprise on Usain Bolt. Dude's crazy. I think you can get pretty far training the fibers that you do have, so the facts about genetic determination aren't as fatalistic as they seem. Alex and I might have the same percentage of fast twitch fibers, but I weight lift all the time so I'm probably a lot stronger. But in terms of elite athletics, genetics will dominate. I guess you just have to choose the right sport and get get lucky.
I really dont know anything about the study beyond the results however my teacher refered me to it so I assume it is legit. Also I agree with your anylisis, there is alot of room for persanal growth. These facts only become relevant when understanding higher level athletics and athletic training.
I'll take the first sentence and the last: "Athletic disposition is predetermined...None of us can train to be lebron james". the underlying statement as i take it is that those super skilled were given them skills and you don't have them, you can't be her--you can't be him. I thoroughly enjoyed the body of facts--But to then use them to conclude that we will never be like our cultural heros is too simplisitic for me--what do you think about hard work nathan? --i know of two people. one that has and one that is on his way. Jack LaLanne is the first. He grew up a scrawny kid addicted to junk food--who through his own determination became fitness god "1959 (age 45): did 1,000 star jumps and 1,000 chin-ups in 1 hour, 22 minutes (and they were not kipping pullups.) --AND --1984 (age 70): Once again handcuffed and shackled, he fought strong winds and currents as he swam 1.5 miles (2.4 km) while towing 70 boats with 70 people from the Queensway Bay Bridge in the Long Beach Harbor to the Queen Mary.(from wikipedia)" The other is that young boy Brett who lives at Co-Housing--his hard work will pay off regardless of his genetic predispositions and i bet that if you looked up you could find many more who have exceeded your restictive understanding.
I don;t think he was trying to say that great strides can't be made by "ordinary" people or athletes. Just that those predisposed with certain physical attributes will be able to fulfill their potential to a higher level than other. No matter how hard those dudes you mentioned trained, they could not run like hussein bolt or dunk like lebron. they are however able to make incredible strides with what they are given, but perhaps that would eliminate them from elite competition in some areas.
I could not have said it better myself chris. well actually I would have left out the semi colon...
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