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1-Page Summary of The Sports Gene

Overview

Think about where you’re from and the environment in which your ancestors lived. What kind of people thrived there? How would that have influenced your natural physiology, such as aerobic capacity? Once you know your strengths, think about how to train for them.

Did you ever dream of becoming a world-class athlete? You probably know that it takes hard work and an iron will to succeed at your chosen sport. However, research has revealed that physiology and ancestry can also play a role in making you successful. From the structure of your bones to the tiny red blood cells in your veins, genes impact both your baseline physiology and how well you improve it.

Here are some key points to help you blame your lack of motivation on your genes.

You’ll learn about why so many professional basketball players are tall, and how that relates to the founding of a slave colony in Liberia.

Big Idea #1: Height and arm span are important in basketball.

Have you ever wondered what it takes to become an outstanding athlete? There are many factors, such as physical prowess, training, and nutrition.

Hard work is important, but it also helps to have the right body type for a certain sport.

Height is a physical trait that’s often attributed to genetics. In the industrialized world, it’s estimated that approximately 80% of the difference in people’s heights is due to their genes. However, there isn’t just one gene responsible for height; instead, hundreds of thousands of genetic differences contribute to how tall you are.

It’s clear that tall people have advantages when it comes to basketball. The basket is ten feet off the ground, so if you’re taller, you can reach higher and shoot over shorter players. In fact, 17% of men aged 20-40 in the NBA are seven feet or taller because of this advantage.

In the NBA, height is very important. For example, shorter-than-average players can compensate for their short stature with other skills like jumping high or having long legs and jumping ability.

Shorter players have longer arms than taller players, which gives them a higher reach. This allows shorter players to block shots and get rebounds better. In fact, the average arm span of NBA player is so long that he would be diagnosed with Marfan syndrome if this disproportion were not due to genetics.

Big Idea #2: Skeleton is also important for running, sprinting and swimming.

Having the right skeletal structure is key to playing basketball. However, in other sports, it’s not as important, because some of those sports require a different body type.

Long-distance runners have a slim torso and thin legs. They are the best marathon runners today.

This body type is beneficial because a longer stride and faster top-speed.

Runners also have small bodies because it allows them to disperse heat more effectively. In contrast, sprinters require shorter legs because they need to be able to accelerate quickly from a standing start.

It’s true that the shorter the distance of a race, the shorter are successful runners’ legs. This is also seen in American football where quick acceleration is crucial. In fact, people have gotten taller over time but running backs and cornerbacks have become shorter on average. Shorter legs are a trait of swimmers as well as long arms and upper bodies which help them to glide along the water. For example, Michael Phelps is 6’4” tall yet wears pants with a relatively short 32-inch inseam.

Additionally, certain sports are better suited to different body types. For example, people of African ancestry have longer legs and a higher center of mass than those with European ancestry. This suggests that their bodies are better suited for running while the latter’s lower center of mass makes them better swimmers—a theory backed up by statistical studies.