I took up road cycling almost four years ago, a long-held ambition after years spent (mainly) lifting weights and culminating in winning the British bodybuilding championships. I knew I was naturally more suited to strength than endurance exercise so didn’t have high expectations of setting Strava’s leaderboards on fire. Nevertheless, I was intrigued to find out how I would fare in an endurance sport. Within months I was covering longer distances and racking up PBs but then I plateaued. Despite consistent weekly efforts, my FTP flatlined and I was no longer achieving PBs. Could I have reached my genetic limit?
This got me thinking how much our genes determine our athletic ability and endurance training potential. Research has shown that elite endurance athletes have a higher frequency of certain gene variants compared to sub-elite and non-athletes. Take the ACE gene, of which there are two variants: ACE I and ACE D. This gene has been shown to be linked to cardiorespiratory and aerobic fitness due to its role in helping deliver oxygen to our body’s tissues, as well as regulating blood pressure. It’s thought that if you have the ACE I gene, you’re better suited to endurance – whereas if you have the ACE D gene you’re better suited to strength and power. A 2022 meta-analysis found that, compared to non-athletes, elite endurance athletes were 1.48 times more likely to carry two copies of the I variant of the ACE gene.
