Is there a genetically determined limit to athletic performance?
Former Member
In his autobiographical book The Naturalist, E. O. Wilson suggests that there is a genetically determined limit to an individual's athletic performance which cannot be overcome regardless of the amount of training. Using himself as an example, he describes how he became a serious runner several years after graduating college. The gap between his times and those of the top runners in his age group (expressed as a percentage) remained what it was in college.
I looked at my current times (three years after joining USMS) and found that I am 12% behind in the 1000 and 15% behind in the 500. These percentages are exactly the same as they were in 1978, the last year I swam in college. I know there are exceptions within the ranks of USMS, but I wonder how valid this "rule" really is.
Parents
Former Member
Originally posted by scyfreestyler
Gull, since we are on the subject of health I wonder what you think of the article from USMS Swimmer from JACC about reduced calorie diets being good for your health?
I think the concept has merit. However, I don't think you can count on the same increase in life span that researchers have observed in rats. For one thing, it would be extremely difficult for a human being to match the caloric restriction inflicted on the rats. Second, humans are not rats (except for the Geek, of course). There is a phenomenon known as programmed cell death such that the cells in your body have a finite number of divisions before they die. The thinking is that if you slow cellular metabolism by restricting caloric intake, your cells will divide more slowly and thus live longer. Dr. Michael DeBakey, now 97, eats one meal daily (usually a salad).
On the other hand, as my dad likes to say, you may not live longer, it just may feel that way.
Originally posted by scyfreestyler
Gull, since we are on the subject of health I wonder what you think of the article from USMS Swimmer from JACC about reduced calorie diets being good for your health?
I think the concept has merit. However, I don't think you can count on the same increase in life span that researchers have observed in rats. For one thing, it would be extremely difficult for a human being to match the caloric restriction inflicted on the rats. Second, humans are not rats (except for the Geek, of course). There is a phenomenon known as programmed cell death such that the cells in your body have a finite number of divisions before they die. The thinking is that if you slow cellular metabolism by restricting caloric intake, your cells will divide more slowly and thus live longer. Dr. Michael DeBakey, now 97, eats one meal daily (usually a salad).
On the other hand, as my dad likes to say, you may not live longer, it just may feel that way.
