#48 The Sports Gene - Book Summary

Hello Wise Wordians,Welcome back to another episode of ‘Wise Words Book Summaries’.This week we are summarising ’The Sports Gene’ by David Epstein which explores the contribution of both genes and sports training on human athleticism. In this episode, we cover topics such as:The predictive ability athletes acquire from their many hours of experience 10,000-hour rule, does it work?Genetic trainability How sports and sport technique shape the bodies of high-performing athletesHow our environments and culture shape our bodies and our genesIf any of these topics sound interesting to you then make sure to give it a listen, and if you enjoy what you hear, why not leave us a like, subscribe to our channel, or even better, let us know your thoughts in the comment section below, your feedback means so much to us and helps to improve our podcast.In addition to this, if you fancy implementing any of the actionable ideas we mention in this episode, head on over to our website at wisewords.blog where the ‘The Sports Gene’ book summary will be waiting for you.Next week we will be summarising ‘The World’s Fittest Book’ by Ross Edgley so make sure you stay tuned for that.We hope you enjoy it.---------------------------Chapters:00:00:00-Intro00:00:15-Overview00:07:51-Nature or Nurture in Athletic Performance00:08:21-Less about reaction times and more to do with experience-built predictive ability00:18:53-How best to become an expert. The 10,000-hour rule.00:21:32-Does 10,000 hours work00:24:52-The problem with the 10,000-hour rule00:27:08-Are some people easier to train?00:28:39-The comparison between natural talent and a hard worker00:33:33-Does practice matter?00:34:12-Where talent meets innate advantage00:36:19-Your hardware determines your software limit00:39:46-Specialising late, general physical preparedness00:42:39-Genetic advantages do exist00:44:06-The overlap between men and women00:49:48-Genetic Trainability00:53:07-Testing identical twins00:56:28-Starting at an elite level00:58:15-The double muscle gene - my-statin01:02:22-How we gain muscle01:03:06-Different muscle types01:08:10-How sports and sport technique can shape the ideal body01:15:04-How many pounds of muscle to a pound of bone01:17:51-The ideal body for basketball01:21:15-How our environment affects our genes01:24:59-How the build of black and white people’s bodies differ01:27:06-Allens Rule01:29:30-The doping variant, why some people can dope and not get caught01:31:19-Theories as to why Jamaicans are so good at sprinting01:31:44-Selection of the fittest slaves01:32:08-Jamaica’s Sprint System01:36:42-Natural selection and malaria - differing haemoglobin levels01:40:17-Compensatory mechanism for reduced haemoglobin levels01:41:22-Can every Kenyan run?01:42:43-The hidden advantages of Kelinjin bodies01:44:23-Why do slim legs matter01:47:05-The altitude advantage01:50:44-Genes that contribute to training addiction01:54:34-Sudden death syndrome, genes responsible for injury and pain01:58:18-Genes responsible for gold medals02:01:36-DebriefIf you enjoyed this podcast make sure to check out our other content on our other platforms:Website: https://wisewords.blog/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wisewords.blog/Twitter: https://twitter.com/wisewordsblogFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/WiseWordsBlog