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338 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2013
“Tests of innate physical ‘hardware’ — qualities that an athlete is apparently born with, like simple reaction time — had done astonishingly little to help explain expert performance in sports.”
(Page 6)
This particular gene tells the body how to build the EPO receptor, a molecule that sits atop bone marrow cells awaiting the EPO hormone. If the EPO receptor is a keyhole, it is one made specifically to accept only the key that is the EPO hormone. Once the key is in the lock, the production of red blood cells proceeds. The receptor signals a bone marrow cell to start the process of creating a red blood cell that contains hemoglobin.
(Page 276-277)
Amid the pageantry of the Opening Ceremony at the [next Olympics], make sure to look for the extremes of human physique. The 4’9” gymnast beside the 310-pound shot putter who is looking up at the 6’10" basketball player whose arms are seven and a half feet from fingertip to fingertip. Or the 6’4” swimmer who strides into the Olympic stadium beside his countryman, the 5’9” miler, both men wearing the same length pants.
(Page 289)
To pursue athletic improvement is to embark on a quest in search of the practice plan that suits your inimitable biology. … [A] single exercise program will produce a vast and individualized range of improvement for any particular trait. … Sure, there were subjects who saw no improvement in aerobic fitness, but perhaps their blood pressure dropped, or their cholesterol levels improved. Everyone benefits from exercise or sports practice in some unique way. To take part is a journey of self-discovery that, largely, is beyond even the illuminating reach of cutting science.