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Genetics in training: using genetic results for performance and recovery
People respond very differently to the same training, and a large part of these differences is inherited – up to 47% in the HERITAGE study. Genes such as ACTN3, ACE or COL5A1 show you which way your member leans: power or endurance, faster or slower recovery, more robust or more sensitive tendons. As a trainer, you turn this into a more personal plan: setting a focus, planning recovery, increasing load appropriately – and measuring progress against how your member actually responds.
Same training, unequal progress
In the HERITAGE Family Study, 481 previously sedentary adults from 98 families trained for 20 weeks on the same standardized program. On average, their maximal oxygen uptake, VO2max, rose by about 400 ml per minute. But behind this average lay worlds of difference: some improved little or not at all, others by more than one liter per minute. The differences between families were 2.5 times as large as those within families; the researchers estimated the heritability of trainability at up to 47% (Bouchard et al., Journal of Applied Physiology, 1999).
Think of training as the seed and genes as the soil. The same seed grows in every soil – but not equally fast everywhere. For you as a trainer, that is a reassuring insight: when a member progresses more slowly despite a solid plan, it is not automatically a lack of discipline.
Can the soil be measured in advance? Research is on an exciting path. A follow-up study found 21 sites in the genome that together explained 49% of the differences in trainability. The difference is striking: people carrying no more than 9 of the favorable variants improved their VO2max by 221 ml per minute on average; those carrying 19 or more improved by 604 ml – about 2.7 times as much (Bouchard et al., Journal of Applied Physiology, 2011). The logical conclusion: performance is teamwork among many genes – and every gene you know brings the picture into sharper focus.
What genes show – and what you make of it
| Topic | What the genes do | What research shows | How you use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power or endurance | ACTN3 holds the blueprint for alpha-actinin-3, a strut in fast muscle fibers; ACE holds the blueprint for an enzyme that helps regulate blood pressure and blood flow. | The functioning ACTN3 variant is more common in elite sprinters (Yang et al., American Journal of Human Genetics, 2003). ACE was one of the first genes linked to physical performance (Montgomery et al., Nature, 1998). | set a focus, clarify expectations |
| Strength gains and recovery | ACTN3 matters beyond speed. | A review of 19 studies links the functioning variant to greater strength gains, more protection from muscle damage caused by eccentric training, and fewer sports injuries (Pickering & Kiely, Frontiers in Physiology, 2017). | dose eccentric loading and recovery appropriately |
| Endurance trainability | Many genes work together. | HERITAGE: heritability of the VO2max gain up to 47%; 21 sites in the genome together explained 49% of the differences. | measure progress against personal history, allow for patience |
| Connective tissue | COL5A1 holds the blueprint for a collagen building block of tendons. | A particular variant was more common in people without Achilles tendon problems (Mokone et al., 2006). | get tendons used to load step by step |
Connective tissue deserves a closer look. In a study of 111 people with Achilles tendon problems and 129 controls, a particular COL5A1 variant was clearly more common in the control group (29.8% vs. 18.0%; odds ratio 1.9). People with this variant were less likely to develop symptoms – and the association was even stronger for chronic Achilles tendon problems (odds ratio 2.6; Mokone et al., Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 2006). The logical conclusion: if the protective variant is missing, that is a good reason to increase volume and intensity especially carefully and to give tendons time to adapt. An injury-risk result is a tendency that helps you find the right dose early on.
Switzerland has stricter rules. There, analyzing sports-injury risk counts as a medical genetic test: it belongs in a physician’s hands and may not be advertised publicly. In Switzerland, even tests on power, endurance or recovery may only be ordered by certain health professions, such as physicians or physiotherapists (FH) – fitness trainers are not among them. The saliva sample is taken in the presence of the ordering professional. More in Who may offer genetic tests?.
A tendency, not a verdict: how to use genes well
Genes set the starting position, not the finish. That is exactly where their value for your coaching lies: they give you material for conversation, explain why members respond differently to the same plan, and provide good reasons to plan recovery and progression deliberately.
One line you draw clearly: do not test children and adolescents to identify talent or to define their training. Sport genetics researchers agree on this too (Webborn et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2015).
How ACTN3 works in detail and what CYP1A2 reveals about caffeine before training is explained in the nutrigenetics guide in Sports and performance nutrition. This article is about how you work with the results as a trainer.
From report to training plan in six steps
- Establish goal and starting point: performance test, training history, complaints, available time.
- Read the report, mark tendencies: power or endurance, recovery, injury risk – only what fits the goal.
- Compare with reality: Does the tendency match what you see in training? If not, the observed response counts.
- Set a focus, exclude nothing: Someone leaning toward endurance still trains strength – and vice versa.
- Plan recovery and progression: with signs of slower recovery, more recovery windows; with a higher injury risk, increase volume and intensity more carefully.
- Measure and adjust: retest at the end of a training block, then sharpen the plan.
The rule of thumb behind it: the measured response beats the predisposition. Novogenia applies the same principle when calculating personalized supplements: where blood values are available, they take precedence over genes.
Nutrition completes the training plan. Anyone who trains a lot and intensely needs a diet that matches the load. In Novogenia’s calculation of personalized supplements, performance sport increases requirements; every dose stays within fixed limits, at most up to EFSA’s tolerable upper intake level. How a gym turns this into an offer is shown in Personalized supplements as a gym offer.
Three typical situations – and how to address them
Purely fictitious, typical examples from everyday gym life:
- Endurance tendency, goal of building muscle: “Your genes show a tendency toward endurance. That does not mean building muscle will not work for you. It may take a little more patience – we measure your progress against yourself, not against others.”
- Signs of slower recovery, training six days a week: “More is not automatically better. Let’s replace two hard sessions with easy ones and see how you feel the next day.”
- Signs of a higher injury risk, first half marathon planned: “This is not a prediction that you will get injured. It is a good reason to increase your volume slowly and listen to warning signs. Please have any pain checked by a physician.”
The pattern: first the tendency, then the context, then a concrete next step. Never stop at the result.
Longevity training: strength pays off for every genotype
For a longevity offer, one message matters most: genes do not decide whether training works, at most how fast. A meta-analysis of 47 studies with 1,079 participants aged 50 and over showed that resistance training improves strength – by 24 to 33%, depending on the exercise. Higher intensity was associated with greater gains (Peterson et al., Ageing Research Reviews, 2010).
This also applies to members with “endurance genes.” People who do not produce alpha-actinin-3 can still build strength. Especially from midlife onward, that is a strong argument for including strength training in every plan – more on strength and mobility with age in Longevity in physiotherapy.
The right words
In Novogenia reports, genes are deliberately described simply as “functioning” or “impaired.” That is a simplification; the technical term is genetic variants. Here is how to translate results without putting people in boxes:
| Instead of … | Better … |
|---|---|
| “You are not the sprinter type.” | “Your genes show a tendency toward endurance. You can still build strength.” |
| “You are going to injure your Achilles tendon.” | “Your result is a reason to increase the load carefully – not a prediction.” |
| “Your body recovers poorly.” | “Plan more recovery deliberately and notice how you feel after hard sessions.” |
| “According to your genes, this plan is optimal.” | “Genes give us pointers. Whether the plan fits will show in your numbers over the next weeks.” |
Well prepared: performance genetics in the NOVO Academy
The NOVO Academy is free of charge and optional. It includes about 5 hours of video per language and a certificate for each completed topic, and it is available in 7 languages: German, English, Czech, French, Portuguese, Italian and Dutch. A dedicated course explains which genes influence athlete type (sprint or endurance), connective tissue and recovery capacity. More about the training program in Training with the NOVO Academy.
Checklist for trainers
- Goal, starting point and complaints established before you discuss the report.
- Results explained as tendencies – never as a verdict on talent or suitability.
- No tests on children and adolescents for talent identification or training decisions.
- Injury-risk pointers used to increase load carefully.
- Retest planned: the measured response has the final say.
- Pain, injuries or illness referred to a physician or physiotherapist.
Frequently asked questions
How does a genetic analysis feed into the training plan?
Which topics does the performance analysis cover?
Should we test children and adolescents?
What do I do if a result points to a higher injury risk?
Does the analysis have to be repeated for new training goals?
Related: Sports and performance nutrition: what genes reveal · Power, endurance and the ACTN3 gene · Longevity in the gym
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Become a partner →The Novogenia longevity lineNote: This guide is general information for businesses and professionals and does not replace medical or legal advice. Novogenia longevity products are food supplements and not a substitute for a balanced, varied diet and a healthy lifestyle; statements in this guide are not promises of cure and not statements on the prevention, treatment or healing of diseases. Recommendations derived from genetic analyses are logical conclusions, not scientifically proven. Regulations can change; errors and changes excepted.