The 9 sport specific genes that Warrior Roots examines are listed below along with their associated
performance attributes:
1. Power and Fatigue = ACTN3
2. Lactate levels = MCT1
3. VO2max = HIF1
4. Body Fat = ADRB2
5. Strength = DIO1-D1a
6. Strength = DIO1-D1b
7. Exercise Blood Pressure = NOS3
8. Aerobic Fitness = PPARGC1A
9. Muscle Efficiency = ACE
Many professional athletes have used Warrior Roots athletic panel to sharpen their skills. Top MMA contender Shane Carwin had this to say about Warrior Root’s WAP:
"Warrior Roots is simply amazing, after getting my DNA results back for my athletic panel things made more sense to me on how my body performs. Now with these results I can put more effort in utilizing my strengths to counter my weaknesses.
A must for anyone wanting to take it to the next level!" + Shane Carwin
The demands of sport such as Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) include:
- Acceleration
- Using upper body strength
- Changing direction
- Short sprints or explosions
- Fast striding
- Rapid recovery
The ability to interchange between any of these activities on demand is critical. As a result, all of the energy-producing systems within the body are placed under a certain degree of stress, and thus a MMA athlete needs to be an all-round athlete. "Life at the cellular level might be defined as a network of integrated and carefully regulate metabolic pathways, each contributing to the sum of activities a person must carry out in order to achieve peak performance."
+ Testimonials from top MMA athletes
Dr. Stephen M. Roth, director of the functional genomics laboratory at the
University of Maryland's School of Public Health said "The ACTN3 gene is one of the most exciting and eyebrow-raising genes out there in the sports-performance arena." Roth also added that any test for the gene would be best used only on top athletes looking to tailor workouts to their body types.
Those scientists looked at the gene’s combinations, one copy provided by each parent. The R variant of ACTN3 instructs the body to produce a protein, alpha-actinin-3, found specifically in fast-twitch muscles. Those muscles are capable of the forceful, quick contractions necessary in speed and power sports. The X variant prevents production of the protein.
The ACTN3 study looked at 429 elite white athletes, including 50 Olympians, and found that 50 percent of the 107 sprint athletes had two copies of the R variant. Even more telling, no female elite sprinter had two copies of the X variant. All male Olympians in power sports had at least one copy of the R variant.
Conversely, nearly 25 percent of the elite endurance athletes had two copies of the X variant only slightly higher than the control group at 18 percent. That means people with two X copies are more likely to be suited for endurance sports.
+ The Science behind the test
+ Take the Athletic Test