The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance

Epstein acknowledges that the sports world suppresses and elevates certain truths about the role of genetics in athletic performance. Evaluate the negative consequences of over-emphasizing the following messages: first, that one’s abilities are determined prior to training, and then, that one can improve or overcome biology through training.

Epstein often uses an individual’s biography as a launching pad to discuss a larger topic in the science of athletic excellence. Select one person he profiles in The Sports Gene and evaluate how the biographical details—both sports- and non-sports-related—contribute to a deeper or more nuanced understanding of the topic at hand.

Epstein profiles myriad physiological types and variations: high and low responders to training, people predisposed to excel at explosive sports or endurance sports, people with a high motivation to perform physical activity and people without. Epstein identifies himself as someone who likely carries the gene for being a high responder. Without sequencing your own genome, can you identify with any of the groups or traits discussed in The Sports Gene? How does this trait affect your life? How are you different from people you know, or similar to people in your family? What narratives do you have about yourself that may be attributable to genes?