hellooo? wrote:
i don't believe for a second that genetics is the most important. You're ability is not predetermined. It's when your growing that this "predetermination" happens. it's all about childhood lifestyle and environment. It's already been proven that the best possible time to strengthen fast twitch or slow twitch fibers is during childhood.
What i'm getting at is that genetics has a small part to do with this ability. Why is it that Jamaicans are so fast in Jamaica but not when they are born and raised in the U.S. ? It's environment and lifestyle as kids that matters the most.
No one is saying that there aren't other factors that determine success. Environment is a big factor but it isn't #1. Let's take, for example, Geb as a kid and switch him out with, let's say, another under talented kid growing up in a less than desirable (for athletics) environment (the other kid would live under the same conditions that Geb would have - you know, 10k to school and back everyday, etc.). 20 years later we'll introduce them both to a strict training regime, allowing them to train for a couple years, and then put them on the track for an all out mile. Geb will win. If you threw them both into 10 more races, Geb will win every time. Granted, Geb may not be as good a runner as he is today, but he'll still be an awesome runner.