Well, with regards to the ACTN3 gene, I'm a T:T. That is, I don't make a protein found in fasttwist muscles, a production that is common among "elite power athletes."

Good thing I find the rinse & repeat lifting of heavy objects to be a bore!

That said, NOT having it, has been demonstrated in mice to give them a 33% edge in distance before exhaustion with respect to the control. Plus: "among elite endurance athletes – marathon runners and rowers – the variant form of the gene is more common." That just might explain my perspective on those knuckleheads at the gym in town...

T:T is an uncommon trait to have as these are the percentages that possess it in relation to ethnicity:

• European: 19.4%
• African: 4.8%
• East Asian: 20.5%
• Latino: 27%
• South Asian: 36.6%

So, hey, I'm built to do well in cardio, so I just gotta drop weight to make myself less of a "power athlete" with all this extra "iron" I'm hauling around on my frame. It makes sense that I am genetically predisposed toward endurance—honestly, it's what I've always valued the most in myself and athletes—who doesn't love a Rocky montage?

It's such a SHAME that for the last decade+, it hasn't been until now when I've been able to find the zipper to this fat suit. More Genetics After reviewing my 23andMe data, I went into my AncestryDNA account to see any changes. An update:

Maternal

1. Baltic States: 32% 1st generation, Lithuanian grandfather
2. Eastern Europe and Russia > Poland, Slovakia, Hungary & Romania: 23% 1st generation, Polish grandmother

*Paternal

1. Germanic Europe: 18% grandmother
2. England, Wales & Northwestern Europe: 17% grandfather
3. Ireland & Scotland: 6% grandmother
4. Norway: 4% grandfather