FH Newsletter: Episode 3

Newsletter Fam -

Back again for another edition of FITTER HUMANS and once again thrilled that I get to welcome a ton of new subscribers this week! Cannot thank you all for being here and trust me, we are all going to become FITTER HUMANS together one week at a time.

If you are new to the FH newsletter, I’m Daniel Guzman and I’ve spent the first decade of my professional life working on the front lines of professional soccer.

During this time, I accrued over 25,482 hours testing and experimenting the best protocols to improve human performance but there was still something missing…genetics.

Fast-forward to today and I am on a mission to be the leader in the applied sports genetics space.

I want to lead people to live a fitter life than they currently are, and that starts with making decisions that will positively impact your health.

And to make better decisions, you need high quality information that you can trust…which leads me to the goal of newsletter: the pursuit of a FITTER you.

So the formula is simple. Each week I’m going to bring high quality information that I trust, that develops FITTER HUMANS. 

If enhancing your physical performance or mental acuteness aren’t on your agenda, then this newsletter is not for you.

However, if envisioning yourself a year from now, declaring, “I am FITTER than I was last year,” resonates with you, then grab a seat and become a part of the FH tribe.

Thanks again for opening this email. A quick reminder which helps this newsletter so so much:

• Please reply to this message! I love hearing from all of you, but even if you send a simple 'yes.' it tells google (and other email providers) you actually want to get this.

• If this email landed in your promotions folder, move it to primary to make sure you actually see the next edition!

Thank you for joining the process and I can’t wait for us all to become FITTER HUMANS 👊

FITTER Genes 🧬: Power & ACTN3

Every athlete wants to be more explosive, more powerful in their sport. Whether it is to improve your vertical jump or your first 3 seconds of accelerating in your sport, it is a clear competitive advantage. So what does a power pathway look at in genetics?

Let’s start with the science of one of the associated genes: ACTN3. The ACTN3 gene encodes alpha-actinin-3, which expresses in Type II fast twitch muscle fibers. The ACTN R allele is really fascinating. It has a high response to resistance training, a reduced risk of injury and potential reduction in flexibility. An important study (Ma F, 2013) found encouraging evidence between ACTN R allele and power events. Research likes this helps bring the science to life when you read the actual methods, discussion and results.

So why is this important and how can we use this information practically?

Understanding the genes involved in power could be a little too deep for most people. However, when you understand what insight your genes give about your responsiveness to power, you can make much more accurate decisions about your training process.

Imagine you are a low responder to power training. This does not mean you cannot become powerful, you definitely can maximize your potential. It does mean that the route to improving short bursts of energy could be much longer than someone else. This could mean dedication to a consistent power training plan over a longer period of time. Or it could mean focusing your energy on another aspect of training, given your sport demands. Regardless, you will have a greater depth of information to form a wise training decision.

I have a friend who is a low responder to power, according to their 3X4 Blueprint, and he can dunk a basketball. Remember, sports is about genetics + your environment. My friend played basketball from a young age and exposed himself to an environment that demanded a high volume of vertical power moments. His environment helped shape his outcome!

If you want to dive deeper into some fascinating research, check out this paper on genetics and sprint and strength performance.

FITTER Stat of the week

Gretzky holds the record with 2,857 career points. If Gretzky didn’t score one goal in his entire career (894) he would still be the all-time point leader with 1,963 assists.

FITTER Poll

Have received lots of recs from subscribers asking for help with healthy eating and specifically shopping for a healthier lifestyle. Going to share my list next week but would love to know where all your FITTER HUMANS shop.

FITTER Ideas

Here’s some awesome content I was motivated by this week:

Been putting out tons of content on my Instagram, but here are a few of my favorites:

danielpguzman

View more on Instagram

FITTER Newsletters

Special shoutout this week to another FITTER newsletter that I have been following for quite some time and that is Robert Hester who runs the Threshold Performance Club.

I am a huge fan of the TPC newsletter and I know that all of you FITTER HUMANS will be as well because:

• I look forward to waking up to this high-performance newsletter every Sunday morning. Can’t tell you the last time I didn’t have an email from Robert on Sunday at 9am

• He constantly dives deep into training concepts that directly tie into performance 💪

POLL: Always striving to make this the best possible newsletter so looking for your feedback:

P.s. please reply to this email with any/all feedback. I love hearing from you all!

Trying to hit 20,000 steps today at Disneyland. Reply with your best guess and if you nail it, I’ll give you a shout out on IG this week.

Hope to see all of you FITTER HUMANS next week!

-Daniel Guzman-