Thursday, October 15, 2020

Hate the Gym? Blame It on Your Genes!

Have you ever heard about a runner's high? Or that great feeling people get after a workout? Maybe you have never felt these things. Researchers are now finding out that the reason you may or may not like the gym could be in your genes. They have found that some people have a gene that interferes with the release of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is the feel good neurotransmitter that regulates the pleasure and reward centers in the brain. If a gene interferes with that, you may not feel rewarded or pleasurable after a workout. This along with your personality of course. It could be considered a case of nature vs. nurture. You can always develop a passion and love for working out, it may just be harder. Just like you can have a gene that makes you more lazy, you do not have to live with it. You can fight it and train your body to be different. You can actually change the way your body reacts to working out. A study showed that a person who hated physical activity began running everyday for a week, and began to actually sort of enjoy it. Their neural pathways improved. This isn't to say they loved it, but it was a small change that could lead to something bigger. 


https://news.usc.edu/154932/hate-exercise-it-could-be-genetic/

https://www.thehealthy.com/bodies/quirky-traits-you-didnt-know-you-inherited/

4 comments:

  1. Your post is actually really cool and fascinating. Most of my friends always told me about their "runner's high" but every time I got on the treadmill I never felt that whatsoever and used to dread working out. Ever since I started to go on the treadmill, within the past year, after working out and gradually built up to run a mile and doing multiple times, I actually enjoy it now. I always wondered the difference between my workout ethics changed but good to know it was due to my genes!

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  2. Great post Mikaela, I do not enjoy working out at all, now I can just blame it on my genes. But its good to know that you can retrain your body to enjoy it!

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  3. I thought this article was interesting. This basically explains why I hate working out and instead of people calling me lazy, I can tell them to blame it on my genes LOL. This also explains why some of my friends loved running; they always talked about their runner's high and how great it made them feel. Now I know that I'm just going to have to work a little harder the next time I workout.

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  4. This makes perfect sense! Gym rats are literally experiencing a natural high when they go to the gym and that's why they keep going every day. Normal people like me have to force myself to go to the gym to get a good workout. I bet some of the top athletes in the world have a gene related to the dopamine release after their workout and that's why they can continuously push their bodies, because it's almost like their "drug".

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