Differential Responses to Concurrent Training in High-Level Football Players According to the ACE I/D (rs4646994) Polymorphism

Methods

Changes in peak oxygen uptake (VO₂peak), squat one-repetition maximum (1RM), and bench press 1RM were compared among athletes with the DD, ID, and II genotypes following a six-week concurrent training intervention.</p><p dir="ltr"> Results: The results showed that concurrent training significantly improved aerobic capacity and maximal strength across all genotype groups. After the intervention, athletes with the DD genotype exhibited significantly lower VO₂peak values than those with the ID and II genotypes, whereas no significant difference was observed between the ID and II genotypes.

For bench press 1RM, the DD genotype demonstrated significantly greater strength than the II genotype, while no significant differences were detected among the remaining genotype comparisons. No genotype-related differences were observed for squat 1RM.</p><p dir="ltr"> Conclusions: Overall, these findings suggest that ACE I/D polymorphism may contribute to inter-individual variability in adaptations to concurrent training among high-level football players.

Specifically, athletes carrying the I allele (ID and II genotypes) showed greater aerobic adaptations, reflected by higher post-training VO₂peak values, whereas the DD genotype was associated with superior upper-body maximal strength adaptation. These findings highlight the potential utility of incorporating genetic information into individualized training strategies while emphasizing the need for further research to validate genotype-informed approaches in athletic populations.</p>