Think like an athlete and you’ll be one!

TELLING someone they have ‘athletic’ genes can improve their physical performance.

Researchers at Stanford University in the US tested 116 participants for CREB1, a gene linked to capacity for aerobic exercise, then tested their endurance levels on a treadmill.

Later, half were told they had a low stamina version of CREB1, the others that they had a high endurance version.

When they did the treadmill test again, those told they had the sporty gene did better, while the ‘less athletic’ did worse. Their lung capacity also fell, no matter which gene they really had.

The authors said it was an example of how mindset can alter human physiology.