Keys to Establishing Baseline Biomarkers

Here at Athlete Blood Test, we analyze many professional and elite athletes’ blood several times a year. Sometimes we even analyze their blood a few times during a season. 

But do you need a baseline? To get the most out of your blood analysis-and your training, performance and recovery-YES!

The offseason is also critical, as it sets the tone for your full training and competition cycle.  It also establishes a baseline and helps determine what is normal for you when combined with repeat testing. 

Athletes and their blood constantly change from day to day, workout to workout. As we follow athletes through seasons and years, we look for variations associated with environmental factors. Some examples include training volume, intensity, nutritional changes, life stressors, overall physical and mental health, natural aging, digestive issues, supplement intake, sleep, sun exposure, and personal relationships. 

This highly tailored approach is unique in the marketplace, and the following are just some of the things you can expect.

Baseline Biomarkers are important for the following reasons.

• Check your nutrition.  As you undoubtedly know, good nutrition is essential for all the body processes supporting us as athletes—muscle action, bone growth, metabolism, and hormones. How do you know if you are deficient in nutrients? It might be fatigue, illness, reduced power output, or just a drop in mood or motivation.  An Athlete Blood Test helps you ensure you get enough of the right stuff to feel and perform your best. 
• Check your training and recovery. When it comes to training, more isn’t always better. Rest and recovery allow you to build muscle, strengthen bones, and increase aerobic capacity. Specific biomarkers (for example, cortisol and white blood cells) let us know if you are training too much and recovering too little. Back off, and you’ll see performance gains and potentially fewer injuries, fewer illnesses, and hopefully added enjoyment. 
• Understand your body over time.  Periodic testing can give you a more accurate picture of your unique biomarker levels, how changes to your nutrition, training and recovery impact those levels, and how you feel and perform. Monitoring can help you track your fitness progress over time—how by working on the “inside,” you can see the difference on the outside, whether through faster times, heavier weights, increased power output, or more laughter. 
• Get knowledge specific to you as an ATHLETE. Athletes are different, and your blood tests and analysis should be too. Routine blood tests (like the ones you get from your physician) are based on “population-based” data. They look at your blood biomarkers and whether they indicate a medical problem or disease. An Athlete Blood Test looks at your blood biomarkers (for example, iron, B12, and Vitamin D) and whether they are in ideal ranges for athletic performance. For a brief video on the Athlete Blood Test methodology, go to https://www.athletebloodtest.com/athlete-blood-test-methodology-explained/.
• Get recommendations tailored to YOU as a unique athlete.  When looking for a blood test for athletes, you must ensure that the analysis you get is individualized. Every athlete is remarkable. Each of you got involved in your sport for different reasons and backgrounds. Your “why” is important: your genetics, life story, and goals/purpose/dreams influence how you approach the sport. As a result, you will have individualized variances in blood biomarker levels and how your body responds to efforts to change these levels. Real people (yes, actual humans) at Athlete Blood Test look at you individually and provide unique recommendations regarding fueling, training, and recovery.

Take advantage of this off-season by capturing Baseline Biomarkers to get all the information you need to plan your best season!

Questions about Baseline Biomarkers? Contact us at [email protected], and one of our consultants will walk you through our full process and answer any questions.