InsideTracker Review – How It Works, Pros and Cons

When you feel like your doctor isn’t truly giving you the attention you deserve or you simply want to stay on top of your health during distance running at home blood testing becomes a good option. This InsideTracker review is based on my experience of using it since 2015.

Being a long time user means I can share the pro’s and con’s rather than an outsider perspective of what’s offered.

I’ve talked at length about the benefits of blood testing for athletes, especially as we move in to peri and post menopause. So I won’t belabor that topic here, but instead focus specifically one what you can expect from testing.

✅Ready to go? Use this link and discount code RUNTOTHEFINISH for 20% off InsideTracker.

InsideTracker Review

Your Dr can 100% provide you with annual blood work at a wellness check up. I’ve found unfortunately through working with thousands of runners that:

A. Some Dr’s just won’t. Saying “you’re you and fit, nothing to worry about.” GAHHHHHH

B. They run the tests and say everything is normal. But they’re comparing you against the average person in the US who is absolutely NOT a runner.

C. I can’t get them to run blood during the middle of a big training cycle to see what might be off that’s causing me some fatigue.

On the whole this InsideTracker review is focusing on the Ultimate test which covers 43 Biomarkers. But the ideas are the same, just less biomarkers with other tests.

How does InsideTracker work?

• Order online from InsideTracker  –Code RUNTOTHEFINISH gets you 20% off
• Get a list of nearby labs where you can get your blood drawn (or use the new mobile draw option)
• You’ll register on the labs website for an appointment (aim for early morning as you want to be fasted)
• Take with you the single printable sheet emailed from InsideTracker
• Your samples are sent to a verified lab (so yes your results are reliable and accurate)
• Wait for an email saying “WOHOOO Your Results are In” – I’ve found it to be about a week.
• Log in to InsideTracker for an insanely detailed map of what’s green, yellow and red in your results (see examples below)
• Review the recommended foods or supplements to help address your issues
• Keep reading the great blog posts they send on sports nutrition which will help you continually stay on top of your markers

BONUS: InsideTracker now has an app, so you can set up reminders and track your new to do list.

For example, I’m trying to meditate daily to drop my inflammation levels and eat beans at least 5 days a week!

How to read InsideTracker Results?

After a normal visit to the doctor you get a piece of paper with a million values and then a note that things are normal.

What I truly love about this is that I can fully comprehend and USE the results provided and they aren’t just comparing me to a random group of adults to decide what’s normal!

This chart is NOT mine, but I think a good example of how your data is compared to help you find normal, low, optimized or high values.

When you first open your report, it will be quickly divided in to areas that need attention and areas that are optimized.

You can then dive in to each one more more details!

• A chart showing where you are from low to optimized to high
• Your exact numbers, so you can do more research on your own if desired
• Recommended foods or actions (like yoga to lower cortisol)
• Science tab to understand why this biomarker is important for your health and performance
• Ongoing history of that biomarker if you’ve had more than one test
• Links to detailed articles for additional information

Here is an example from my Sugar Group, which is always a bit off due to my low estrogen and thus these tips help me do my best to manage it.

(more on what is the sugar group in a following section)

Based on your results you’ll get recommendations to improve:

• sleep
• boost energy
• reduce injury
• prevent illness
• generally enhance your performance

Ever wondered why you ALWAYS get sick the week of race, this might help you put an end to that.

Finding out that you’re deprived of B12 or Vitamin D gives you something specific to take action on and support your body.

Checkout this chart on the Vitamins Athletes Need for Optimal Performance >>

What Does Inside Tracker Test?

It’s important to know that nothing in our body works alone, so sometimes a single biomarker needs others to make sense of it and that’s why InsideTracker has certain groups.

• Sugar Group – Glucose, HBA1C
• Lipid Group – LDL, HDL, Triglycerides, Total Cholesterol
• Inflammation Group – hsCRP, WBC, Neutrophils, Basophils, Eosinophils, Monocytes, Lymphocytes
• Iron Group – Ferritin, HB, TS, Iron, TBIC, RBC, HCT, MCV, MCH, MHCH, RDW
• Testosterone Group – Testosterone, DHEAS, SHBG, Testosterone Cortisol Ratio
• Cortisol
• Magnesium, RBC Magnesium
• Liver Enzyme Group – ALT, AST, GGT, Albumin
• Platletes, MPV,
• Vitamin D, Vitamin B12
• Creatine Kinase
• Sodium, Potassium, Calcium, Folate

All right this InsideTracker review is trying not to get too deep on science, but stick to what the heck are we learning. So let’s just break down a couple of the things above:

Liver Enzymes

This if often a good indicator that we are over training and high levels of muscle damage. Watching these markers over time especially can help pin point when we are not recovering well and need additional time off.

hsCRP

This is one of the inflammation markers that let’s me know I’ve pushed beyond the bounds of what I should in training. We know that levels will be elevated the day after a hard workout, so it’s best to schedule your test for a few days after any big training sessions.

Creatine Kinase is another marker that will be high when we are really working too hard. It’s a sign of muscle damage.

Vitamin D

Did you know this is a hormone?! YES and one that so many runners are low in. Yet when low we are more susceptible to stress fractures, fatigue and mood issues.

Iron Group

First they don’t just measure iron, they do the whole spectrum of Ferritin, hemoglobin, Iron, TIBC, and TS.

It’s important to realize they all work together and not in isolation.

If ferritin is low, you have less hemoglobin and fewer red blood cells to carry oxygen. When your iron is low, you feel fatigued, workouts that were good standbys become demanding, and performance falters.

Even meat eaters often have LOW iron during heavy training!

Read this post on tips for fixing iron deficiency.

Athlete CORTISOL Levels

We’ve talked a lot about the role cortisol plays in weight gain and how our workouts can often add more stress to our lives. BUT we can use that stress to optimize things if we know how to do it right!

We actually want to see our cortisol higher in the morning and lower at night.

I appreciate that their recommendations focus on lifestyle {i.e. sleep, yoga, reduced training, creative outlets} and foods that can help.

They also point out all the ways it’s going to impact performance, so if you can’t make a change for your health maybe you’ll do it to run faster!

What does InsideTracker not include?

There are other areas they do not test, which you may also want to have checked out.

• Thyroid is not included because there are not dietary and lifestyle changes with enough research for InsideTracker to make useful recommendations. Right now it requires intervention from a medical professional.
• Female hormones are not included because they change daily based on where you are in your cycle and again meaningful change requires specific medical advice.

Which InsideTracker Test Should You do?

A number of folks have asked me this question and of course it depends on your goals, but I would look at this way…

• If you are getting your annual bloodwork from the Dr, then you could do just the High Performance test.
• If you can’t get your Dr to do bloodwork you could do just the Essentials to check on your overall health.
• ✅But if you are looking for health and performance, do the Ultimate Package the first time around. This will ensure you get the  most comprehensive results and know exactly what areas you need to pay attention to or maybe find out you’re a perfect specimen.
• Following tests or each year, you might be able to do just the Vitality or High Performance because you have a few areas that are more important to pay attention to than others.
• If you are doing multiple tests per year, then I definitely think one should be Ultimate and then the others can be smaller check-ins.
• I would de-prioritize DNA and InnerAge – they are cool, but if I had to pick where to spend money I’d start with the focused athlete blood work first.

Downside to InsideTracker Testing

What are the drawbacks… it wouldn’t be a great InsideTracker review if I didn’t give you the full picture. So let’s discuss.

• Worry. Sometimes you’ll have levels that are flagged as low, which a Dr will not give you the time of day for. A great example is my platlets which are RED VALUE LOW. But still considered very normal for the majority of people. So I was freaked out for awhile, but found on the whole it’s ok just something I want to work on.
• It’s not cheap. Let’s just be real. $300-$500 is an investment. I prioritize when I’m getting a test to have the most impact on my goals and know that what I learn from it has been worth the cost, but yes it’s something to plan for.

 

There is so much more information here, but now you have an overview of just what you can learn from performance blood testing. It really is about better health, which results in better training…and tada better racing.

Find out more about InsideTracker and I highly recommend reading their blog.

Would you ever do a blood test for athletic reasons?

Have you ever made changes based on blood work and felt better?

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This time I truly bled for my work. I received a test for free in exchange for an honest review, which you have received!