It does not matter if your are searching for optimal performance as an athlete or simply paying attention to your body as you age, testing your blood is one of the most simple and effective ways to see what's going on beneath your skin.
The concept of monitoring your blood panels is one of trends across the years. When we are young this doesn't even register but as we grow past our young adult lives the numbers can tell us important trends and even give us goals to shoot for. Trends in your blood serum levels can indicate disease, health and the aging of the system. You can adjust your nutrition of supplementation and see things turn around simply by just spiking the vein every so often.
So what kinds of things can you see or test with your blood?
-Liver and kidney health
-Cholesterol, pH, vitamin and mineral deficiency (very easy and usually covered by insurance)
- Adrenal and hormone health. In particular, your thyroid which is the heart of the endocrine system and can tell you a lot about what's going on in the body.
-Cardiovascular health and Red Blood Cell function. By taking your blood you can see how well the cells are breathing, releasing energy and are being stressed!
Insurance normally can cover a yearly test of ;
-Complete Blood Count ( essential)
-Resting Blood Sugar (think pre-diabetes)
-Vitamin D deficiency (think brain and hormone health)
-Cholesterol ( ahhh. Kinda important if you eat like shit)
- Inflammation throughout the body
These tests listed above should be mandatory for you as a healthy person to test annually after the age of 35.... (That's my opinion I am not a doctor but I play one on TV)
So now... You do the tests.. Get the results... And it all looks confusing.. What do you do now?
I have taken these tests and test there is a lot of information which is like another language as well as there is ranges that the tests list which label you as 'good' or 'deficient' or 'sick' or 'healthy'. Hell, doctors only look at the numbers, reference them on their sliding scale from a 1990's text book and send you on your way.
There are companies which can interpret you results as well as some information on line. I hesitate to say that the Internet is a good source for your health matters but I have seen personal accounts and experts weigh in on important stuff that your local doctor has fuck all of an idea about!
Either way, trends are important and deficiencies need to be addressed. Simple tests can show you a lot without a ton of confusion. Next time you are scheduled to go in, please get screened for the above listed items. Bring me the results and we can go over them together. Great health and long life are important and its on your to make sure your machine is running right!
Baseline;
500m Row
25-15-10
Wall ball Push Press
Burpee
Snatch Warm Up
7 x romanian deadlift
7 x snatch high pull
7 x muscle snatch
7 x tempo overhead squat @ 23X1
7x snatch balance
7x power snatch to OHS (hold PSn receiving position each time, each rep little deeper)
7 x snatch pull under
7 x hang (squat) snatch
WOD:
16 Min AMRAP
200m Run
12 Hang Power Snatch 125/75
12 Pull Ups
Rest :30
