Our blood test will check all the key markers to identify your levels of sports performance and fitness to improve your physical abilities.
If you’re a fitness enthusiast, athlete, bodybuilder or gym bunny – this test is for you! Check your key hormone levels to understand if they are impacting your health, fitness and performance wherever you train or compete.
If you’re struggling with low energy, long recovery times or slow gains, your hormones may be having a big impact. Understanding whether you have an imbalance can help you make changes to your lifestyle, nutrition or behaviours to adjust your health and improve your fitness.
You must be over 18 years old to use this test.
What’s included?
DHEA-Sulphate
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is a hormone which is found in all bodies and plays important role in muscular and metabolic health. It is the second most abundant circulating steroid in the human body.
It starts to decline as you age and also then leads to a decline in testosterone and oestrogen levels, which are important for the body to create lean muscle. A drop in DHEA and therefore Testosterone will impact the loss of muscle mass and bone density as you age.
Understanding your DHEA level means you can understand whether you have normal levels for your age and gender, and whether this is a cause of reduced muscle mass or weakness.
Follicular Stimulating Hormone
FSH can be found in males and females, and is important for female reproduction and fertility, and male sperm count and sex drive.
It can be a good way to help measure your general health and fitness. Low FSH levels can also indicate energy deficiency, often seen in people who exercise excessively. Understanding your FSH levels mean you can determine whether you are generally fit and healthy, as well as whether your low energy levels may be due to hormonal imbalance, or from too much exercise and not enough calorific intake, or rest.
Free Androgen Index
Free Androgen Index or FAI is a ratio used to determine abnormal androgen status in humans. The ratio is the total testosterone level divided by the sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) level, and then multiplying by a constant, usually 100.
A high value means you have too much active testosterone in your blood, whilst a low value means you have low levels of testosterone, which affects your muscle mass, fat mass, energy levels and bone strength.
Testosterone
Testosterone is made in the testes of men and, in smaller amounts, in the ovaries of women. It’s an important hormone which helps with the distribution of fat and muscle around the body, as well as energy levels and the ability to make and maintain lean muscle mass. Good levels of testosterone can help you develop larger, stronger muscles and stronger bone mass.
Understanding your testosterone levels will help determine whether you have a deficiency for your age and gender, which can be affecting your muscle growth, strength, endurance and outside the gym, your mood, fertility, libido and more.
Luteinising Hormone
Created in the pituitary gland, luteinising hormone impacts male and female reproduction abilities. For women it affects the ovaries and ability to conceive, whilst in men it affects the testes and testosterone levels.
A test for this hormone can show whether a female may have low or high testosterone levels or has entered the menopause affecting mood, strength and weight gain or increased fat levels. In men, this test alongside a testosterone check can identify whether low testosterone levels are caused by too much luteinising hormone in the blood, which can lead to reduced strength, low muscle mass, fatigue and weak bones.
Progesterone
Progesterone belongs to a group of steroid hormones called ‘progestogens’ and has an important role in the menstrual cycle and maintaining the early stages of pregnancy in females.
Lack of progesterone in the bloodstream can mean the ovary has failed to release an egg at ovulation, as can occur in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. In males, progesterone is produced by the body to create testosterone, and it is produced in the adrenal glands and the testes. Low levels of progesterone in males can lead to increased risk of osteoporosis, arthritis and prostate cancer.
Prolactin
Prolactin is a hormone created in the pituitary gland. Normally men and women both have low levels of prolactin in the blood, and during pregnancy for females, this increases to help stimulating milk production. High levels of prolactin outside of pregnancy, or in males, can cause infertility, impotence, reduced libido and limited sperm production.
High prolactin levels also interfere with the production of testosterone, which causes reduced energy, muscle mass development and strength.
Testing for prolactin can help determine whether low testosterone levels have been caused by excessive prolactin, which can be due to a tumour in the pituitary gland, underactive thyroid, medication or excessive stress.
SHBG
SHBG stands for sex hormone binding globulin. It’s a protein made by the liver and attaches itself to sex hormones found in both men and women.
Too much SHBG in your blood can be a sign that the protein is attaching itself to too much testosterone, making less testosterone available to your tissues. This will reduce strength, muscle mass and energy levels. High SHBG can also lead to weight increase and more fat mass, as well as low mood, insomnia leading to fatigue, and low sex drive.
Albumin
Albumin is protein mainly made in the liver. It helps carry nutrients, medications and hormones around the body. Low levels can lead to slow healing, tissue growth and tissue recovery – leading to longer recovery times for athletes and fitness fans.
Checking albumin levels can also help determine how much capacity your blood has for delivering hormones around the body to your tissues, which impacts the delivery of all the above hormones for sports and fitness performance.
