I tried Eternal’s 2.5-hour fitness test for life

Today, there is no shortage of tests available to anyone who wants to take a deeper look at their health. And as a writer with almost a decade of experience in the wellness and fitness space I have tried everything – from extensive blood work to Mris And even get a brain scan. Sometimes I feel that my professional title can be “Wellness Guinea Pig.”

I have been lucky enough to have access to some of the best fitness experts and fitness coaches over the years thanks to my job, but even after becoming a nasm-CPT I wanted to dig in more information about where I stand in terms of my muscle mass, bone density, strength, aerobic endurance and how this all connects the dots to my general health.

Enter: EternalA concierge wellness platform focused on athletes and people focused on performance and life. Eternal offers advanced diagnostics such as Dexa scanning, blood work, VO2 Max Testing and more. The tests included depends on which membership level you choose (ranging from $ 500 to $ 6,000 per year).

Founder Alex Mather, co-founder of Athletic and one of Strava’s first product leader, says: “Eternal was born out of my own search for balance-between performance, health and reality in aging. As a parent with a demanding job and a love to be active, I often had one too many directions. So many tactics, no strategy.

And so Eternal was born, with physical sites in NYC and San Francisco, plus virtual membership alternatives for everyone in the United States.

How my eternal experience was

While I was not trying the entire PRO membership, I tried a version of it and got a full taste for what the eternal annual experience could look like. My assessment consisted of three parts: a fitness assessment that you personally do in an eternal place in SF or NYC, where you work with a professional to check the 90-plus health and performance cinemators; blood work, as you do on a lab; And intake issues as well as meetings with your coach and medical supplier to chat about your goals and problems.

I’m not going to lie – I’m not frightened by many things anymore (I recently voluntarily into an MRI machine in an hour), but I was frightened by the fitness assessment section. The assessment takes about 2.5 hours. Before the test, I was told to reduce my workout or rest for two days before, and I raised my carbohydrates a little the day before and the day to fuel.

When I arrived at NYC, I met my eternal technician, Jamie Pasquin, who guided me throughout the process. We started with the Dexa scan, which is the gold standard to measure your muscle mass in the fitness industry. The scan also gives you insights into your body fat percentage and bone density. This test means lying on a table while the machine is scanning you, and it’s pretty fast. We also did some blood dot blood tests to check my lactate threshold (more on this later). I was then led into the main room in eternal space, where I completed a series of mobility tests. Some of these tests felt like mini training or distances, where Jamie told me to do a move or train while he looked at me and took notes.

Then I tested my strength, power and stability on power plates, which are tools used in performance assessments to measure someone’s soil reaction force. This is where things became really interesting! I did push-ups, squats and other features while standing on the power plates or using other special equipment that helped determine my strength and power. I also did a grip strength test, which required me to squeeze a special device as hard as I could. It was humble, to say it mildly.

Finally, we closed the test with one stroke: the 30-minute “lactate ramp”, where I ran on a treadmill while Jamie dotted my finger again every minute or so to test my lactate threshold, which is a metrical to understand endurance performance better. Then I got a short break and got right into the VO2 Max test, which required me to donate a mask and heart frequency monitor and sprint everything on the treadmill. VO2 Max measures your aerobic capacity and endurance.

My VO2 Max test took about 30 minutes. When you start the test you can warm up. But after I slowly worked my way up to a completely sprint, I had to stay in the sprint for a few minutes, which took a lot out of me. (I remember wondering if anyone ever threw up during this test, and I was told that it had happened before.) Thankfully I did not throw up, FWIW. But I felt very exhausted after the 2.5 hour session was over.

My results and takeaways from the eternal experience

I was impressed by how effective and clearly the team could distill the 120-plus markers to a report that highlighted my overall fitness and health goals and weaknesses. I also liked my session with my doctor, Desmond Wilson, MD, who is the medical director of Eternal. I could discuss all my worries and goals, including heart health, hormones, healthy aging, fitness and more. To talk to Dr. Wilson helped me connect many dots between my health and fitness and felt so personal because we had so much data to work with.

In my personal report I was told that my “strengths” are aerobic capacity – my VO2 max is in the 95th percentile (puts me in the top 5 percent of my demographic), which according to the report means that “my heart, lungs and muscles work together at a high level.” The report also gave me insights about my metabolic health – alias my blood sugar and insulin levels, global stability and balance and my hormone health.

While I was surprised to see that my VO2 Max score was so high, I had a feeling that it would be a strength for me because I had done a lot of Danish and HIIT style training, plus sometimes driving. I also thought I did well in the strength, but this is where my weaknesses came in. I had random strength training a few days a week (eg did 30-minute workout throughout my body) but had a feeling that I could call this with more strategic lifting strategy and progressive overload training-and I was right. The report said that I especially lack hip strength, which can explain part of my story about hip and knee pain. My overall muscle mass was also not the best, at least not for my height; The report said I am “undermined” for my frame. This was a real alarm clock, because I know the benefits of having more strength and muscles, especially when aging.

The report also mentioned my cardiovascular risk, which I could discuss more with my doctor, including the fact that I have a family history of heart disease, which showed in my blood work (and which I was previously aware of.)

To say that I learned a lot from the eternal experience would be an understatement. It is one thing to know about the benefits of certain lifestyle and fitness choices such as fitness training and strength training and good nutrition, but it is a completely different experience to dig in what you specifically do that drive certain data – and get a plan for how you can improve.

Following the assessment, coaching sessions and session with my doctor where we discussed different strategies to improve my weaknesses in the report, I made many changes. First, I decided to really focus on strategic strength training. I am now working on a strength training plan that intentionally works specific muscle groups, and I focus on my lower and upper strength, focusing on progressive overload. I still do pilates regularly and think it helps with my overall mobility, posture and feeling of balance and well -being (my body only feels better when I do pilates regularly!). And while I don’t stop Cardio, it’s no longer the focus of my routine.

I’m not going to lie – changing my routine in this way has not been easy. Doing slow, heavier strength training just doesn’t give me the endorphin rush as fitness training, but I learn to find ways to mix it, still integrate my fave cardio training sessions, and I look forward to hopefully seeing the changes pay for my health and well-being in the long term.

Mercey Livingston Is a writer and editor with eight plus years of experience covering fitness, health and nutrition for media and brands including well+good, form and women’s health. She was the fitness editor at Peloton and held editorial roles at Equinox, Shape and Well+Good. Mercey is a NASM certified personal trainer and women’s fitness specialist. She is also a certified holistic health trainer through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, with further certification in hormone health.