When it comes to fitness and sports performance, there are so many factors which can influence your ability to reach and exceed your goals.
We tend to focus on the obvious elements such as diet, sleep and training. While these are all incredibly important components, it’s difficult to know how to achieve the right balance if you don’t know exactly what your body needs to function at its best.
This is where sports performance blood testing can help you gain a real advantage. The information it can reveal about how your body is functioning, and what it needs more (or less) of, can help you optimise your diet and lifestyle.
What is sports performance blood testing?
Private blood testing for sports performance involves taking a small sample of blood using a finger-prick device. Your blood sample is then processed at an accredited laboratory where various blood tests are run to reveal whether you have deficiencies of specific hormones, vitamins or minerals.
The profile of tests is created with sport performance in mind, looking at the key indicators of health across a spectrum of wellness factors that can influence your fitness and ability to train and recover.
Why is blood testing in sport important?
It can be frustrating to dedicate so much time and effort into training just to hit a wall with your progress. While plateaus along a fitness journey are normal, there can often be underlying health factors holding you back from reaching your optimum performance.
Vitamin deficiencies, over or underactive hormone levels or nutritional imbalances can all impact your ability to reach your fitness goals.
We often invest a lot into the sports clothing we wear, the kit we use and the memberships we subscribe to, but we miss the opportunity to invest in unlocking the crucial information about our health that could help us achieve a better balance within our bodies and better results in our performance.
Vitamin deficiencies, over or underactive hormone levels or nutritional imbalances can all impact your ability to reach your fitness goals.
Is sports performance blood testing just for elite athletes?
As we become more aware of our health and wellbeing, sports performance blood testing is becoming increasingly popular for keen amateurs as well as professional sportsmen and women.
Anyone with an interest in health and wellness who is looking to improve their fitness, but may be struggling to reach the next level in their training, can benefit from sports performance blood testing.
What does the sports performance blood test include?
The Blue Horizon Core 14 blood test is perfect for both amateur and professional athletes alike. The test has been designed to provide a comprehensive profile of key health and performance indicators. The test includes:
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin B12
- Folate
- Ferritin
- Magnesium
- Zinc
- Copper
- Sodium
- Calcium and calculated corrected calcium
- Albumin
- Testosterone
- SHBG and calculated free testosterone
How does the test work?
The Blue Horizon Core 14 blood test is a simple, quick and convenient test you can take in the comfort of your own home.
Once ordered online, a home to laboratory testing kit is posted to you, containing everything you need to collect a small blood sample.
After you return your sample via prepaid Royal Mail post, our accredited laboratory will analyse your sample against 14 different blood tests, providing you with a helpful snapshot of your health and sports performance.
Tests are turned around in 1 working day, with results sent via email. A GP referral is included, as well as comments from a Blue Horizon GP if requested. containing all the information you need to help optimise your diet, add in supplements or seek further medical help to correct any imbalances.
