I doubt it’s a scam of any kind at all, but they’ve sure gone all in with product promotion in the endurance athlete market lately - which gets old.

it's a scam in the sense that there is little useful information here as far as performance. maybe iron levels. I'd like to see the science behind it.

I thought the whole thing was a tracking app that utilized smart coaching and and additional 1 on 1 coaching on an ad hoc basis. But they use My Fitness Pal and have it integrated into their API. So I don't know.

I know Matt Dixon has been promoting it on his show, so hopefully it works. I've seen some anecdotal stuff from Eric Lagerstrom posting on his insta but nothing crazy to make me jump to the price point they're at. If you want to get labs done for performance markers that can be done relatively cheaply and could even be done through your Primary Care Provider.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

I'm not sure how easy it is, at least with my provider. I don't think you can just order labs for yourself, so you'd have to convince your Dr. to order this wide range of labs for no good reason (unless you have some specific complaint, in which case the Dr. might prefer a more targeted lab order). And you might have to pay cash if not for an insurance-covered medical complaint, which can be a surprisingly big ordeal in our insurance-driven medical culture.

I got Inside Tracker once, just to try it out, and what it has going for it is it's super easy and low-hassle compared to most of my interactions with Big Medicine.

You can order labs yourself from companies that do testing. (Just like inside tracker is doing) Some people have great relationships with their providers and are able to leverage this, most however probably don't so it's probably just easier to do it via a third party company.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

I agree they are putting out a blizzard of online (and email) marketing and it's over the top annoying.

That said, I recently did their Ultimate plan, and while it's pricey, I think the post-test information they provide is quite good. A lot of detailed info, and reminders on why, the science, and what you can do to affect change. Very actionable information. I doubt I'll retest as often as they would push, but for the price of a helmet, I got a lot of actionable information.

I'm all about the Pros making coin and hawking product and I support their sponsors intentionally. However, these blood tests are scams and I'm disappointed they are propped up as anything else. I wrote this in another thread:

One thing I would advise against is wasting any money on either Athlete Blood Test or InsideTracker. I did InsideTracker and my wife did Athlete Blood Test with the idea we would make a long-term commitment to the one we liked most. Turns out for all the promises they make, both really just send you for a blood test and then cut-and-paste stuff you'd find on the internet to make your "personal report".

For example, for everything in my blood results that was outside the recommended range, InsideTracker's recommendation was to either consider a supplement after consulting with my primary care or they stated they didn't have an opinion because the science isn't clear on whether the range really even matters. $500 later and it turns out if you have a Vitamin D deficiency you should take a supplement and get in the sun more. Perfect. They also recommended I exercise "at least 3-4 times per week" (yes, there is a questionnaire where you tell them what you eat, how much you sleep, and what your exercise program is.)

My wife's Athlete Blood Test report was littered with typos like it was written by a high-school student the night before the term paper was due. Their advice to her was similarly unimpressive.

How long ago did she get a report? Are we talking like years? I was using ABT early on when the reports were still going thru a lot of revisions. Athlete Blood Test is/was a very valuable service to me as someone who is on a high-deductible insurance. I have received many actionable items that I used to work towards more optimized levels and that I did further optimize. It starts with conscious awareness and just the knowledge of where your levels are at which is what is missing for many. Just that can be worth it to some people as it was for me who didn't have great health insurance. Being able to order a test online and walk into a Labcorp without scheduling an appointment in Florida was worth the price of admission to me.

The ABT dataset comes from hundreds, if not thousands of professional athletes coming thru OTC in Colorado Springs. Insider tracker was around when I started with ABT but the offerings were vastly different and ABT was much better at the time. Not sure where they are at now but yes a lot of athletes are on Inside Tracker. Likely because of compensation and free tests. Even as their top referring athlete (didn't know that at the time I came onboard), I never got free tests, I had to pay into the program which I actually liked that ethos.

Here is my last published test from 2018. I continue to do them but never took the time to write up any further analysis.

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I was under the impression ordering labs for myself was illegal in California, but legal in Arizona (thanks to Theranos).

I somewhat disagree with the term actionable items that you use. What you are trying to do with the information is like trying to cut pieces of paper with scissors....in the thickness dimension. In order to have a data set that is meaningful to an individual, you would need constant testing with the same lab using the same instruments in order to really see the subtle trends that you seem to be describing. Yes, you can diagnose the gross deviations from the 'normal', but you can not use this information which is provided in a piecemeal fashion to provide the precision that is necessary to draw conclusions that are of the resolution that most on this forum seem to be implying (whether they realize it or not). I say this from the perspective of a person that designs next generation diagnostic technology and hearing the requests of both clients as well as management (not scientists) who make 'asks' which do not make sense in what physics is able to deliver given the stipulations that are placed on the system. So, could one get useful data from these? Yes. Is one likely to get information that can fine tune performance? Very unlikely, but if it makes you feel like it is doing something, the placebo effect is very real; and I do not deny that in the least.
Stephen J

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I believe my local reality has been violated.
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Happiness = Results / (Expectations)^2

From a practical standpoint you are ordering the tests, from a mechanical standpoint the doctor that works for whatever company you select is likely doing the actual ordering.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

I agree that ABT has been hugely useful to me.

I've always struggled with getting bloodwork done because I don't know exactly what to get looked at and have to haggle with a Doctor on why I want ferritin checked as well as Iron, etc. ABT is super easy for me in the sense that they've already picked the panels most useful for athletes, I pay, schedule a blood draw at dozens of local lab options, then get my report! No trying to set up an appointment with a Doctor weeks in advance, then having the schedule a follow-up appointment to discuss the results. Oh, and the Doctor doesn't really know what they're looking at in terms of what's beneficial for athletes.

I've used ABT 3x now and another feature I like is that the previous tests store in my profile with them. The feedback they've given is largely common sense stuff but still a good reminder and I've taken action on a few points that have resulted in improvements in those markers.

One final point I like is that they of course don't recommend any sort of hormone replacement or testosterone therapy. I had/still have daily "low-T" and the clearly state that the only way to improve this is through lifestyle modifications. What do you mean I have to get enough sleep at night and can't train too hard?!? It's a good reminder that these markers are a result of our lifestyle and dietary decisions and taking a supplement isn't always the answer (though I do take a multivitamin now).

I also have a super high deductible insurance and basically never go to the Doctor. I'm happy to pay a little extra out of pocket to get exactly what I need looked at. As I mentioned, the time saver of not having to jump through hoops to see a Doctor is a huge benefit to me.

DISCLAIMER: Our team does get a small discount with ABT that I use when I order a test but I'm not sponsored by them and don't receive any commission for referrals.

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Mark Saroni
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COACHING | TRAINING PLANS
MS Kinesiology | USAT LII | USAC L3

I checked that out at the time, and it wasn't immediately obvious from the Quest website how to retail-order tests without calling them. But now I see that the lab has a "QuestDirect" website with InsideTracker-like selection menus and bundling.

Edit: But looking at the prices without doing a completely apples-to-apples comparison, the QuestDirect pricing looks little better than Inside Tracker, e.g. the QuestDirect "Comprehensive Health Profile" is $299. That's right in the middle of the InsideTracker price range.

InsideTracker had a BOGO this wknd, I bot 4 tests for ~$1k. My plan is to use them quarterly next year. Seems fine, not sure what makes it a scam. They do obviously have huge margins and spend a lot on marketing.

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Dimond Bikes Superfan

I did it last month and found the results very interesting. I get annual blood work but they had additional results I had not considered before. Their "actionable items" on a few things I did find helpful, again as they had never crossed my mind and addressed things I was unaware of. I wasn't looking for a major diet, lifestyle, or training information. The Inner Age option was great, I'm 53 and it came back at 44, the same age as my wife so I could dunk on her a bit. :) I would not recommend the DNA add on, that wasn't helpful at all for me, it told me things I have known for years about predispositions. It even told me I would be good at endurance sports. No shit.

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-Of course it's 'effing hard, it's IRONMAN!
Team ZOOT
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I wouldn't call it a scam. I think the issue people have with it is the notion that you can use the results to "optimize your performance." When in reality it's almost entirely just to double check that you don't have some undiagnosed deficiency or disease that hasn't yet manifested itself with acute symptoms. Which can be pretty useful. I see use in doing it once per year or so. I don't "get" people who do it only monthly basis unless they have a specific goal, like bringing iron levels back up from a deficient level. (though even in that case it'd be far more cost-effective to switch to an a-al-carte iron test).

Yeah that's sort of where I land on it as well. And it's worth noting, there are a lot of triathletes out there who think they are healthy because they did an IRONMAN but could have a lot of underlying health issues they are oblivious to. Doing very comprehensive blood work and cardiac work can be very revealing and maybe save them from an early death they could never have anticipated.

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-Of course it's 'effing hard, it's IRONMAN!
Team ZOOT
ZOOT, QR, Garmin, HED Wheels, Zealios, FormSwim, Precision Hydration, Rudy Project

Thanks for the feedback, Thomas. Her test was November 2020.

I appreciate everything you share on ST. On this one, though, we'll disagree.

Came across this thread when searching for reviews on InsideTracker. Considering trying them out for the first time, or ABT. Have not done anything similar in the past, other than get some basic panel tests ordered by my doctor.

I can order a “comprehensive male panel” test for $239 from Any Lab Test Now that includes:
Complete Blood Count (CBC)
Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP)
Lipid Panel
Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c)
Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH)
Testosterone (Free and Total)
DHEA-Sulfate
Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA, Total)

Is what I would get from InsideTracker or ABT worth over 2X the price? Is it just a convenience thing of them summarizing results and providing recommendations versus me looking at numbers and doing some research?