Blood work for athletes

If you train seriously, blood is the only objective window into what is happening under the hood. Recovery, hormones, inflammation and iron status can all be measured. But only if the draw happens at the right moment.

Testosterone and cortisol must be drawn before 10:00

This is the most important point on this page. Testosterone and cortisol follow a daily rhythm. Both peak in the early morning and decline through the day. The reference ranges your laboratory compares you against are built on draws taken before 10:00.

Draw at 15:00 and you measure a trough while comparing it against a morning reference. Your result looks lower than it is, and a follow-up draw at yet another time is not comparable to the first. For someone trying to see whether a change worked, that is the difference between usable and worthless data.

Mario visits in the morning. You do not have to travel across town fasting to reach a collection point in time. You get up, you draw at your own kitchen table, and the timing is right. For a follow-up we book the same window so the two are comparable.

What athletes measure

Hormones and recovery

Total and free testosterone, SHBG, LH, oestradiol and morning cortisol. See testosterone.

Load and overreaching

Creatine kinase reflects muscle damage and is high after hard training, so do not draw right after a session. hs-CRP reflects low-grade inflammation. Ferritin can be low in endurance athletes through loss and increased turnover.

Blood count and oxygen transport

Haemoglobin, haematocrit, red cells and ferritin. In endurance sport this speaks to oxygen transport. On testosterone, haematocrit is a value you watch because it can rise.

Liver, kidneys and lipids

With high protein intake, many supplements or compound use, ALT, AST, GGT, creatinine and the lipid profile are the logical checks.

Hormone recovery after anabolic use

Anyone who has stopped wants to know whether their own production returns. You track that with testosterone, LH, FSH and oestradiol, measured at fixed times and repeated over weeks. A single measurement says little here, the series says everything.

This is insight, not treatment. Mario Test does not prescribe and does not supervise cycles. Acting on a result is a conversation with a doctor.

Packages for athletes

More background on the Athletes and Gym page.

Preparation that keeps your result usable

• No hard training in the 48 hours before. It distorts creatine kinase, hs-CRP and liver values.
• Fast if glucose, insulin or triglycerides are included. At least 8 hours.
• Draw at the same time as last time, otherwise you are comparing clocks, not values.
• Same conditions. Comparable sleep, no alcohol the night before.