Both in one visit
VO2 Max + RMR
Both tests in one visit, one consultation.
$450
Book
The Lab
RMR testing in Santa Monica
What your body burns at rest, measured rather than estimated from a calculator that has never met you.
Price
$175
Drop fat + optimise body comp
Measured resting burn,
not a calculator
An RMR test tells you how many calories your body needs each day for basic functions like breathing, circulating blood, and cell repair. Resting metabolic rate is what your body burns at rest — measured, rather than estimated from a calculator that has never met you. The $175 test includes the consultation.
If you want to lose body fat or gain muscle, knowing your RMR helps plan your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). That is the test under “drop fat + optimise body comp”: real calorie needs, macros for fat loss, support for energy and immune health, and a calorie and meal plan that matches the person in the chair.
This is rest, not a staged effort. Gareth Thomas reads the result with you in person. Coach to world & national champions · 30+ years.
- Understand your real calorie needs
- Balance macros for fat loss
- Support energy and immune health
- Set up a calorie and meal plan
- BookIncludes consultation$175
Why it sits next to VO2
Bodyweight sits inside
the engine number
A high VO2 max is built on other factors, first of which is bodyweight. Because that score is relative to kilograms, diet and blood sugar are part of the equation, not a side note. That is why a VO2 max test is often paired with an RMR test. Longevity Pro is both in one visit. Longevity Ultimate adds a blood lactate test as well.
Your VO2 is the size of your engine. Some people are born with a Ferrari and others a Ford Focus. You cannot change the size of the engine — that part is genetics — but you can tune whatever engine you have. Using more oxygen at rapid rates makes you faster. Keeping VO2 high is associated with longevity. That is why, at ECLYPSE Fitness Lab, the VO2 max test sits under the goal “improve health + longevity”: cardiovascular fitness first, race day second.
That pairing is why Longevity Pro exists. Cardiovascular fitness and resting burn in the same visit, one consultation, from the same person who will tell you what to eat and how hard to go on Monday.
What actually happens
Rest, not a staged effort
This is rest, not a staged effort. There is no treadmill ramp and no fingertip sample. The lab records what your body burns at rest rather than estimating it from a formula. Gareth Thomas reads the result with you in person and sets up a calorie and meal plan from your own numbers.
Roughly half the people tested at the lab are not racing anything. RMR is used just as often for body composition, longevity and general health as it is for performance. You do not need to be fit. You do not need to know any physiology before you arrive.
Every test is run and read by Gareth — coach to world and national champions, 30+ years. You do not get emailed a PDF and left to interpret it. The machine is not what you are paying for. Plenty of places in Los Angeles own one.
Local athletes on the three-month nutrition coaching programme get an in-person RMR test at the Santa Monica lab as part of that work. The nutrition programme itself is a separate path — an overhaul of food, fuelling and supplementation, starting with an in-depth analysis of current diet, gut and health issues. The RMR appointment on this page is the standalone test: $175, including the consultation.
The lab is at 1736 Ashland Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90405 — Tuesday to Friday 10–7, Saturday and Sunday 12–5, closed Monday. Call (858) 361-4733.
Who it is for
Half the lab is not racing
You do not need to be a serious athlete. Roughly half the people tested at the lab are not racing anything. RMR and VO2 max are used just as often for body composition, longevity and general health as they are for performance.
If the job is a calorie and meal plan from numbers that belong to you, this is the test. If the job is an objective cardiovascular marker and a Fat-Max fuelling intensity, that is VO2 max. If the job is race pace and training zones, that is a blood lactate test. Gareth will tell you which is worth the money if you are not sure.
Most people who want both numbers in one visit book VO2 max + RMR. That pairing is Longevity Pro. If you are not sure which is worth the money, call and Gareth will tell you.
What you leave with
A plan from your own burn
You leave knowing your real calorie needs — not a number a website produced from age, height and weight. From that, Gareth sets up a calorie and meal plan, including how to balance macros if the goal is fat loss, and how to support energy and immune health while you train.
The three-month nutrition coaching programme is the longer version of that work: body composition, immune health, race fuel and training fuel, starting with an in-depth analysis of current dietary habits and gut and health issues, including supplements and race fuels, then a custom prescription and food rotation plan. Local participants get the in-person RMR test included. The $175 test on this page is the measurement and the consult, on its own.
If you add VO2 max in the same visit you also leave with an objective cardiovascular number and your Fat-Max fuelling intensity. If you add a blood lactate test you leave with personal heart-rate training zones and the two thresholds that set them. Every price includes the consultation and a full explanation of your results.
Add VO2 max in the same visit
VO2 Max + RMR
Both tests in one visit, one consultation. That pairing is Longevity Pro.
Longevity Pro
Every price includes the consultation and a full explanation of your results. Call (858) 361-4733 if you are not sure which to book.
Questions
Before you
book
Still not sure? Call (858) 361-4733. There's no sales pitch — if a test isn't worth it for you, he'll say so.
What is the difference between a lactate test and a VO2 max test?
A blood lactate test measures how your body produces and clears lactate as intensity rises, which gives you your aerobic and threshold training zones. A VO2 max test measures the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during intense exercise, which gives you your aerobic ceiling and your Fat-Max fuelling intensity. Lactate testing is the better choice if you are training for a race; VO2 max is the better choice if you want a single objective marker of cardiovascular fitness.
Do I need to be a serious athlete to get tested?
No. Roughly half the people tested at the lab are not racing anything. RMR and VO2 max testing are used just as often for body composition, longevity and general health as they are for performance, and the protocol is scaled to whatever you can currently do.
How much does testing cost in Santa Monica?
A blood lactate test is $350, a VO2 max test is $275, and an RMR test is $175. A combined VO2 max and RMR test in one visit is $450. Every price includes the consultation and a full explanation of your results.
Where is the lab?
The lab is at 1736 Ashland Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90405, and serves athletes across Los Angeles, the Westside, Venice, Culver City and the South Bay. Call (858) 361-4733 to book.
Also in the lab
The other tests
Get faster + improve performance
Blood Lactate Test
The most precise picture of how your body clears lactate — and the intensity you can actually hold.
$350
Improve health + longevity
VO2 Max Test
The maximum amount of oxygen your body can use under load — the single best-studied marker of cardiovascular fitness.
$275
Book an RMR test
Measured, not estimated
What your body burns at rest, with a calorie and meal plan from your own numbers. $175 includes the consultation.