Measured, not estimated. Gareth reads it with you.
Most people arrive unsure which test they need — and the names don't help. So pick the outcome you're after and the right test is the one underneath it.
The most precise picture of how your body clears lactate — and the intensity you can actually hold.
The maximum amount of oxygen your body can use under load — the single best-studied marker of cardiovascular fitness.
Most people want more than one number. These bundle the tests that actually go together for your sport, at less than booking them separately.
Every price includes the consultation and a full explanation of your results. Not sure? Call (858) 361-4733 and Gareth will tell you which one is worth your money.
A test session takes 30–40 minutes of actual testing, progressing through 4–8 stages. Allow around an hour in total, which includes the setup and the consultation where Gareth reads your results back to you.
You do not need to be a serious athlete to get tested. The protocol is scaled to whatever you can currently do.
You test in your own discipline — treadmill for runners, ergometer for cyclists, pool for swimmers. The data is only useful if it comes from the movement you actually train.
The session steps up through 4–8 stages of increasing intensity. Each stage is held long enough for your body to settle at that effort before anything is recorded.
A small blood sample is taken at the end of each stage with a fresh single-use needle. It takes seconds and you keep moving between stages.
You do not get emailed a PDF and left to interpret it. Every test is read back to you in person, in plain language, with what to change on Monday morning.
Three tests, three jobs. If you are still deciding, start from the goal rather than the name.
Race performance & training zones
Cardiovascular fitness & longevity
Metabolism & fuelling
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.
Coach and sports scientist — the “Lactate Guru”. A plan built around your race, your schedule and your own data, adjusted as you go and retested every 9–12 weeks.
One hour in the lab in Santa Monica, and you’ll know exactly how your body produces energy — and precisely how hard to go.
