The other day I finally did something I tell clients to do all the time, but like most people… I put it off longer than I should have.

I ran a full set of bloodwork.

Not because I felt terrible.
Not because anything obvious was wrong.
Not because my doctor told me to.

It was more that quiet voice that shows up once you get a little older… the one that says:

You might feel fine, but that doesn’t mean everything under the hood agrees with you.

So I signed up through Function Health and ran a full panel.

And since I was already going down the rabbit hole, I had Jodie run one too.

That’s when the whole thing stopped being theoretical.

Nothing dramatic.
Nothing scary.
No sirens, no ER, no late-night Google searches that end with you convinced you have six rare diseases.

Just a few cardiovascular markers that were drifting the wrong way.

The kind of numbers you would never feel.

The kind of numbers most yearly physicals don’t even look at.

The kind of numbers that don’t matter… until they matter a lot.

We both just sat there looking at the results for a second and said the same thing:

Yeah… I’m really glad we saw that now.

Not ten years from now.

Not after symptoms.

Not after a doctor says, “we should have caught this earlier.”

Now.

That alone made the whole thing worth it as we can take action now before it becomes a much bigger issue.

Here’s the part nobody likes to hear

Many signals form your body are unconscious.

You can feel strong… and still have lipids drifting up.

You can be lean… and still have inflammation climbing.

You can train hard… and still have glucose regulation getting sloppy.

You can sleep fine… and still have hormones trending the wrong direction.

You can look healthy… and still have cardiovascular risk markers moving the wrong way in slow motion.

Physiology is designed to survive acutely but that can come at a cost longterm.

Most people never see the numbers on bloodwork.

They just wait until something breaks.

I don’t like playing that game.

Not with my health.

Not with my clients.

And definitely not with my wife.

Why I used Function Health

I get asked all the time where to get real labs done if your doctor won’t order everything you want.

Because let’s be honest… most standard checkups barely scratch the surface and docs are slammed for time in a broken system.

You get the usual handful of markers, a quick “looks good,” turn your head and cough, and you’re out the door in ten minutes.

Meanwhile, there’s a whole list of things that could be drifting and nobody is even looking.

That’s why I used Function Health.

Big panel.
Way more markers.
Easy setup.
And the price is actually solid for how much data you get.

That’s what I used for myself.

That’s what I used for Jodie.

And the fact that we caught something early made it worth every penny.

If you want to check it out, here’s the link I used:

>> Function Health <<

Full disclosure — I’m an affiliate now, so I make a few clams if you use that link.

I didn’t sign up as an affiliate first.

I only signed up after I used it… and after I saw what showed up on Jodie’s labs via Function also.

The older you get, the more guessing costs you

When you’re younger, you can get away with flying blind.

You can out-train bad sleep.
Out-recover bad nutrition.
Out-run bad decisions.

At some point that stops working.

And this is where most people get frustrated.

They’re training.

They’re eating decent.

They’re trying to do the right things.

But progress stalls.

Energy drops.

Recovery sucks.

Body comp won’t move.

Blood pressure creeps up.

And nobody knows why.

It’s physiology.

Something is off internally, and until you see it, you’re just guessing.

Bloodwork doesn’t fix everything.

But it tells you where to look.

And that alone can save you years of spinning your wheels.

Or worse.

If you want help looking at your labs

If you decide to run labs and want someone who actually lives in this stuff to go through them with you, I do bloodwork consults for performance (I am not pretending to be your doc).

Some people just want a one-time deep dive.

Some want to fix everything we find.

That’s what my M3 1-on-1 coaching is for — labs, physiology, training, recovery, the whole system.

If that’s you, just reply to this email and we can talk.

No hard sell.

Just options.

Takeaway

You don’t get bloodwork because you feel bad.

You get bloodwork so you can keep feeling good.

We caught something early on Jodie’s labs that we can change now.

That’s the best outcome you can ask for.

If you want to run your own labs, this is the exact setup I used:

>> Function Health <<

Much love and health,

Dr Mike

PS- Most people will spend money on supplements, gadgets, and programs without thinking twice…

…but won’t spend money to actually see what their body is doing.

That’s backwards.

Run the labs first.

Then go ballZ deep.

_____________________

Mike T Nelson CISSN, CSCS, MSME, PhD
Associate Professor, Carrick Institute
Owner, Extreme Human Performance, LLC
Editorial Board Member, STRONG Fitness Mag

Mike T Nelson is a PhD and not a physician or registered dietitian. The contents of this email should not be taken as medical advice. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any health problem - nor is it intended to replace the advice of a physician. Always consult your physician or qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health.

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