My client hit 15% body fat & looked incredible. Then his blood work came back.
Stressed to the 9s. Pre-diabetic. Weak immune system. Hormones of a 60 year old man.
It’s weird.
I’ve seen people who appear to be healthy.
Lean, strong, & capable.
They train, eat well, and look great.
But once their blood work comes back, alarm bells are ringing.
You can appear healthy, but have dying organs.
You can feel fine but be on the brink of diabetes.
You can have abs and be broken.
This intrigued me: am I one of them?
It’s been a while since I’ve last had a check up. So I’m getting my bloodwork done this week in Thailand.
In today’s letter, I want to share with you 8 tests that will predict your health better than your 1RM, your body fat percentage or how you feel day to day.
I) Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c)
Measures your average blood glucose over 2-3 months.
Elevated HbA1c reveals pre-diabetes or diabetes long before symptoms appear.
You may assume this is only relevant if you’re overweight…
But if you’re chronically stressed, under-sleeping, & eating poorly you can develop blood sugar dysregulation too.
II) Sex Hormone Panel
Measures the hormones that regulate your energy, mood, libido, muscle mass, recovery, and drive.
Testosterone decline in men is happening earlier and faster than at any point in recorded history.
And it’s not obvious.
Low testosterone doesn’t always feel like low testosterone.
It can feel like low motivation, poor recovery, brain fog, and a general flatness that’s easy to blame on stress or poor sleep.
This panel gives you a full overview.
III) Fasting Cortisol
Measures your primary stress hormone first thing in the morning.
Chronically elevated cortisol from overtraining, under-sleeping, or life stress destroys muscle, suppresses testosterone, & weakens immunity.
IV) Vitamin D
Between 75-90% of people in the modern world are deficient.
Low vitamin D is linked to weaker immunity, lower mood, reduced muscle function, higher cancer risk, and impaired testosterone production.
This one is cheap to test, cheap to fix, and has a HUGE ROI.
If you live indoors, train indoors, or live somewhere with limited sun…you are almost certainly deficient.
V) High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-CRP)
Measures systemic inflammation in the body.
Think of this like a smoke detector. It doesn’t tell you where the fire is, but a little smoke means something is burning.
Mildly elevated CRP is a strong predictor of future cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer (often years before any other symptoms appear).
Chronic low-grade inflammation is the underlying mechanism behind most modern disease.
It’s also what makes recovery from training slower, thinking foggier, and energy lower.
If your hs-CRP is elevated, something in your lifestyle is driving it.
VI) Thyroid Panel
(TSH, Free T3, Free T4)
Measures how well your thyroid (the master regulator of your metabolism) is functioning.
Thyroid dysfunction is one of the most commonly missed causes of chronic fatigue, unexplained weight changes, poor mood, low motivation, and brain fog in people who otherwise appear healthy.
TSH alone is not enough.
You need Free T3 and Free T4 for a complete picture.
Many GPs only test TSH. Push for the full panel.
VII) Apolipoprotein B (ApoB)
Measures the total number of atherogenic particles in your blood.
A more accurate predictor of cardiovascular risk than standard LDL cholesterol.
Each ApoB particle is capable of contributing to artery plaque build-up.
Standard cholesterol panels can look normal while ApoB is elevated — meaning someone can appear cardiovascularly healthy while silently building plaque.
If you have a family history of heart disease, or have never had this tested, get it tested.
VIII) RBC Magnesium
Magnesium is involved in over 300 biochemical reactions in the body, including sleep regulation, muscle contraction and relaxation, stress response, and testosterone production.
Most people who train hard, drink coffee, consume alcohol, or live in chronic stress are magnesium depleted.
And because standard serum magnesium looks normal even when cellular magnesium is low, it gets missed.
Low magnesium looks like poor sleep, muscle cramps, anxiety, low energy, and an inability to recover from training.
Sound familiar?
Final Word
What you measure is what you manage.
People who don’t look end up surprised, and by then the window for easy intervention has usually passed.
Your body is giving you data every single day.
Blood work translates it into something you can act on.
Your homework for this letter: book the test.
You may find everything is fine.
Or you may find why you haven’t been performing at the level you know you’re capable of.
Either way, you’ll know.
Thanks for reading,
Matthew.
P.S. If you want to go beyond the blood work and build a protocol that actually fixes what’s holding you back. Your be body, energy, & performance —book a free 20-minute strategy call for our Apex Coaching Program here.
Disclaimer: This email is provided for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute providing medical advice or professional services. The information provided should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, and those seeking personal medical advice should consult with a licensed physician.