Results Report Athlete Name: SHEPPARD, JOSEPH Date of Blood Draw: Dec 08, 2017 Panel: ABT Gold Panel ABT Expert: Dr. Rock Welcome to Your ABT Report! Thank you for trusting AthleteBloodTest.com to be a member of your performance team! Below are the results of your recent Athlete Blood Test. Please take a moment to become familiar with key components of this report to ensure you get the most out of the information provided. Introduction to the ABT Report Your ABT Report organizes test results by the relation to key performance-related factors. We encourage you to read the description of each test set to gain greater insight into your results. In addition, there are three unique components to ABT Reports, which have made ABT the preferred testing service by thousands of professional athletes, Olympians, and amateurs. The first is the development of ABT Ideal Ranges, the second is the hands-on expert review, and the third is our scoring system. Normal Range vs. Ideal Range Within the numbers we ve included two different ranges, Normal and Ideal. ABT ideal ranges are were developed through 9 years of research by our parent company, Phuel Sports Science. 1. Normal Range - lab determined values pertaining to the general population. 2. Ideal Range - ideal ranges based on your gender, age, and frequency/duration/intensity of training. ABT Expert Review Whether you are a top professional or just getting into your sport, we are committed to providing the same professional-level service. You results are reviewed by the same experts working with those who make a living off of their sport. Our ABT Experts review the results and compare it to your ABT Athlete Questionnaire, gaining insight only a human with extensive experience in this field can.
ABT Scoring System The ABT Scoring System is a method of creating a score for three key performance factors, including red blood cell health, micronutrient status, and training tolerance. There are several biomarkers that influence these performance factors. The scoring system provides an easy to understand method of relaying what these complicated biomarker relationships mean to you. Red Blood Cell Status Score Red blood Cells are key to performance. They deliver oxygen to muscles, allowing for quick recovery between contractions. When red blood cells are not optimized, muscles fatigue more quickly. A low RBC Status Score is most commonly associated with symptoms of reduced time to fatigue during workouts. If your score is low there is nearly always a problem identified through your test. Your ABT Expert will provide recommendations to fixing the problem. Micronutrient Status Score All ABT Panels include micronutrients critical to peak performance. Our most basic panel, the Bronze Panel analyzes micronutrients essential to red blood cell production and electrolyte balance, while our Gold Panel includes 9 micronutrients key to performance. Further yet, our Platinum Panel assesses both blood levels of micronutrients and genetic factors influencing absorption and utilization of key performance-related micronutrients. All micronutrients we test have a high turnover rate in athletes, commonly leading to deficiencies. They are also the most commonly supplemented micronutrients in athletes. Both deficiencies and over-supplementation can be detrimental to performance. A low Micronutrient Status Score means there must be dietary changes and/or supplements are needed to recover micronutrients that are lower than ideal and may be negatively influencing performance. Your ABT Expert will provide recommendations. Training Tolerance Score Training tolerance is determined by hormone levels and ratios, as well as certain organ enzyme markers, white blood cell indices, and red blood cell recovery. A low Training Tolerance Score means your body appears to be over-stressed by either your current training load or a combination of training and life stresses. Your ABT Expert will provide recommendations.
ABT Color Definitions Green means normal athlete variance. No action necessary. Yellow means action is needed to optimize performance. Red means immediate action is needed. These findings are typically causing symptoms. Alright, enough of the preamble, let s get to your analysis! ABT Gold Panel Our most robust blood test, the Gold Panel, is often referred to as the Baseline Panel or the Pre-Season Panel. This panel provides analysis of dietary and supplement needs, training tolerance, recoverability, and competition readiness. This is the information you need to lay out the perfect plan for your best season! If this is your first ABT test, the Gold Panel is preferred because it establishes baselines by which to compare future tests. The Gold Panel is also an excellent pre-season panel to ensure you begin each season in optimal physiological shape.
Red Blood Cell Analysis The ABT Gold Panel includes a complete blood count to assess red blood cell health. Red blood cells deliver oxygen to muscles. The number of red blood cells, size, shape, shape variation, hemoglobin, and hematocrit all play a role in how efficiently red blood cells carry oxygen to muscles. This has a significant influence on performance. Component Tested Value Normal Range ABT Ideal Range Flag RBC 5.19 4.1-5.8 4.4-5.8 Hemoglobin 16.4 12.6-17.7 13.5-17.7 Hematocrit 48.3 37.5-51.0 41.0-51.0 MCV 93 79.0-97.0 85.0-100.0 MCH 31.6 26.6-33.0 26.6-33.0 MCHC 34.0 31.5-35.7 31.5-35.7 RDW 13.2 12.3-15.4 12.3-15.4 Platelet Count 227 150.0-379.0 170.0-379.0 Reticulocyte Count 0.8 0.6-2.6 0.6-1.9 Your ABT Red Blood Cell Health Score:
ABT Expert Review Red blood cells appear to be optimized for efficient delivery of oxygen to muscles. The total number of red blood cells and their size, shape, shape variation and estimated oxygen carrying capacity (based on above factors) are ideal. The rate of new red blood cells being produced, as indicated by the reticulocyte count (immature red blood cells) appears optimal for your current training volume. TAKE HOME MESSAGE: Red blood cells carry oxygen to muscles. During exercise this is critical for both endurance and power. Healthy red blood cells and mid-high range hemoglobin and hematocrit are beneficial for the athlete. Geographic location, specifically the elevation at which you live factors into your ideal ranges. Based on where you live your red blood cells are optimized for efficient oxygen delivery to your muscles during exercise.
White Blood Cell Analysis The ABT Gold Panel includes a CBC differential, which analyzes white blood cells. White blood cells provide information about immune system status, inflammation, and training tolerance. These tests are primarily used for cross-reference to verify other positive findings, however these tests are also useful in identifying bacterial and viral illnesses. Component Tested Value Normal Range ABT Ideal Range Flag WBC 6.5 3.4-10.8 4.1-9.0 Neutrophil % 66.0 38.0-75.0 38.0-75.0 Lymphocyte % 24.0 15.0-49.0 15.0-49.0 Monocyte % 7.0 2.0-13.0 2.0-13.0 Eosinophil % 3.0 0.0-8.0 0.0-8.0 Basophil % 0.0 0.0-2.0 0.0-2.0 Neutrophils 4.3 1.4-7.0 1.4-7.0 Lymphocytes 1.5 0.7-3.1 0.7-3.1 Monocytes 0.4 0.1-0.9 0.1-0.9 Eosinophils 0.2 0.0-0.4 0.0-0.4 Basophils 0.0 0.0-0.2 0.0-0.2 ABT Expert Review Here we are assessing immune function, inflammation, and muscle breakdown as a component of assessing training tolerance. All findings within the CBC Differential, or white blood cell analysis, are within ideal ranges. Regarding findings commonly associated with excessive muscle breakdown or inflammation, these findings are within ideal limits. There is no concern of excessive muscle inflammation caused by your current training.
Comprehensive Metabolic Panel The ABT Gold Panel includes a comprehensive metabolic panel, which includes tests providing insight into training tolerance, muscle recovery, muscle metabolism, and nutrition. Component Tested Value Normal Range ABT Ideal Range Flag Glucose 124 65.0-99.0 65.0-99.0 High Chloride 103 97.0-108.0 97.0-108.0 CO2 26 18.0-29.0 18.0-29.0 Calcium 9.0 8.7-10.2 8.7-10.2 Total Protein 7.1 6.0-8.5 6.0-8.5 Albumin 4.5 3.5-5.5 3.5-5.5 Globulin 2.6 1.5-4.5 1.5-4.5 Bilirubin 0.3 0.0-1.2 0.0-1.2 Alkaline Phosphate 87 39.0-117.0 39.0-117.0 Albumin/Globulin Ratio 1.7 1.1-2.5 1.1-2.5 ABT Expert Review NOTE: High Glucose (124): Being this is a non-fasting sample, your glucose of 124 is considered normal. No action is warranted. Here we are adding components of our assessment of training tolerance, muscle recovery, muscle metabolism, and nutrition. All Comprehensive Metabolic Panel tests are within ideal range, which factors into our overall assessment of the factors above later in this report.
Iron Analysis The ABT Gold Panel include analysis of iron status, a micronutrient essential for red blood cell production. Red blood cells are critical to performance, as they deliver much needed oxygen to muscles in action. Component Tested Value Normal Range ABT Ideal Range Flag Iron 46 38.0-169.0 70.0-169.0 Slightly Low Ferritin 133.0 13.0-300.0 65.0-200.0 Your ABT Iron Analysis Score: ABT Expert Review Score reduced to 4.5 due to Slightly Low Iron (46). Iron is slightly below ideal range. Ferritin (stored iron) is well within ideal range. This indicates a relatively low iron utilization rate at the current time. Your body is storing iron readily. Based on the ratio of serum iron to ferritin (35%), it is storing within acceptable limits. This does not constitute overstorage. Despite iron being below ideal, your total iron status (iron plus ferritin) is adequate for your current training volume. No action is warranted. However, if you increase training volume more than 25% we recommend supplementing ferrous sulfate iron (ex. Feosol with Bifera) 1 day per week. A training volume increase of more than 50% (9 hours per week) warrants supplementation of iron 2 days per week based on the current iron status. However, we recommend re-testing iron during a higher training volume period to gain a more accurate insight into your iron utilization.
Hydration Status The ABT Gold Panel includes four tests to analyze hydration status. Dehydration is a common performance zapping condition in athletes that can lead to bigger consequences, such as electrolyte imbalances. Component Tested Value Normal Range ABT Ideal Range Flag BUN 13 6.0-24.0 6.0-24.0 Creatinine Serum 0.8 0.8-1.3 0.8-1.3 egfr 104 59.0-199.0 59.0-199.0 BUN/Creatinine Ratio 16.0 9.0-20.0 9.0-20.0 ABT Expert Review Hydration status was ideal at the time of this test.
Micronutrient Status The ABT Gold Panel dives deep into micronutrients essential to red blood cell production, muscle metabolism, and electrolyte balance. These micronutrients have a high turnover rate in athletes, commonly leading to deficiencies. They are also the most commonly supplemented micronutrients in athletes. Both deficiencies and over-supplementation can be detrimental to performance. Therefore, it is important to test micronutrients to determine your dietary needs and whether or not supplementation is necessary. Component Tested Value Normal Range ABT Ideal Range Flag Sodium 145 134.0-144.0 139.0-144.0 High Potassium 4.1 3.5-5.2 3.9-5.2 Magnesium 2.2 1.6-2.3 1.9-2.3 Folate Serum 20.0 9.1-30.9 15.0-30.9 Vitamin B12 1195 211.0-946.0 520.0-946.0 High Vitamin D 32.9 30.0-110.0 50.0-110.0 Slightly Low Your Micronutrient Status Score
ABT Expert Review Score reduced to 3.5 due to slightly above normal and ideal Sodium (145), slightly above ideal Vitamin B12 (1195), and below ideal Vitamin D (32.9). SODIUM Your sodium levels are slightly above ideal and normal range. Sodium is an important electrolyte for athletes, and influences utilization of other electrolytes, such as potassium and magnesium. Sodium also influences absorption of important nutrients. Balancing sodium levels within ABT ideal ranges is important to optimizing performance. Although maintaining adequate sodium levels is important in training athletes, having too much sodium can be detrimental to performance. A key source of sodium loss is sweat. The rate at which you lose sodium through sweating is largely genetic. Based on your slightly elevated sodium level, your current sodium intake is exceeding your rate of loss. Below are a few questions to ask yourself. Did you decrease your intake of sodium to accommodate for winter months, which typically mean lower training volume and less sweat loss? (You listed Ohio as your place of residence, which is considered a "cold" state, and listed current training volume at 5-7 hours per week). Is your diet too high in sodium? Are you taking an electrolyte supplement high in sodium? At this point, we recommend reducing sodium intake 15% to accommodate for the currently elevated sodium levels. As your training volume increases, and sweat loss increases, gradually increasing to your current sodium intake may be warranted. VITAMIN B12 Our research and outside research concludes that your B12 level is safe with your volume of training. However, it should be noted that additional B12 supplementation is not warranted, and largely contraindicated. You did not indicate a specific B12 supplement, thus this is likely coming from your multivitamin. No action is needed. VITAMIN D Vitamin D is below ideal range. Vitamin D plays an important role in muscle metabolism in athletes. Research suggests it can also influence testosterone and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) levels. These are important to recoverability.
Although sun exposure does heavily influence Vitamin D levels, ABT research shows a high incidence of Vitamin D deficiencies in athletes. This incidence is high even in those athletes with plenty of sun exposure. We have more to learn about the Vitamin D puzzle, however current research suggests that maintaining ideal levels of Vitamin D is important to performance and health. Vitamin D deficiencies warrant supplementation, as achieving doses that can replenish levels via the diet is extremely difficult. We recommend a Vitamin D3 supplement, taken at 1000 IU s daily for 2 weeks, then reducing to 1000 IU s 3 days per week through the remainder of your training/competition season. How to Optimize Vitamin D Supplement Absorption Taking Vitamin D supplements at the same time as other fat-soluble vitamins reduces absorption up to 10-50% due to receptor competition. Take Vitamin D with a meal separated from other fat-soluble supplements. Taking Vitamin D with dinner shows higher absorption, however can interfere with melatonin production (depending on dose). Try taking it with dinner. If you experience poor sleep, move your D supplement to earlier.
Training Tolerance and Recoverability Evaluation The ABT Gold Panel includes a comprehensive assessment of hormones essential to optimal performance and recovery. These hormones give insight into training tolerance, race timing, and recovery needs. Component Tested Value Normal Range ABT Ideal Range Flag ALT 23 0.0-44.0 0.0-44.0 AST 20 0.0-40.0 0.0-40.0 Cortisol 10.6 2.3-19.4 2.3-19.4 Total Testosterone 390 348.0-1197.0 420.0-1197.0 Slightly Low DHEA-S 181 71.6-375.4 97.0-375.4 TSH 2.390 0.5-4.5 1.0-3.5 Free Testosterone 7.3 7.2-24.0 12.0-24.0 Slightly Low Sex Horm. Bind. Globulin 50.5 19.3-76.4 19.3-68.4 Your Training Tolerance Score
ABT Expert Review Score reduced to 3.5 due to slightly below ideal Total Testosterone (390) and slightly below ideal Free Testosterone (7.3). Tests within the Training Tolerance Analysis suggest excellent tolerance of your current training. However, low free and total testosterone are associated with compromised "recoverability". Free testosterone is the bioactive form of testosterone. Reductions in free testosterone have been associated with reductions in recoverability, meaning damaged muscle tissue may take longer to recover than those with ideal free testosterone levels. What does this mean for me? ABT ideal ranges for free testosterone represent a range associated with rapid recovery from muscle tissue breakdown. Your lower than ideal level serves as an indication that your recovery strategy should be a very important component of your training. Sleep, stress management, proper recovery nutrition (ex. adequate protein intake) and muscle recovery practices are important to you. You may find yourself experiencing cumulative fatigue during ramp-up training weeks and/or weeks incorporating more intensity. Straying from your typical regime without easing into new activities increases your risk of injury. In our research, we have found a correlation between athletes with less than ideal free testosterone and increased risk of injury when they initiate new types of training rapidly. This is especially true with the initiation of training with high muscle breakdown rates, such as heavy weightlifting, crossfit, etc).
What My ABT Test Is Telling Me Immediate Needs
Action Points: 1. Decrease sodium intake as recommended above. 2. Avoid additional Vitamin B12 supplementation. 3. Improve Vitamin D status as recommended above. 4. Emphasize recovery hygiene, including adequate sleep, healthy fat intake, stress management, recovery nutrition, and rest time following training sessions. Comments: Overall Comments: Hello Joseph, Thank you for using ABT. To provide insight into the recommendations above, ABT's methodology for test interpretation involves comparing your findings to those of your peers. We use incidence data to determine ranges at which perceived symptoms occur, and use blood data to identify points at which certain findings affect physiology. Recommendations provided above are derived from tracking outcomes to recommended interventions. As you will see above, there are a few findings that influence your training and diet. In your athlete questionnaire you noted a symptom of decreased time to fatigue during training. This test does not provide a clear explanation of the cause of this. However, one possibility up for consideration is cumulative fatigue. There is an elevated incidence of perceived decreased time to fatigue in athletes with compromised recoverability (as indicated by low free testosterone) as the training season progresses, and into the 4-8 weeks following a heavy training season. If this does not apply to you, we are left to speculation about the source of your decreased time to fatigue during training, as this test offers no other solid insight. And, you are as qualified as I am to speculate about this, ha. Of higher priority in this test is recognition of the importance of recovery hygiene for you. You are somebody that, according to some preliminary data we have and one outside study, could benefit from 2 recovery, or "off" days per week. Adequate sleep, stress management, and recovery nutrition are important. There is mild evidence that a diet higher in healthy fats may result in marginal gains in your testosterone. Another higher priority item regards sodium. Our evidence is suggestive of elevated sodium having a higher association with elevated heart rates during training. Vitamin D and B12 are of moderate priority. Although your Vitamin D is below ideal range, which was established by outside research, we find little correlation of Vitamin D at this level to symptoms or performance losses. Nonetheless, we resort to Vitamin D studies outside of ABT because we have not been able to produce an independent Vitamin D study absent of cofactors. This is in most part due to us using the "real world" as our lab and data analytics versus a proper lab setting.