These days, there’s no shortage of tests available to anyone who wants to take a closer look at their health. And as a writer with nearly a decade of experience in the wellness and fitness space, I’ve tried it all – from comprehensive bloodwork to full-body MRIs and even getting a brain scan. Sometimes I feel like my professional title could be “wellness guinea pig.”
I’ve been fortunate enough to have access to some top fitness experts and fitness trainers over the years thanks to my job, but even after becoming a NASM-CPT, I wanted to dig into more information about where I stand in terms of my muscle mass, bone density, strength, and aerobic endurance, and how this all connects the dots of my overall health and wellness goals.
Enter: Eternal, a concierge wellness platform geared toward athletes and people focused on performance and longevity. Eternal offers advanced diagnostics like DEXA scans, bloodwork, VO2 max testing, and more. The tests included depend on which membership tier you choose (ranging in cost from $500 to $6,000 per year).
Founder Alex Mather, who’s also a cofounder of The Athletic and one of Strava’s first product leaders, says, “Eternal was born out of my own search for balance – between performance, health, and the realities of aging. As a parent with a demanding job and a love for being active, I often found myself pulled in too many directions. So many tactics, no strategy. I wanted a partner that could help me make the most of the time I have each week. One that could guide me toward the right mix of workouts to stay healthy, age well, and perform at my best.”
And so Eternal was born, with physical locations in NYC and San Francisco, plus virtual membership options for anyone across the US.
What My Eternal Experience Was Like
While I did not try the full Pro membership, I tried a version of it and got a taste for what the Eternal yearly experience could look like. My assessment consisted of three parts: a fitness assessment that you do in person at an Eternal location in SF or NYC, where you work with a professional to check 90-plus health and performance biomarkers; blood work, which you do at a lab; and intake questions as well as meetings with your coach and medical provider to chat about your goals and concerns.
I’m not going to lie – I’m not intimidated by many things anymore (I recently voluntarily got into an MRI machine for one hour), but I was intimidated by the fitness assessment portion. The assessment takes about 2.5 hours. Before the test, I was told to reduce my training or rest for two days prior, and I upped my carbs a bit the day before and day of to fuel.
When I arrived at the NYC location, I met my Eternal technician, Jamie Pasquin, who guided me through the entire process. We started with the DEXA scan, which is the fitness industry’s gold standard for measuring your muscle mass. The scan also gives you insights into your body-fat percentage and bone density. This test involves lying on a table while the machine scans you, and it’s pretty quick. We also did some finger-prick blood tests to check my lactate threshold (more on this later). I was then guided into the main room of the Eternal space, where I completed a series of mobility tests. Some of these tests felt like mini workouts or stretches, where Pasquin told me to do a move or exercise while he watched me and took notes.
Then I tested my strength, power, and stability on force plates, which are tools used in performance assessments to measure someone’s ground reaction force. This is where things got really interesting! I did push-ups, squats, and other moves while standing on the force plates or using other special equipment that helped determine my strength and power. I also did a grip-strength test, which required me to squeeze a special device as hard as I could. It was humbling, to say the least.
Finally, we closed the test with a bang: the 30-minute “lactate ramp,” where I ran on a treadmill while Jamie pricked my finger again every minute or so to test my lactate threshold, which is a metric for understanding endurance performance better. After a short break, I got right into the VO2 max test, which required me to don a mask and heart-rate monitor and sprint all out on the treadmill. VO2 max measures your aerobic capacity and endurance.
My VO2 max test took about 30 minutes. When you start the test, you’re able to warm up. But after slowly working my way up to an all-out sprint, I had to stay in the sprint for a few minutes, which took a lot out of me. I remember wondering if anyone ever threw up during this test, and I was told it’s happened before. Thankfully, I did not throw up, FWIW. But I did feel very exhausted after the 2.5-hour session was over.
My Results and Takeaways From the Eternal Experience
I was impressed by how efficiently and clearly the team was able to distill the 120-plus markers into a report that highlighted my overall fitness and health strengths and weaknesses. I also enjoyed my session with my doctor, Desmond Wilson, MD, who is the medical director for Eternal. I was able to discuss all of my concerns and goals, including heart health, hormones, healthy aging, fitness, and more. Talking with Dr. Wilson helped me connect a lot of dots between my health and fitness, and felt so personalized because we had so much data to work with.
In my personalized report, I was told that my “strengths” are aerobic capacity – my VO2 max is in the 95th percentile (putting me in the top 5 percent of my demographic), which, according to the report, means that “my heart, lungs, and muscles are working together at a high level.” The report also gave me insights into my metabolic health – AKA my blood sugar and insulin levels, global stability and balance, and my hormone health.
While I was surprised to see that my VO2 max score was that high, I had a feeling it would be a strength for me because I had been doing a lot of dance cardio and HIIT style workouts, plus occasionally running. I also thought I was doing OK in the strength department, but this is where my weaknesses came in. I had been casually strength training a few days a week (e.g. doing 30-minute full-body workouts with weights) but had a feeling I could dial this in with more strategic lifting strategy and progressive overload training – and I was right. The report said I’m particularly lacking in hip strength, which could explain some of my history of hip and knee pain. My overall muscle mass was also not the best, at least not for my height; the report said I’m “undermuscled” for my frame. This was a real wake-up call, because I know the benefits of having more strength and muscle, especially as you age.
The report also mentioned my cardiovascular risk, which I was able to discuss more with my doctor, including the fact that I have a family history of heart disease, which showed in my bloodwork (and which I was previously aware of as well).
To say I learned a lot from the Eternal experience would be an understatement. It’s one thing to know about the benefits of certain lifestyle and fitness choices like cardio and strength training plus good nutrition, but it’s an entirely different experience to dig into what you specifically are doing that is driving certain data – and get a plan for how to improve.
After the assessment, coaching sessions, and session with my doctor where we discussed different strategies to improve my weaknesses on the report, I made a lot of changes. First, I decided to really focus on strategic strength training. I’m now working on a strength-training plan that intentionally works specific muscle groups, and I’m targeting both my lower and upper strength, with a focus on progressive overload. I still do Pilates regularly, and find it helps with my overall mobility, posture, and sense of balance and well-being (my body just feels better when I do Pilates regularly!). And while I’m not stopping cardio, it’s no longer the focus of my routine.
I’m not going to lie – changing up my routine this way hasn’t been easy. Doing slow, heavier strength training just doesn’t give me the endorphin rush of cardio workouts, but I’m learning to find ways to mix it up and still incorporate my fave cardio workouts, and I’m looking forward to hopefully seeing the changes pay off for my health and well-being in the long term.
Mercey Livingston is a writer and editor with eight-plus years of experience covering fitness, health, and nutrition for media outlets and brands including Well+Good, Shape, and Women’s Health. She was the fitness editor at Peloton and held editorial roles at Equinox, Shape, and Well+Good. Mercey is a NASM-certified personal trainer and women’s fitness specialist. She’s also a certified holistic health coach through the Institute For Integrative Nutrition, with an additional certification in hormone health.
