A blog to help you optimize your full-body and life performance

Each InsideTracker test is specifically built and balanced to paint a well-rounded picture of health and wellness. This precise architecture is what makes even our most minimalist tests a powerful tool for making meaningful changes towards a healthier life.

But sometimes, more really is, well, more. Think of your body like a car: You get the oil changed every few months to keep things moving along nicely. But every so often, you treat it to a special tune-up to ensure everything -- not just the engine -- is working smoothly and efficiently. And just as our cars need these tune-ups, so too do our bodies. This occasional extra level of maintenance can help us get a more complete picture of our health.

Here at InsideTracker, we’re always aiming for optimal. Forget normal – whether it’s about our own bodies or the happiness of our awesome users, we never settle for “good enough.” The same holds true for our company and its products. That’s why we’re thrilled to share this hit list of 12 amazing new additions to the InsideTracker platform, including upgrades to our product functions, website, and the cutting-edge science that drives it all!

From the integration of personalized genetics and the addition of new goals, to updated optimal zones and faster checkout (yay, ApplePay!), we’ve been hard at work taking InsideTracker to the next level.

You spend countless hours over many months working on your fitness for your "A" race. Then, after all of the hard work is done, you cross the finish line feeling accomplished. For many, that's where the training journey comes to an end, but it shouldn't be. There's one more critical component to consider – recovery.

We sat down with an elite runner and coach, Mario Fraioli a week after this years wet, windy, and wild Boston Marathon. We spoke about the race and how he utilizes InsideTracker for all aspects of his training, including his recovery.

From product updates to team member achievements and countless medals around the necks of InsideTracker Athletes, 2017 was quite a year for us. Here’s a highlight reel of the top moments of the past year.

HSA, HRA, FSA, CIA, MIA... It seems there's an acronym for everything these days. So when it comes to healthcare, it should come as no surprise that there are acronyms aplenty.

But in particular, when dealing with insurance, health savings accounts, and other types of health benefits, the terminology can be difficult to navigate. So to help, we're going to dive into some of the details.

Why do we care? Because some health savings agreements can help you pay for InsideTracker plans! Here's the nitty gritty of differentiating between these three major types of accounts, and how to use them...

Perform. Recover. Repeat. At InsideTracker, we know that training and optimized performance is more of a journey than a destination, and even then, it’s more of a cycle than a straight line. As we reach short-term goals, new, longer-term goals come into focus, and the journey begins again.

A new study shows that these training cycles have more to tell us than meets the eye: with calculated, purposeful, and timely blood testing, we can maximize an athlete's performance throughout their season to minimize the likelihood of overtraining and injury.

There’s no doubt that we’re living through a technological revolution. And with the internet always at our fingertips, it seems like sheer brainpower is becoming obsolete. But whether we like it or not, our mental capacity follows the law of ‘use it or lose it;’ if we lean too heavily on technology as an external hard drive, we become more vulnerable to age-related cognitive decline.

The good news? It’s never too early to start protecting your brain! And now, there's no need to wonder any longer if those Sunday Paper brain games like Sudoku are imparting real cognitive benefits. Or better yet, if literal “brain food” actually exists. We’ve done all of the research. So without further ado, here’s some truly brain-boosting information you should know.

The word metabolism is thrown around quite a bit. But if we asked you to explain what it is and how it relates to your overall health, could you?

If not, don’t worry; you're not alone. That's why we're sharing the details you need to know about all things metabolism. And with some of our newest recommendations, InsideTracker can help you understand what the word really means, how it ties into your overall wellbeing, and how to optimize it.

At InsideTracker, our work revolves around the concept that no two people are the same. Accordingly, neither is their health. And yet until now, we've all been treated with the same remedies, taught the same health-boosting tips, and followed nearly identical dietary patterns. But do such practices get us closer to optimal health as individuals, or farther away? We think the latter. So we've gone rogue; we track biomarkers, use them as a signpost for where our health is going, and change course – even if it's the path less traveled. 

Sonya Looney is an outdoor adventure athlete from Albuquerque, New Mexico. She's the 2015 24-Hour Racing World Champion, a 4-time US National Champion, a USA Marathon World Championships Team member, a 2-time Breck Epic Stage Race Winner... the list goes on. She's also a plant-based eater. How does she manage to snag these titles (and more) while fueling only with plants? We wanted to know – so we asked!