Metabolic Testing

Metabolic Testing at the HSS Sports Performance Center can help individuals reach their health and fitness goals through a variety of assessments designed for both the everyday athlete as well as the elite endurance athlete, and everyone in between.

Metabolic testing measures the physiological response to exercise, including key physiological parameters such as:

• Aerobic capacity (VO2 max)
• lactate threshold
• running economy
• metabolic efficiency

Each of these tells a story about where you are and provides insight on how to get to your next goal. Most assessments are performed on the treadmill or cycle ergometer and we use the Parvo True One metabolic cart to measure oxygen consumption with a protocol best suited to your sport and training regimen.

The VO2 max assessment measures your overall aerobic capacity, helps us examine your health & fitness level, and identifies your target training zones based on maximal heart rate and ventilatory threshold. These zones can be used to tailor an aerobic fitness program and to act as a measure of baseline at the start of your program, which will ultimately help us examine your potential as an endurance athlete.

The Lactate Profile assessment measures how your lactate rises relative to your pace or power output and at which point you reach your lactate threshold. Lactate threshold correlates reliably with your maximum sustainable pace or power output and is a useful tool in further determining your individualized training zones. Additionally, changes in lactate profile over time can help track metabolic adaptations to exercise training.

The Metabolic Efficiency profile measures the total number of calories utilized per hour and the breakdown of fat versus carbohydrate at various intensities. Examining your metabolic efficiency is another way to establish training zones, explore nutritional strategies for endurance events, and assess the effectiveness of certain exercise programs.

The complete advanced metabolic analysis examines all of the parameters above to provide you the most comprehensive evaluation of your fitness level. If you are interested in learning more about your running mechanics, learn more about our service here.

In addition, we offer a Resting Metabolic Rate assessment which provides information on your daily energy needs including resting energy expenditure per day, how much of your resting energy is derived from fat versus carbohydrate, and estimated total daily energy expenditure. These measures can be helpful when starting new lifestyle changes in nutrition and activity.

Benefits

Benefits include:

• Establish baseline of your current level of fitness
• Assess the effectiveness of your current training plan
• Identify areas where performance gains are possible
• Identify individualized target heart rate, pace, and power zones for training
• Identify precise caloric expenditure at various exercise intensities, providing tools for fueling strategies

Services and Pricing

2023 Pricing

• Resting Metabolic Rate: $180 
• Single Metabolic Parameter Analysis (VO2 Max or Lactate Threshold or Efficiency): $270 
• Basic Metabolic Analysis (VO2 Max, Lactate Threshold): $351 
• Advanced Metabolic Analysis (VO2 Max, Lactate, Efficiency): $421 

Basic Running Package: $700
Take your running to the next level with a 2-part analysis in this comprehensive baseline package.

• A Running Mechanics Assessment to gain a better understanding of how you run and opportunities for performance improvement and injury reduction
• An Advanced Metabolic Profile to identify precise training paces and heart rates and the potential to maximize race day performance

Elite Running Package: $1,125

• A Running Mechanics Assessment to gain a better understanding of how you run and opportunities for performance improvement and injury reduction
• An Advanced Metabolic Profile to identify precise training paces and heart rates and the potential to maximize race day performance
• A Nutrition Consultation with a Registered Dietician provides to leverage the data from your metabolic test to strategize optimal fueling strategies and improve metabolic efficiency
• A 1 on 1 training session with an exercise physiologist who will address any strength and mobility deficits identified with a customized strength training home exercise plan

Location

Location

Tisch Sports Performance Center
525 East 71st Street, Ground Floor
646.797.8005

Questions? Connect to our experts. sportsperformance@hss.edu