Blood tests explained
What each marker on a typical lifter’s panel measures, its usual range, and what pushes it up or down.
For information only, not medical advice. MyoStats is a tracking tool used at your own discretion. Speak to a doctor before changing your training, diet, medication or anything you take.
Hormones
- Total TestosteroneAll the testosterone in your blood: the part bound to proteins (SHBG and albumin) plus the small free part
- Free TestosteroneThe small share of testosterone not bound to proteins, which the body can use directly
- Estradiol (E2)The main estrogen
- LHA signal from the pituitary gland that tells the testes to make testosterone
- FSHA pituitary hormone that drives sperm production in men
- SHBGA protein made by the liver that binds testosterone and estradiol, controlling how much is free
- ProlactinA pituitary hormone best known for milk production
Lipid Panel
- Total CholesterolAll the cholesterol in your blood, carried by LDL, HDL and other particles
- LDL CholesterolCholesterol carried by low-density lipoprotein, which can build up in artery walls
- HDL CholesterolCholesterol carried by high-density lipoprotein, which helps move cholesterol back to the liver
- TriglyceridesThe main fat in your blood, made from the energy you eat and do not use straight away
Liver Function
- AST (SGOT)An enzyme found in the liver and also in muscle, released into the blood when those cells are stressed
- ALT (SGPT)An enzyme mostly found in the liver
- GGTA liver enzyme that is not raised by muscle damage, which makes it useful for telling liver strain from training
- BilirubinA yellow pigment made when old red blood cells are broken down, cleared by the liver