The 3 Most Overlooked Lab Markers for Athletes: What’s Happening Inside Matters

Most athletes obsess over personal records, mileage, or how much weight they can throw on the bar. They track pace, splits, reps, macros, and more. Yet, they still miss one of the most important factors that determines performance: what’s happening inside their body.

At 91WhiskeyRX, we specialize in taking athletes deeper than surface-level stats. We test what the mirror can’t show and what your smartwatch doesn’t measure. 

Here are three lab markers every athlete should be tracking if they care about longevity, performance, and recovery.

A1C (Blood Sugar Control): A1C measures your average blood sugar over the last three months. It’s commonly used to screen for diabetes. But most athletes don’t realize that even if they’re performing well in their workouts, they can be metabolically unhealthy.

Gels, energy bars, sugary pre-workouts, and sports drinks all add up. We’ve seen countless athletes with borderline diabetic A1C levels with no idea. Elevated A1C increases cardiovascular risk, decreases energy stability, and impairs recovery. 

Ultimately the lesson is that you can’t out-train poor blood sugar control and long-term performance depends on keeping it in check.

HRV (Heart Rate Variability & Recovery Capacity): Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is one of the best non-invasive indicators of how well your body is recovering from physical, emotional, and neurological stress. A high HRV result means that you’re well-recovered, resilient, and primed to perform while a low HRV result means that your nervous system is tapped out, and training hard may do more harm than good.

Tracking HRV gives us insights into an athlete’s autonomic balance and helps tailor training intensity to match recovery status. We don’t guess if you’re recovered. We measure it.

Inflammation Markers: Some inflammation is normal. Inflammation can be part of the healing and adaptation process. But chronic, low-grade inflammation is a silent performance killer. It slows recovery, keeps you sore longer, increases injury risk, and chips away at long-term health. 

Elevated markers like hs-CRP (high sensitivity C-reactive protein) are red flags that your system is under more stress than it can handle. What often surprises our members is that you can feel “fine” and still have elevated inflammatory markers.

If you want to perform for years, not months, inflammation has to stay in check.

Why are we sharing these labs with you? Because athletes who only track the scoreboard miss the bigger picture. PRs are great but if you’re unknowingly metabolically imbalanced, under-recovered, and inflamed, you’re on borrowed time.

These three markers don’t just show how you're doing today. These markers predict whether your body can sustain the grind or whether you're trending toward burnout, injury, or worse.

At 91WhiskeyRX, we take elite athletes, weekend warriors, and high performers through precision lab testing and data-driven health plans that actually match their goals.

If you’re serious about your performance, and even more serious about sustaining it, it’s time to get eyes inside your engine. 

Get started with precision lab testing and expert support tailored to your performance goals. Sign up here.