V0₂ Max is the ultimate indicator of cardiovascular fitness, and has previously only been available at hospitals, universities, and to elite endurance athletes. The test is a cardio workout on a stationary device—such as a treadmill, cycle or stairstepper— with gradually increasing intensity, during which an athlete is fitted with a heart rate strap and a face mask. These devices allow us to glean important insights about the athlete with incredible precision, including the number and type of calories burned during exercise, the exercise level that will optimize fat burning, heart rate zones for optimal training sessions, and excess post-exercise oxygen consumption.

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Blood Lactate Testing

The lactate threshold is the exercise intensity at which blood lactate (also known as lactate acid) begins to accumulate in the blood at a rate faster than it can be recycled. Once the accumulation hits this point, unbuffered acid enters the blood stream and eventually forces you to decrease intensity. The lactate threshold is a useful measure for deciding exercise intensity for training and racing in endurance sports. It varies between individuals but can be increased with training.

Blood Lactate Testing at THE LAB is done to find your exact lactate threshold and the correct intensity for base, recovery and intense interval training. Based on this information, we can give you specific zones in which to train, allowing you to perform smarter and harder than ever before.

Cryotherapy exposes the body to ultra-low temperatures for a short period of time, which has been shown to increase performance and decrease recovery time. The majority of the research on cryotherapy has been devoted to recovery and performance in athletics and pain management of arthritis. Some other areas of research include treatment of depression, anxiety, insomnia, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, fibromyalgia, ankylosing spondylitis, enhancement of immune function and improved cardiovascular function. Learn More Here

Assessing your metabolic rate at rest will enable us to determine your daily caloric needs. Our RMR machine will measure your oxygen intake and provide analyses that outline the amount of calories users should consume each day to meet weight gain or loss goals. The assessment will also produce nutritional assessments that can help those with diabetes or sleep disorders. Read here for more information about our machine.

InBody Composition

“The InBody 570 body composition analyzer goes beyond traditional body composition analysis, measuring fat, muscle, and total body water. Total body water data can be divided into intracellular water and extracellular water, values important for understanding a user’s fluid distribution in medical, wellness and fitness contexts.”

“The InBody 570 uses a method called Bio-electrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) to measure body composition, which divides your weight into different components such as lean body mass and fat mass to assess health and nutrition. Monitoring changes with a simple weight scale or Body Mass Index provides limited ability to accurately track changes as they only highlight changes in weight and thus fail to encompass progress in muscle gain or fat loss. To support ongoing success through physical activity, understanding body composition with InBody is key (InBodyUSA.com).”

Read More Here

THE LAB offers Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy from the best local physical therapists from Elite Performance and Rehabilitation Center. Our therapists are highly experienced and care for professional endurance, NBA and MLB athletes. Book a session and discover the difference.

THE LAB offers Therapeutic Massage to enhance blood circulation, relieve muscle tension, reduce soreness and promote faster recovery. Relaxed muscles have an increased range of motion and flexibility that leads to improved athletic performance.

Our partner, Marlo Tell, and her staff at Marlo’s Therapeutic and Sports Massage offer clients 60- and 90-minute massages. Marlo’s 20 years of experience have helped her develop a proprietary modality of bodywork that she successfully imparts to her staff. She works with top-level athletes to restore health and function and avoid injury. The Santa Barbara Independent has awarded Marlo “Best Licensed Massage Therapist” the last 10 years in a row.

THE LAB also offers 60-minute whole-body massages and 30-minute point-specific massages with our on-staff massage practitioner, Kaylene Walter.

Yoga at THE LAB offers athletes a unique opportunity to improve strength, functional flexibility and balance while also allowing them to calm their minds. Yoga at THE LAB is suitable for all ages and ability levels, so join us on the mat to get stretched, strengthened, sweaty and rejuvenated.

Pilates at THE LAB will allow you to improve flexibility, build strength, and develop control and endurance throughout the whole body. Our classes place special focus on the core and stability muscles, which are important for all sports. Practice Pilates to build strength and help prevent injuries.

Our newest offering is a recovery class! FOAM (For Our Aggravated Muscles) incorporates foam rolling techniques, mobility exercises, and instructional stretching. During a FOAM session, students learn to effectively foam roll and stretch with the intention of increasing their range of motion, managing their pain and facilitating active recovery. FOAM classes are expertly designed and instructed by Tom FitzSimons, a former Team USA Decathlete & Olympic Trials Competitor, who used similar methods and techniques to keep his body healthy and ready for peak performance.

THE LAB offers state-of-the-art Simi Running Analysis and Kistler Force Plate Analysis to our athletes. This equipment uses detailed methods of examination through video recording to detect biomechanical parameters in every phase of movement. Well-respected physical therapist and running coach Mike Swan uses this information in order to better identify improper movement patterns that have the potential to cause injury. Using this information, we design a personalized program for each athlete to prevent injury, aid in the rehabilitation process and enhance efficient run patterns.

Mike holds a Master’s degree in physical therapy from the University of Southern California. Upon graduation at USC, he was named the clinical science department’s Graduate Student of the Year. He also earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Mike also achieved All-American status five times as a triathlete, having completed the Hawaiian Ironman World Championships seven times. As an ultramarathoner, he has raced at the 50-mile distance five times, having finished second overall in three of those races.

Mike is also a talented running coach in the Santa Barbara area. He started by providing schedules and coaching for a handful of local triathletes, and he has now built his coaching business into a very successful enterprise. Mike coaches athletes of all levels and abilities, from many of the area’s top triathletes, to new runners, to experienced runners trying to reach the next level.

Using NASA-patented unweighting technology, the AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill has changed the world of rehab and training. This state-of-the-art tool reduces gravity’s impact by allowing athletes to train at any weight between 20% and 100% of their body weight in 1% increments. While ideal for those recovering from injury, the machine can also be utilized by healthy athletes and runners looking to enhance their fitness levels with an increased training volume while simultaneously reducing impact on their joints and muscles. Whether you are an athlete or client dealing with lower body injuries, chronic pain or neurological conditions that inhibit mobility, the AlterG allows you to run, walk and train faster and harder than ever before. Defy gravity on the AlterG Treadmill at THE LAB!
Learn More Here

THE LAB operates under the assumption that everyone is constructed uniquely. No two people have the same biomechanical makeup and, as a result, no two people have the same musculoskeletal strengths and weaknesses. The Assessment at THE LAB is designed to tease out these unique physical intricacies with the goal of developing custom exercise programs tailored to your individual needs. The Assessment centers on P3’s in-house 10 Camera 3D Motion Capture system—the gold standard in the industry—and two force plates to determine which physical systems both limit performance and predispose an athlete to injury. The end result of this comprehensive analysis is a fully-customized exercise regimen, developed and administered by P3 Performance Specialists.

More comfort and efficiency equals riding farther and faster with less chance of injury. Hazard’s Cyclesport, a partner with THE LAB, uses the Guru Fit System to fit your bike to you. This system allows both the fitter and the rider the ability to make real-time adjustments to the bike and find the best position for the rider. The 3D Camera captures the rider’s anatomic data while the rider is pedaling in real time.

The Guru Fit System also allows the fitter the ability to determine a cyclist’s pre-existing riding position in order to assist in finding a new bike. If the cyclist doesn’t have a bike currently, the “Bike Finder Fit” database can be used to combine different makes and models in order to find the bike(s) that best match(es) the rider’s preferred position. The rider can purchase a bike confidently, knowing it will fit him/her perfectly.

Learn more about Hazard’s Cyclesport here.

THE LAB’s recovery services are designed to accelerate recovery and provide relaxation time. The NormaTec compression system enhances blood circulation, which is vital to recovery. The Human Touch chair allows for a “zero-gravity” simulated experience, which reduces tension and stress on the body. THE LAB’s recovery services are used regularly by local college athletes, competitive endurance athletes and NBA all-stars as part of their post-workout routines.