I was recently introduced to Alter Fitness, a gene and biometric-driven fitness system designed to help customers discover the best fitness routine for their bodies. As a personal trainer and nutrition coach, I already feel I have a pretty good grip on my health and fitness, but I am always curious to learn more and love continuing to learn.

I decided to give Alter Fitness a try, going through the process as if I were an average consumer looking to get to know my body better and to see what kind of personalized insights they might be able to offer me so I could compare it to what I already know and do.

Spoiler alert: the results I got were not at all what I was expecting. Let me explain why.

Why I Chose to Test My Fitness DNA With Alter and Getting Started

I am always looking to gain more knowledge and information, especially when it comes to my health and fitness. I would consider myself advanced in the fitness space, but that doesn’t mean I know everything there is to know. I also have never tested my DNA in relation to health and fitness, so this was a totally new and exciting concept for me.

I decided to go ahead and take the first step, ordering my Alter DNA testing kit. About an hour or so after my order was placed, I received an email and text message from Spencer at Alter letting me know that he was going to be my fitness advisor. I loved the personal reach-out and the fact that I could respond via text and get an answer back quickly.

My Alter DNA test kit arrived at my doorstep quickly. The directions were clear and easy to understand. My only gripe was that the test required that I not eat or drink anything for a period of time, which was only difficult because I drink water so often. That said, when I finally got the opportunity to do the test, it was really simple and straightforward.

You take a cotton swab and run it on the inside of your cheek, then place it in a test tube. Returning the DNA test kit is simple, they will even arrange for your USPS carrier to pick it up from your mailbox for you so you don’t even have to drive it anywhere.

Throughout the process, I was getting texts and emails from Spencer letting me know that he was tracking my test kit. He helped me set up my USPS pickup and confirmed when my test was on its way back to the lab to be tested.

Getting My Results

A few days after returning my test, I was notified that my results were available for review. Spencer from Alter sent me a link to schedule a call with him to go over the results. 

Spencer called me as scheduled and as soon as we got on the call, he sent over a link for me to pull up my results. As soon as the link was available for me to review, I pulled it up. 

I was immediately surprised to see that my body’s preferred style of exercise was cardio as I am a firm believer in strength training, especially for women as we age. Spencer asked me questions about my current workout routine and if I was surprised at all by the results. I explained to him that I strength train as my main exercise modality and that, yes, I was definitely a bit surprised, but also open to learning more.

We chatted about why my body is more responsive to cardio and how I can incorporate more cardio into my routine to perhaps see better results. Spencer was very knowledgeable and easy to talk to. We also talked about nutrition and what macros my body responds best to. Again, I was a bit surprised to find that my body does better with higher carbs and lower fat vs higher fat and lower carbs, but the connection between cardio and carbs made sense to me.

We spoke on the phone for about 10-15 minutes about my results before he began making suggestions and recommendations for how I might move forward with the information I got from the report. 

We didn’t only discuss workouts, we also discussed “work-ins” which is a way to manage stress and add more balance to my life as I had indicated that my stress levels were pretty high. I really liked Alter’s well-rounded approach to fitness and overall wellness, it’s very holistic and doable.

Spencer wasn’t pushy or trying to get me to totally re-vamp my routine, he simply made suggestions to tweak my routine that could be more aligned with my body and allow for easier results.

The Alter Fitness System

Alter is more than just a DNA testing kit and report, once your results are determined, they provide personalized solutions for you based on those results. Essentially, Alter offers you a complete fitness solution that’s customized to your needs, based on your results.

Alter offers a wearable fitness tracking device as well as a fitness mirror for customized daily workout recommendations and tracking. 

The fitness wearable is a biometrics divide that monitors key biometrics to help the Alter system determine which workouts and work-ins are best for you each day based on your body’s readiness. 

The other piece of the Alter puzzle is its fitness screen (which looks like a mirror). The Alter Screen provides personalized workouts based on your body’s data (as tracked by your wearable device) and then provides you with short, manageable workouts across a variety of different modalities. The screen offers follow-along workouts with trainers who provide form cues. The screen tracks your form and provides corrections so you prevent injury.

I did not move forward with the Alter Fitness system so I cannot report back on how the screen and wearable work. At this time, I am still weighing the pros and cons of adding the system to my home. The cost is $2,995 for a one-time purchase, or you can finance it for as low as $99/month, which would probably be the route I would take.

Is Alter Fitness Worth It?

I really enjoyed the Alter DNA testing process and the subsequent report that I received as a result. I found the results to be both surprising and very informative. For that, I think Alter is 100% worth the initial cost to have the DNA testing done.

To be very honest, I am still on the fence about making the leap to purchase the complete Alter system which includes the wearable device and the screen as I am already very well-versed in workout programming and design and don’t really need any help in that arena. However, for those who are not fitness professionals (which I assume most of you aren’t), Alter provides a fantastic system for setting you up with customized workouts that require very little thought on your end.

If you’re someone who feels like you’ve tried everything when it comes to your health and fitness and constantly feels like you’re spinning your wheels and second-guessing yourself, Alter will take that guesswork out for you so you can move forward with confidence.

If you choose to go with the complete system, it’s definitely an investment. I like that Alter offers financing for those who need it, making the steep cost a little less hard to swallow.

On the other hand, if you compare the $2,995 cost of Alter with a year of personal training, a gym membership, and a nutrition coach, Alter comes out looking like a very affordable alternative. It all depends on what’s most important to you and what you will actually stick with.

Wrapping Up

Alter is a unique and innovative fitness system that takes more into account than just your preferences when it comes to fitness, nutrition, and overall health. I love their personalized approach, the customer service, and the programs and equipment that are designed to truly help people reach their goals. 

While I didn’t end up purchasing the Alter system, I did take a lot of the personalized insights I got from my DNA test into account and made some tweaks and changes to my fitness and nutrition routine to better serve my body and my goals. 

If you’re someone who would like to know more about your body, what it responds best to, and how to optimize your fitness and nutrition routine to nurture it, I encourage you to give Alter a try.