Gyms are so 2018. In LA right now, it's all about the biohacking lab, where treadmills and free weights have been replaced with cryotherapy, infrared therapy, and bone density enhancers. Is this the workout of the future?

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W o r d s ⁄ T o m J e n k i n s S e t d e s i g n & p h o t o g r a p h y ⁄ M a r t i n a L a n g
Invasion
of the
body
hackersGyms are so 2018. In LA right now, it’s all about the biohacking lab, where
treadmills and free weights have been replaced with cryotherapy, infra-red
therapy and bone-density enhancers. Is this the workout of the future?

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I
LIGHT THERAPY
A number of stations
at Upgrade Labs utilise
red and infrared LED
light to boost health and
recovery. Exposure to
these light frequencies is
said to improve circulation
and immunity, stimulate
collagen production and
decrease inflammation.
It’s a non-invasive therapy
that can slow down the
skin’s ageing process.
Chromatherapy, or colour
therapy, is also used to
enhance mood.
n the past hour, I’ve pumped the equivalent weight
of a small family car, been expertly massaged by a
pair of inflatable trousers and withstood -120°C in my
underpants. It’s not your average Thursday morning,
but then I am in Los Angeles – the world capital of
wellness – to experience the globe’s first dedicated
biohacking facilities.
You might already have heard of “biohacking” .
It’s all about using science or technology to boost health,
and can range from the drastic – DIY-ing your DNA or
taking brain-enhancing drugs – to simply using a Fitbit
to make health changes to your lifestyle. In LA there are
now two dedicated facilities bringing biohacking to the
mainstream, drawing together treatments that claim to
boost health on a cellular level.
The first, Bulletproof Labs, opened in Santa Monica in 2017; a second, Upgrade Labs,
launched at The Beverly Hilton earlier this year. Plans are in place for a chain of these
“gyms of the future” so, ahead of the Annual Biohacking Conference this month, I’ve
flown to LA to find out what these facilities might mean for our fitness in the future.
Will we all soon be lifting Ford Focuses, as well as driving them?
I’m met by Amanda McVey, vice president of experience and programming at Upgrade
Labs, who shows me around the Beverly Hills facility. It’s split into fitness and recovery
centres, separated by the hotel’s outdoor pool. “We offer personalised cognitive and
physical fitness plans using the technologies and secrets of the 1%,” she says, outlining
the concept of the Labs. “These plans deliver measurable results and in less time [than the
gym], so our members can more effectively pursue their journey to an unstoppable life.”
With that enticing introduction, we start with a body composition and cellular health
analysis, which involves passing a gentle current through the body via foot and hand
sensors. The results are then fed back to the trainers and hacker techs for a holistic,
rather than merely cosmetic, picture of an inductee’s health. »

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“With biohacking,
it’s possible to
improve more quickly
than Mother Nature
intended”

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“So often in a fitness setting, success is measured on how a person looks or how much
he or she weighs,” says McVey. “At Upgrade Labs we purposefully didn’t install mirrors
throughout the facility so our members can reframe how they think about brain and body
performance. We chose a medical-grade body composition device that refocuses the
conversation on what matters – cell health and cellular water – and less on appearance.”
Happily, apart from needing to lose around 2% of my body fat and cut down on salt, I’m
in pretty good health. It’s time to check out the fitness hacks on offer. There’s a stationary
bike that promises 40 minutes’ worth of cardio in 40 seconds. Then the super-intense Cold
HIIT station, which uses cold pads and compression cuffs to replicate a three-hour workout
in just 21 minutes, creating a hellish lactic acid build-up.
My favourite is the Cheat Machine, which lets punters push hundreds of kilos over just
three exercises, using adaptive resistance technology to essentially give a week’s worth of
strength training in under 15 minutes. Afterwards I certainly feel like I’ve pushed some
serious weight, but the glow of achievement soothes my aching muscles.
On to the recovery centre, where McVey proposes a “stack” of treatments: two minutes
of -120°C cryotherapy, a stint on a pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) chair; 20 glorious
minutes in compression trousers, which provide an ultra-relaxing detoxifying massage; and
40 minutes or so in an infrared sauna with chromatherapy. Stacks, she explains, are a way of
layering or combining technologies to amplify their effects and save time.
I leave feeling like a million dollars, as one would expect from a highest-possible-tech spa
in Beverly Hills. Cut to the next morning and although I wake, fully alert, at 4am (it’s done
nothing for my jet lag), I feel zero soreness from my exertions. »
COLD HIIT
Normal HIIT (or High-
Intensity Interval
Training) sessions involve
short periods of very
intense anaerobic
exercise – proven to
burn more calories than
a conventional workout.
In Cold HIIT, the addition
of compression cuffs and
cooling pads promotes
massive lactic acid build-
up and tricks the body
into thinking it’s working
much harder than it is. The
technology is currently
being trialled by NASA for
Mars missions.

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“They say biohacking
can make me stronger,
healthier, happier
– even double my
potential lifespan”

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It’s too soon to know what my session has done long-term, but those behind the project
would have me believe it can make me a stronger, healthier and happier human – and might
even double my potential lifespan. Dave Asprey, the tech entrepreneur behind Upgrade
Labs – and Bulletproof Coffee, a coffee and butter concoction that promises to improve
cognitive function – has stated publicly that he believes biohacking can help him live to 180.
“[With biohacking], it’s possible to improve more quickly than Mother Nature intended,”
says the zealot, who’s even had his own stem cells injected into his face in his quest for
near-eternal youth. “I’ve maintained a 100lb [45kg] weight loss, improved my sleep, and
transformed into a better version of myself, and it’s saved thousands of hours of my time.”
Human performance consultant Ben Greenfield, another biohacking thought leader,
supports Asprey’s claims to longevity – up to a point. “I think that in many cases we’ll be
surprised by how long people actually can live… we are seeing humans, especially those in
the blue zones [regions with high numbers of centenarians], near 120 years old,” he says.
Considering how an emphasis on a healthy diet and lifestyle in the West has boosted life
expectancy in the years since wellness became an aspiration in the 1980s, biohacking’s more
extreme and targeted solutions may well, he says, be able to affect that health-boost on a
more personalised scale – and adherents will reap the rewards of longevity.
If that’s true then it’s no wonder that Upgrade Labs is just one of the ways biohacking is
attracting a wider audience. Nootropics (smart drugs) and psychedelic microdosing are
emerging out of the Silicon Valley tech community and into busy lives elsewhere. Dopamine
fasting is being used to mitigate against the effects of social media. UV sun lamps, coloured
sunglasses for circadian rhythms and ketosis diets are all on the up. »
Above⁄
Biohacking machines
at the Upgrade Labs
fitness centre offer an
“unstoppable” workout
CRYOTHERAPY
The extreme cold endured
during cryotherapy
(anything up to -140°C)
triggers the body’s fight or
flight response, flooding
it with oxygenated blood
and mood-enhancing
endorphins. On leaving the
pod, users feel energised
and uplifted. Long-term
benefits are said to include
improved immunity,
collagen production and
fat burning, and decreased
inflammation.

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It’s not just about lifestyle: evangelists believe biohacking is set to disrupt the medical
industry, too. Wearables that can detect a person’s full hormone profile and tell whether
a woman is pregnant within five hours of conception are coming soon. Start-ups like Los
Angeles-based Seed are looking at ways to hack the human microbiome to prevent diseases
such as metabolic syndrome, UTIs and even acne. “Many diseases that we treat as inevitable
have a bacterial element,” explains its co-founder and co-CEO Raja Dhir.
At the Peak Brain Institute, Dr Andrew Hill and his team use auditory and visual feedback
to condition brainwaves for peak performance, and to treat age-related and anxiety
disorders, addiction and even autism. Tracking how you feel afterwards is critical, says Hill.
“Side effects do show up – but they’re very subtle and then we just adjust the process.”
In fact any health marker can now be controlled using trial and error, according to Wesley
King, a CEO who came to biohacking five years ago to tackle a weight problem. “Light,
sound, food, supplements, water, stem cells – even the thoughts in our heads. All of these
things are inputs to our existence. Learning how to tweak is the essence of the biohacker.”
The possibilities are exciting, but biohacking’s not without its detractors. Dave Asprey
has been accused of cherry-picking research to boost claims about his products. One British
newspaper came to the damning conclusion that his advice was “simplistic, invalid and
unscientific”. Others point out that many of the techniques are hardly new. Scandinavians
have appreciated the health benefits of plunging straight into icy water from a hot sauna
and back again for centuries, for example. »
BUILD MUSCLE
IN SECONDS
Osteogenic loading
machines can emulate
high-impact exercise to
improve bone density
and strength, with huge
potential for both body
builders and for the
prevention and treatment
of osteoporosis. “About
10 seconds of effort can
stimulate your brain to
produce healthy bone
and muscle tissue, with
very low risk of injury,”
says Sarah Glicken, co-
owner of Culver City’s
OsteoStrong, which has
franchises all over the
world. “It’s foundational
strengthening of your
entire skeletal system, so
everything else functions
better.” osteostrong.com

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Stay
Los Angeles
Athletic Club
This 139-year-
old Downtown
hotel has a pool,
basketball court,
fully equipped
gym and even an
indoor running
track, alongside
72 rooms. With
dozens of fitness
classes available
per week, you
might never
leave. laac.com
Eat
Sqirl
Eat wholesome
but tasty at one
of LA’s coolest
neighbourhood
eateries, which
also does a fine
line in home-made
jams. The sorrel
pesto rice bowls
are unmissable.
sqirlla.com
Do
Shape House
Touted as an
“urban sweat
lodge”, Shape
House offers the
chance to catch
up on Netflix
while sweating
profusely inside
an infrared
sleeping bag.
Moist!
shapehouse.com
While
you’re
in… LA
Upgrade Labs’ REDcharger
machine promises a full
body boost inside and out,
stimulating workhorse
mitochondria cells and
rejuvenating skin cells
PHOTOS:LOSANGELESATHLETICCLUB,SQIRL
Even Ben Greenfield, one of the industry’s leaders, gives a note of caution. “What I do
get concerned about is sometimes people tend to use [biohacking] as a replacement for a
more natural life. I would be concerned about someone driving in their car to go indoors
to have a light treatment, when they could just as easily go walk barefoot on the beach.”
There are also risks. Gene-editing, cryo and even ketosis are controversial; overuse of
supplements can be problematic. Outcomes are often uncertain as scientific trials of some
methods are in their infancy so many biohackers track their success subjectively. As former
Facebook strategist Sara Wilson wrote in an August 2018 post on Quartzy: “At some point,
we decided to use ‘because it makes me feel good’ as a metric by which we determine truth.”
But while biohacking might not be entirely safe, and it certainly isn’t cheap – prices at
Upgrade Labs range from $600 to $3,500 for monthly memberships – its adherants defend
their right to take a punt on something closer to eternal life. Just ask Elias Arjan, the
brain behind LA’s Biohackers Collective, who claims to spend $15,000-$20,000 a year on
organic food, memberships, tech and products. “I see people age and suffer miserable and
preventable diseases,” he says. “It seems obvious to me to not subject myself to that.”
So, despite the potential drawbacks, it seems biohacking is here to stay. And after a few days
of being pumped, pummelled and primped by LA’s hacking community, it’s easy to see why.
The seductive power of a week’s worth of gym work in under an hour, with the promise of
youthful looks and a longer life is a no-brainer. As Arjan says, “Taking the steps to ensure my
body and mind remain optimised is a proactive choice in a reactive world.”
upgradelabs.com, bulletproof.com
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