AlterMe Review: Fitness Built Around My DNA

After six months with the AlterMe smart ring and a fitness program, I built better habits, but the genetic insights revealed less than I expected.

Review: AlterMe DNA-Powered Personal Fitness and Fitness Program

I tried a fitness app that uses my DNA and smart ring data to suggest personalized workouts - it was motivating but has significant limitations.

Easy to follow workouts based on my DNA and fitness score. A variety of cold yoga sessions or breathing exercises plus strength training, dance and more intense cardio. The app tracks nutrition and sleep and analyzes meals.

The exercises are short - from five to 40 minutes. DNA results are interesting, but there are no quick fixes for fitness. Premium price.

When I was asked to review the AlterMe fitness system, which claims to use DNA and biometric data to create a personalized fitness, nutrition and recovery plan, I was intrigued. I've used some of the best fitness trackers before, but I've never tried a system that combines DNA testing, personal training, nutrition insights, and a smart wearable into one ecosystem.

I'm someone who needs constant fitness motivation to stay on track. Instead of pushing heavy weights and cardio, I prefer feel-good pilates and ice baths at the local David Lloyd gym. But in an effort to step out of my comfort zone and try something a little more challenging, I decided to go with AlterMe.

I have used several fitness programs over the years like Bala and Freeletics, but not one that suggested specific fitness exercises based on my DNA test results. AlterMe combines guidance across exercise, nutrition, sleep and recovery, going beyond simply reporting on your DNA and biometric data to suggest small, manageable actions to make behavioral changes over time.

AlterMe's DNA-based personal fitness and fitness program

There's no denying that it comes at a price, but having exercise and nutrition guidance in one place helped me develop better habits—even if the DNA insights weren't particularly revealing.

AlterMe's integrated health and fitness app is built around a DNA test and a smart ring that measures data and provides insights and workouts within the app. It's convenient, but it's an expensive proposition. The basic AlterMe Essential plan is $1,299 and the AlterMe Advanced plan is $1,899. Both offer biometric tracking, nutritional insights, and fitness workouts accessible through the app, but the Advanced app gives you deeper DNA analysis and a lifetime membership, as opposed to Essential's three-year membership.

After signing up and answering questions about my weight loss goals, height, weight and general fitness level, I was sent both a species DNA swab kit and a ring size kit. I emailed AlterMe to confirm my ring size and sent the DNA swab back in the mail. Within two weeks, I received my AlterMe smart ring and booked an appointment to discuss my genetic fitness and health report with an AlterMe representative. I've been diving in and out of the program and fitness routine for over six months now.

A Tailored Fitness and Fitness Genetics Report

Research into genetic influence on athletic performance is still developing, and AlterMe acknowledges that genetic findings reported through DNA testing have not been clinically verified. However, the company is conducting its own research to produce a personalized fitness and health genetic report. The organization says it uses a "rigorous genetic interpretation process that adheres to rigorous scientific standards" with "scientific integrity" and "robust research." AlterMe also states that saliva samples are processed in the United States in a CLIA and CAP certified laboratory that complies with local regulations.

With that in mind, I approached the DNA test report with equal measures of skepticism and intrigue, as would anyone curious to gain more insight into their own health and well-being.

The report claimed to use my DNA to show how my body reacts to different types of exercise, nutrition, recovery and stress. He suggested the types of exercise suitable for me and the way I approach training and recovery. For example, strength training was identified as the best fit for my genetic profile, while my genetic response to carbohydrates was rated as "below average."

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the report told me that I was "extrinsically motivated to exercise", suggesting that I may not naturally enjoy physical activity just for the sake of it. That sure felt familiar.

AlterMe representatives explained how these assessments were determined: “Our assessment looks at indicators related to several attributes, including how body composition changes during exercise interventions. For cardiac body composition response, the markers in our scientific review are ADRB2 rs1042713 and LPL rs328. For resistance training, this model uses a set of adiposity and body composition markers, including variants close to FTO, GNPDA2, NEGR1, and SLC39A8.

So far everything seems to be correct. But despite the personalized insights, I hadn't discovered anything particularly ground-breaking.

AlterMe has its own wearable smart ring designed to provide health insights and work alongside the app. The ring uses PPG sensors to monitor metrics like heart rate and blood oxygen, alongside a temperature sensor and an accelerometer to track activity. It then uses data including HRV, resting heart rate, sleep, and recent activity load to convert the raw measurements into a "fitness score" from 0 to 100, before suggesting a workout tailored to your current state and My DNA insights.

This type of health tracking is similar to what you get with Oura's 5 ring offering. The main difference is that AlterMe is a more closed ecosystem that combines the wearable's data with its own genetic insights to create an AI-based workout plan every day based on my biometrics.

Oura, meanwhile, offers sleep, activity, fitness, and broader health insights, as well as guided fitness content in its own app and integrations with services like Apple Health. Its primary focus, however, remains tracking and interpreting your health and activity data, while AlterMe puts more emphasis on the personalized workouts it prescribes.

This ring has a titanium outer frame and comes in gold, silver or stealth black. My gold finish has picked up some scratches over the few months I've had it. While the gold finish looks nice, I found the ring to be quite bulky and thicker than the glossy Oura 5, which meant it sometimes got in the way when lifting weights.

Exercises according to the "readiness" score.

In the stats section of the app, I could see my daily calories burned, steps, distance traveled, sleep duration, and fitness score — all the information the ring provided. The app then provides a daily workout to follow. Depending on how I'm feeling, the workouts can be as gentle or as challenging as I want them to be. I can choose between stretching, strength training, cardio, yoga or martial arts, so there's no excuse to skip a workout. As AlterMe representatives told me, the collected biometric data can help make a recommendation, but it can't show all the details of how I'm feeling—for example, pain, illness, stress, injury, or the needs of the day may change what feels right—which is why you can choose your level.

"Giving you choice is an intentional part of the AlterMe experience," say AlterMe representatives. "Without choice, it's hard for you to stay consistent. We want to offer helpful guidance while putting you in control of your effort. Your choice adds context and makes the plan easier to fit into real life."

On days when I had a bad night's sleep, the program recommends a lighter workout or recovery session—the 15-minute breathing session has become a favorite. On days when I slept well, I was assigned a harder session, depending on my current level, from beginner to level 6.

While the workouts are easy to access and follow, I found them short—20 minutes was the average workout time, and 40 minutes was the longest session I tried. But if you want to push yourself harder, you can stack exercises. There's also a way to track activities like running or group workouts outside of the guided workout library.

I'm sure the program recommended exercises that fit my health stats and genetics, and I mostly felt good following them. But for a few days I was feeling terrible due to lack of sleep and the app was telling me that my preparation score was high, so I got a little confused. But I dutifully followed through with the suggested workout—even if I opted for a shorter 20-minute session. On days when I forgot to wear my ring to bed the night before, the app asked me to rate how I felt from 1 to 10 before suggesting a workout.

Exercise is only one part of the fitness puzzle, and one of the benefits of the AlterMe app is that it has a nutrition tracker. Rather than offering a single meal plan, I love the way it can reference my DNA to create meal and snack ideas to keep me on track with my big goals. You can prepare a recipe and register it if you decide to prepare it. By simply clicking "generate recipe" I can get breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack ideas in less than 20 seconds. The recipes are also very enticing – Grilled Green Beans and Grilled Chicken Quinoa with Lemon Herb was one I tried. But I found the snack ideas more helpful because I'm always thinking about snacks - roasted edamame with smoked paprika and sea salt is a particular favorite.

On the nutrition tab of the app, I can access calories and personalized nutrition guidance based on my DNA results, weight, BMI, activity level, and weight loss goals. My DNA report shows that I have a moderate response to protein and a low response to carbs and fats. I love how easy it is to enter food into the Nutrition tab in the app and instantly see if I'm hitting my macro protein, fat, and carb goals. I often forgot to keep track of everything I ate, but on the days I did remember, it was easy to track my calorie intake and meals.

The app also has a combined 3D/body scan feature to analyze body shape and provide statistics on things like BMI, estimated body fat percentage, and lean mass.

There are many fitness apps and wearables that can track your health data, but this personalized app that combines a DNA test, a wearable smart ring and an on-demand workout in an ecosystem is a unique proposition. It's convenient, but expensive, and it's important to note that while DNA testing can be enlightening, it's not clinically validated. There are also understandable privacy concerns about the delivery of DNA data, although AlterMe notes on its site that it destroys samples after testing and that extracted DNA is only kept for 45 days to ensure quality.

My journey with AlterMe has been generally positive, but it hasn't changed me. This has made me more aware of what I eat and feeling more physically fit due to the regularity of my training sessions. I would love to wear a ring and have an app that suggests an optimal workout based on my biometrics. Having a good workout to follow has made me feel good - especially on days I haven't felt like working out. When I feel stuck at the gym and not sure which exercise to do, I pull out the app and simply follow an exercise. It makes me feel like I have a personal trainer in my pocket, ready to give me instructions whenever I need a little push. I think if you're willing to track your workouts and nutrition, AlterMe can be a useful tool for building positive habits and improving fitness. Instead, you could use the money and invest in a good personal trainer – whatever you decide, it's always good to have options.