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GeekWire’s Kurt Schlosser stands in the cryotherapy chamber and is subjected to -150 degree temperatures at Upgrade Labs in Bellevue, Wash. (GeekWire Photo)
Artificial intelligence is already doing some heavy lifting for us at work. Now the technology is being used to help us lift weights during a workout.
AI is just one of the numerous high-tech health attractions at Upgrade Labs, a new “biohacking” fitness and recovery center in Bellevue, Wash., created by Dave Asprey, the founder of Bulletproof Coffee and other brain-boosting products. Upgrade has eight facilities across the U.S. and Canada, with plans to add many more.
Asprey, whose most recent book is titled “Smarter Not Harder: The Biohacker’s Guide to Getting the Body and Mind You Want,” believes biohacking means taking full control of your biology so it works for you, not against you.
“Most people are stuck following outdated health advice that doesn’t match their unique biology,” Asprey said. “But when you harness AI and real-time data, you stop guessing and start upgrading. This is the future of human performance.”
I challenged my own human performance with a GeekWire test of Upgrade’s offerings this week. I rode an AI-enhanced stationary bike and used a weight machine powered by AI. I spent 2 minutes freezing in a cryotherapy chamber and I laid under a pulsed electromagnetic field blanket to optimize my cell voltage.
I wanted to feel biohacked.
Debra and Kevin Delashmutt — standing at an AI Cheat Machine — run the new Upgrade Labs fitness and recovery facility in Bellevue, Wash. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser)
The franchise owners in Bellevue are Debra and Kevin Delashmutt, a married couple in their 60s who said they got into biohacking before learning there was a term for it. Both are believers in the longevity movement touted by people like Asprey and tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson, the subject of the recent Netflix documentary “Don’t Die.” The Delashmutts aim to live past age 120.
“The goal isn’t to live forever, so much as it is to live healthy as long as possible,” Kevin said.
Some days my goal is to manage to live through the news week, so I didn’t visit Upgrade Labs to learn how to live another 70 years. But I was curious to see if any of their equipment might alter the effort I put into exercising and being healthy.
My current exercise routine consists of a daily stationary bike ride in the morning and a 5-mile walk in the evening, with some snowboarding thrown in on the weekends. All of it is done in the service of feeling better physically and mentally — and beating back the effects of my appreciation for Seattle beer.
I grew up hearing the term “No pain, no gain” from the likes of Jane Fonda and others. I’ve always believed that the more you sweat and the more you ache, the better the results. But what about a new mantra for 2025? “No pAIn, more gAIn,” perhaps.
Cell Health Analysis
My experience at Upgrade Labs started with a full body scan that measured not only my current weight but key factors like hydration, metabolism, and cellular energy. This free analysis of my biomarkers required little more than standing on a scale-like device while holding two paddles in my outstretched hands. It was followed by a consultation with an Upgrade Labs technician.
AI Adaptive Bike
GeekWire’s Kurt Schlosser rides the AI Adaptive Bike at Upgrade Labs. (GeekWire Photo)
This bike looked pretty much like the one from Costco that I ride every day, except Debra said my 45-minute ride could be cut to nine minutes on Upgrade’s device.
While wearing headphones and listening to an “instructor” tell me to warm up, I pedaled very slowly for the first few minutes. The voice then instructed me to sprint as fast as I could for about 20 seconds to outrun a saber tooth tiger giving chase. Another few minutes of slow pedaling, another quick sprint, and a slow cooldown and I was done. No sweat. No noticeable fatigue.
This felt like the opposite of my daily ride, in which I try to ride at a relatively consistent pace that has me dripping with sweat at the conclusion. Debra said elevating the heart rate for short bursts of time and relaxing it has a better effect on the physiology of the body.
“People are so used to sweating for an hour and feeling that that’s what they have to do before they have that, ‘Oh, I did a good job. I did good for my body today,’” she said. “You don’t have to.”
Kevin added that the workout does what the body is designed to do.
“The way that you were created is to wander around and find things to eat and then run from something that’s going to kill you,” he said, in a nod to the tiger mentioned by the bike instructor.
PEMF (Pulsed Electromagnetic Field) Therapy
GeekWire’s Kurt Schlosser undergoes Pulsed Electromagnetic Field therapy at Upgrade Labs. Compression suits for 360-degree lymphatic massage are on the tables at right. (GeekWire Photo)
After that not-so-difficult bike ride, I was ready to recover by lying down beneath a heavy blanket with wires running out of it that was designed to optimize my cell voltage and more. Much of the equipment and services at Upgrade Labs are as dedicated to recovery as they are to fitness.
For several minutes I laid on my back while the PEMF gently vibrated me and my cells. The technology works by applying high-frequency pulsing electromagnetic fields that are designed to help restore balance in the body’s electrical signals.
It was like a higher-tech vibrating bed without a slot for quarters. An intense red light above my face was an added bonus — to improve my overall skin and body wellness.
Cryotherapy
My next stop was a step inside a cryotherapy chamber, where my body was subjected to extremely cold temperatures in the name of physical recovery, enhanced physical health, mood elevation and more.
Think of it as a cold plunge without the water. In the blue-hued chamber I felt like I was standing too close to the smoke machine at a very cold rock concert. For two minutes, I stood in the -150 degree cold listening to Radiohead through the Bluetooth headphones.
I want a perfect body, I want a perfect soul.
I liked the challenge of standing there in that extreme environment, in my Upgrade Labs slippers and mittens. I chose to leave my sweatpants and T-shirt on, but there is the option to do it just wrapped in a towel.
When I stepped in, my skin temperature was 85 degrees or so, and when I stepped out it was 69. The endorphin rush was a nice change from my mostly mellow bike ride and my near-nap under a heavy blanket.
AI Cheat Machine
GeekWire’s Kurt Schlosser does chest compressions on the AI Cheat Machine at Upgrade Labs. (GeekWire Photo)
Using motorized resistance and computer software to adapt to a user’s specific needs, this piece of equipment is billed as the place to “grow new muscles in only minutes per week compared to hours per week spent at the gym.”
The Delashmutts said the machine is a favorite of NFL teams and celebrities looking to minimize workout time and maximize returns.
After several quick chest compressions as a test of the machine, I didn’t walk away any bulkier, but I was intrigued by the variety of exercises that could be accomplished and the prospect that the machine would adapt to my workout, and increase the challenge as I improved.
Post-workout
The reception area at Upgrade Labs in Bellevue, Wash. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser)
Beyond those devices, Upgrade Labs features a number of other services and technologies which I did not test, including The Vibe Plate, the Big Squeeze, the REDcharger, Brain Upgrade: Neurofeedback, and more.
A monthly Upgrade Labs membership is $399, and that includes the ability to access 36 “upgrades” or pieces of equipment throughout the month. To walk in the front door and use something like Cryotherapy, the cost is $45 for that singular experience.
I’m not sure I would return to use the exercise equipment, but I would be interested in seeing whether cryotherapy or any other recovery service could move the needle on my overall wellness.
The Delashmutts stress that saving time is as much a benefit of Upgrade Labs as the equipment and services it offers. People are busy, busy, busy, and making time to work out is an added stress.
But I guess along with being older, I’m old school. I don’t want to be done working out in nine minutes. I like the time I spend on a bike or on a walk, away from work and life.
Every extra minute and every drop of sweat reminds me I’m alive.
