Performance Optimization

Physician-Led Performance Medicine

When Training Harder Stops Working

Recovery, Strength, Endurance, and Focus, Measured and Treated

For athletes, active adults, and busy professionals who are recovering slowly, plateauing in training, or losing strength, endurance, or focus with age. We measure VO2 max, hormones, body composition, and inflammation, then treat what is holding you back, with peptides, hormone replacement, or regenerative care when appropriate.

VO₂ Max TestingDNA Athletic GeneticsCellular OptimizationRecovery Enhancement

What Is Performance Medicine?

A physician-led, data-driven approach to cellular and metabolic optimization

Performance medicine goes beyond traditional sports medicine or wellness programs. It is a physician-led, data-driven approach: we measure how you burn fuel, recover, and produce hormones, then treat the biological limits behind slow recovery, plateaus, and fatigue rather than just telling you to push harder.

Precision Diagnostics

We start with PNOE VO₂ max testing, metabolic profiling, athletic genetic analysis, hormone panels, and inflammation markers to see what is limiting you.

Cellular Optimization

Based on your testing, we use targeted treatments to support cellular energy, lower oxidative stress, correct hormone levels, and speed recovery.

Cellular Optimization

Based on your testing, we use targeted treatments to support cellular energy, lower oxidative stress, correct hormone levels, and speed recovery. That includes peptides for recovery and resilience, regenerative therapies (PRP, exosomes, stem cells) for injuries, hormone replacement when levels are low, and mitochondrial support.

You May Be A Candidate If You Experience

Symptoms Addressed

  • Performance plateau despite training
  • Slow recovery between workouts
  • Decreased strength or endurance
  • Frequent injuries or overuse issues
  • Suboptimal body composition
  • Poor VO₂ max or aerobic capacity
  • Mental fatigue affecting performance
  • Inadequate muscle gains
  • Competition readiness challenges
  • Age-related performance decline

Expected Benefits

  • Enhanced athletic performance and power output
  • Faster recovery between training sessions
  • Improved VO₂ max and endurance
  • Optimized body composition (muscle gain, fat loss)
  • Reduced injury risk and faster healing
  • Better mental focus and competitive edge
  • Increased strength and explosiveness
  • Enhanced mitochondrial function
  • Improved training capacity
  • Competitive advantage through legal optimization

Conditions We Address

Serious Athletes
Weekend Warriors
Executives/High Performers
Competitive Sports
Functional Fitness Goals
Age-Related Decline
Recovery Optimization
Injury Rehabilitation

Our Performance Protocol

The tests and treatments we use, and what each one is for.

PNOE VO₂ Max Testing

Breath-based metabolic test that measures aerobic capacity, whether you burn fat or carbohydrate, and breathing efficiency.

Key Applications

  • Cardiovascular fitness baseline
  • Training zone optimization
  • Metabolic flexibility assessment

Athletic Genetics

DNA analysis revealing genetic predispositions for power, endurance, recovery speed, and injury risk.

Key Applications

  • Training style optimization
  • Injury prevention insights
  • Recovery protocol personalization

Mitochondrial Support

Enhance cellular energy production through targeted supplementation, IV therapy, and lifestyle interventions.

Key Applications

  • Energy production optimization
  • Oxidative stress reduction
  • Cellular resilience enhancement

Oxidative Stress Management

Measure and mitigate cellular damage from free radicals to improve recovery and reduce inflammation.

Key Applications

  • Chronic inflammation reduction
  • Accelerated recovery
  • Long-term cellular health

Regenerative Therapies

PRP, exosomes, and stem cells to repair tissue damage, reduce inflammation, and enhance recovery.

Key Applications

  • Injury healing acceleration
  • Joint and tendon repair
  • Performance longevity

Hormone Optimization

Testing and treatment of testosterone, thyroid, and cortisol when they are limiting strength, recovery, body composition, or focus.

Key Applications

  • Muscle growth and recovery
  • Energy and stamina
  • Mental clarity and focus

Peptide Therapy

Targeted peptides to enhance recovery, reduce inflammation, improve sleep, and support tissue repair.

Key Applications

  • BPC-157 for healing
  • Thymosin Beta-4 for recovery
  • CJC-1295 for growth hormone support

Metabolic Profiling

Comprehensive analysis of how your body produces and uses energy at rest and during activity.

Key Applications

  • Nutrition optimization
  • Supplement targeting
  • Metabolic dysfunction correction

Expected Outcomes

Tracked with objective data: VO2 max, body composition, labs, and your own training numbers.

Enhanced Performance Metrics

Measurable improvements in VO₂ max, power output, endurance capacity, and sport-specific benchmarks.

Faster Recovery

Reduced recovery time between training sessions, enabling higher training volume and intensity without burnout.

Injury Prevention & Resilience

Strengthened connective tissue, reduced inflammation, and improved tissue healing to stay in the game longer.

Optimized Body Composition

Increased lean muscle mass, reduced body fat, and improved muscle-to-fat ratio for your sport.

Mental Clarity & Focus

Enhanced cognitive function, decision-making speed, and mental stamina for competition and high-pressure scenarios.

Heart and Lung Fitness

Improved heart rate variability, blood flow, oxygen delivery, and overall cardiovascular efficiency.

More Than Just Performance

While the focus is your performance, the work reaches beyond the field, court, or gym. Patients often tell us about:

  • Better sleep: deeper, more restorative sleep that helps recovery.
  • Steadier mood: less irritability and better handling of stress.
  • Aging well: the same hormone, metabolic, and cellular work that supports long-term health.

What to Expect

From baseline testing to ongoing follow-up, here is what the process looks like

Performance Baseline Assessment

PNOE VO₂ max testing, body composition, biomarker analysis, and performance protocol design

01
02

Protocol Launch

Begin performance optimization (peptides, hormones, nutrition, training modifications)

Performance Enhancement

Retesting and adjustments based on your numbers: recovery, strength, endurance, and body composition

03
04

Long-Term Maintenance

Quarterly retesting, protocol adjustments, and ongoing physician follow-up

Every treatment plan is personalized to your unique needs and goals. Your timeline may be adjusted based on your individual response.

The Physician-Led Difference

What sets our performance optimization program apart from generic fitness programs

Personalized Medicine

Protocols based on your genetics, biomarkers, and goals

Ongoing Monitoring

Regular testing and protocol adjustments

Medical Therapies

Prescription options a trainer or coach cannot offer, when your labs support them

Safety & Medical Oversight

Performance optimization is a medical program requiring informed consent, individualized protocols, and continuous physician oversight

Medical Standards & Monitoring

Clinical Supervision: All performance protocols are designed and overseen by Dr. Ace Christian, MD, MPH
Performance Baseline Testing: PNOE metabolic analysis, VO2 max, body composition, and advanced bloodwork prior to protocol initiation
Ongoing Monitoring: Regular lab reassessments and performance check-ins to track progress and adjust the plan
Direct Access: Ongoing communication with the medical team throughout your optimization journey

Understanding Potential Risks

Hormonal Changes: Testosterone or peptide optimization can affect natural hormone production — managed through careful dosing and monitoring
Overtraining Risk: Aggressive performance protocols without adequate recovery can increase injury risk; periodization and rest are integral to our approach
Peptide Considerations: Some peptides have limited long-term human data; we discuss evidence levels and risk profiles during consultation
Individual Variation: Performance responses vary; protocols are adjusted based on objective progress markers and patient feedback

These risks are mitigated through proper protocol design, monitoring, and proactive adjustment. Your individual risk profile will be reviewed during consultation.

Meet Dr. Asare B. Christian

Physician. Educator. Innovator.

Meet Dr. Asare B. Christian

  • —Board-Certified Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Physician
  • —Board-Certified Longevity Medicine Physician (ABAARM)
  • —Harvard Medical School Fellowship
  • —Johns Hopkins Residency
  • —Harvard School of Public Health (MPH)
  • —MIT Sloan Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

The goal is not simply to remove plasma. The goal is to understand the person sitting in front of us and determine whether TPE belongs within a broader strategy designed around their biology.

MEET DR. CHRISTIAN

Physician. Educator. Innovator.

Meet Dr. Asare B. Christian

  • —Board-Certified Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Physician
  • —Board-Certified Longevity Medicine Physician (ABAARM)
  • —Harvard Medical School Fellowship
  • —Johns Hopkins Residency
  • —Harvard School of Public Health (MPH)
  • —MIT Sloan Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

The goal is not simply to remove plasma. The goal is to understand the person sitting in front of us and determine whether TPE belongs within a broader strategy designed around their biology.

MEET DR. CHRISTIAN

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Evidence-based insights on longevity, hormones, and regenerative medicine — from our physicians.

PATIENT STORIES

Real People. Real Results.

Hear directly from patients who chose a precision medicine approach to their health.

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Innovative, attentive, and effective. Dr Christian knows how to look at the big picture. He is compassionate and understanding and focused on helping you achieve your goals. You never feel rushed and always feel heard. He is truly one of a kind and I would highly recommend him.
Dr. Christian is a friend and former colleague that I would trust with my life and those of my family. His professional skill and ethic in the field of physical medicine and rehab is truly special. His dedication to improving access to healing is one to be honored!
Dr Christian and his practice are hands down one of the best. His holistic approach to medicine is something you rarely see in healthcare. As a Physical Therapist, I often refer patients to physicians to collaborate and my number one answer is Dr. Christian at Aether Medicine. The time, care, and determination he shows to his patients is uncanny. Recommend 10/10.
Dr Christian has been my doctor for several years now. I was unable to walk when I first met him. 5 years later I am able to walk and I am again a functioning beyond anything I would have dreamt would be possible. I am walking again and also driving. I'm able to live my life again. Please allow Dr. Christian help you should you need his guidance.
Dr Asare Christian is taking care of my great aunt Inez who will be turning 102 years old this year. He has been very caring and compassionate. She has shown improvement since the treatment and continues to assist with her ADL's and gentle exercises. I would highly recommend Dr Christian to anyone who is experiencing pain.
Dr Christian is FANTASTIC! Very knowledgeable and works very well with his patients on trying to create well rounded approach to their health and wellness. Highly recommend him to anyone looking for help!
If you are looking for someone to truly listen to you as a patient, you need to schedule a visit with Dr. Christian. He does not simply type symptoms into his laptop and wait for the program to instruct how to treat your illness. He understands you are an individual, and considers all aspects of your health. He treats you as a whole person, not a list of symptoms. If you have been frustrated by the health care system, and have yet to find relief for your pain, I highly recommend Dr. Christian and Aether medicine.
My wife experienced a concussion in a car accident a few years back and was treated by Dr. Christian. She could not move her neck left or right for a month along with terrible pain and headaches, which led to vision problems. From her first visit, Dr. Christian helped her get her neck moving side to side again. From that point until now, she feels that after going through all that, she has a normal life today thanks to his treatment. He truly cares about the patients, they are not just numbers or statistics to him. She is totally grateful to him for getting the pain under control and now at his new practice, the peptide therapy has helped her get her Polycystic Ovary Syndrome under control. This helps her with weight loss (down 58 pounds), and the PCOS symptoms have almost disappeared. She is grateful to have an amazing physician like him in her life, we are both very thankful for everything he has done for us!
Dr Christian is a fantastic pain management doctor. He looks at you holistically and is very compassionate and understanding. He listens to you and works with you to come up with the best treatment plan for you. Even if it requires referring you to another doctor. I have had 3 spine surgeries with constant epidurals and rhizotomies in between them. My last surgery was 3.5 years ago and afterwards Dr Christian came up with a new plan for my muscle spasms. It has been a life saver for me, as my falls had been less frequent for me and I haven't needed any additional therapy besides what I do at home. Plus the best part is, I do not want to be on narcotics yet and he respects that and treats me without ever needing to use a narcotic! He truly listens to you and works with you, to care for you! I wish there were more doctors like him!
Extraordinary. Brilliant. Innovative. Compassionate. He changed my life! Chronic cervical pain brought me to Dr. Asare B. Christian. For years doctors/surgeons restricted my movement and wrote pain prescriptions. I challenged Dr. Christian to help me eliminate the prescriptions (morphine), build the physical/mental strength to minimize the pain and live an active life. He became my partner on an amazing journey. We put together a plan for my recovery. He educated and encouraged me. He listened to my personal goals and got to know my family. He provided the latest practices and resources so I could accomplish what all the other doctors said was impossible. Dr. Christian's staff at Good Shephard are smart, dedicated, efficient, customer-centric professionals who treat each patient with warmth and kindness. I walk five miles every day. I dance, exercise, garden, do all the things I was told I should never do. He is, quite simply, remarkable.
Dr. Christian is hands down the best in the business. Not only in medicine, but healthcare. True reformative and proactive healthcare. His approach is integral, conscience, and thorough. He treats people like a human being and looks at ALL aspects of who you are to better understand how he can work WITH you to provide best outcomes. It's never just about the pain. It's about the body and how the mind perceives the pain. He equips all his clients with the tools to become your best self beyond the pain. If the pain is what brings you to Dr. Christian then consider yourself blessed. If you work with him and truly follow and use the tools and strategies he equips you with, prepare to be amazed that your quality of simply BEING renews itself and that you may even rise to new heights you never thought possible before you ever had the pain. It's possible. I promise. From one former chronic pain sufferer to another, not only is there hope with Dr. Christian on your team but a whole new world of wellness and possibilities.
Dr. Christian was very kind and thoughtful. His exam was thorough. He listened to my concerns and offered modalities to improve my condition that make good sense.
Dr. Christian is a very knowledgeable, compassionate and caring physician. He was very present when he met with my wife and me. You feel that he really cares and wants to help you heal. Highly recommended.

Frequently Asked Questions

Comprehensive answers to help you make an informed decision

Get Started

Start Your Journey Toward Better Health and Long-Term Vitality

Our mission is to help individuals take control of their health through personalized, science-driven care that improves quality of life and supports long-term vitality.

Prefer to call? Reach us at 484-806-1101

Board-Certified Physician
Advanced Cellular Medicine
Evidence-Based Protocol

Telehealth Available

You do not have to live near Philadelphia to be our patient.

Hormone and metabolic care is mostly conversation, laboratory work and adjustment over time. All three travel well. Patients across Pennsylvania do this with us on video, with their blood drawn close to home.

Where this is available. Dr. Christian is licensed in Pennsylvania, so telehealth is available to patients who are in Pennsylvania at the time of the visit. If you are elsewhere, the office in the Philadelphia area sees patients in person.

  1. Step 1

    A consult on video

    Your history, your symptoms and what you want to change, with the physician rather than an intake form.

  2. Step 2

    Labs drawn near you

    We send the order to a draw site close to home. You do not travel for a blood test.

  3. Step 3

    Results read together

    We go through the panel on screen, and you leave with the plan written down rather than a portal message.

  4. Step 4

    Follow-up on video

    Re-testing and adjustments happen on the same schedule they would in the office.

Request a Consultation

Tell us about your health goals. We will contact you within 1 business day to schedule your consultation with Dr. Christian.

Call 484-806-1101