Nike Metcon 6 | Arctic White Whoop 3.0 Strap | Shorts | Shirt
The first time I heard about the Whoop was back in 2015 while researching all the different heart rate monitors and fitness trackers. Whoop was just starting out and mainly used by professional athletes. I was fascinated by the idea of tracking recovery and immediately wanted one for myself. Only problem – the hefty price tag! Fast forward 5 years- Whoop 3.0 technology now available at an affordable monthly cost, starting at $30.
What is a Whoop?
Whoop Strap 3.0 (pictured above) is a fitness tracker/wearable. It is unique, in that it gives you a recovery ‘score’ everyday. The strap measures biometrics 24 hours a day and shares it in the form of 3 main measurements.
RECOVERY
Measured by a percentage that shows your physiological state each day and determines your personal readiness to perform. It is measured using your HRV (heart rate variability), RHR (resting heart rate), Respiratory Rate, and Sleep Performance from the previous night.
STRAIN
Is a measurement of how much activity you’ve completed in a day. Starting at 0 and topping off at 21. Sometimes we put more strain on our bodies than we realize. Strain is measured by an increase in your heart rate, which can occur due to many reasons.
SLEEP
Not only does the Whoop track your naps and night’s sleep, it also tells you how much sleep you need each night. I wrote a blog about sleep hygiene (here), and mentioned the Whoop’s influence on my improvements. The sleep tracker gives valuable insights into your full night’s sleep and categorizes each minute into one of the following- awake, light sleep, REM, SWS (deep sleep).
How has Whoop helped me?
I thought the Whoop would be a great tool to help with my return to higher intensity workouts after my artificial disc replacement surgery. I wanted to find a balance between working out and recovery. I know myself and knew I needed some accountability. I wanted to push myself in my workouts, but also do my best to avoid injury.
The sleep tracking helped me see I needed a lot more sleep than I was getting, and how increased strain increases your sleep need. Instead of following a workout routine I create without deviation, I watched how my body was recovering using the data from the Whoop app and then adjusted my workout routine if needed.
Every morning, I check my recovery and analyze what factors contributed to the day’s recovery score. Did I hydrate enough? Did I have extra stress? Did I eat quality foods? Did I stretch? Did I have a high strain? Have I slept enough? After about 4 months, I could tell how recovered I was just by how I felt each morning. Then when I checked my recovery – the score was usually just as I had thought (unless an unknown sickness was coming).
I’ve always known how to take care of my body and stay ‘healthy’ but after the tough time I had with my injury, I was struggling. I had lost hope in my healthy habits, but seeing the quantifiable Whoop data pushed my doubts away. I saw my HRV increase when I ate a healthy meal and drank lots of water, I also saw how stress affected my HRV and recovery. I started taking more supplements and watched my numbers improve, which really meant I was getting healthier!
What I LOVE
SLEEP! Some days I will prioritize sleep over a workout, something I’ve never done in the past. The Whoop helped me realize the importance of sleep for a well functioning body in the long run. If I’m not rested, working out will be more of a detriment than a positive.
Heart Rate monitoring. When I workout I like to track my heart rate to make sure I am pushing myself as hard as I can. I also like to know my resting heart rate.
Whoop gangs/teams. I am in a few teams on the Whoop app and it is so fun! You can check in on your friends and see their data and how they’re doing. You can also run competitions with each other, which in turn increases your accountability!
Monthly and Weekly summary. More quantifiable data to analyze and improve your fitness. I am more aware of my sleep consistency (bed time/wake times) because of my weekly summary. The better you can train your body to go to sleep at a certain time and wake up at a certain time, the higher recovery you will have in the long run. I also get to track my average Resting Heart Rate and HRV each month. When they deviate, I can look at my habits and see what I can adjust to improve or what I’ve done that has led to improvements… and do that more!
The Whoop adapts to you. If I complete a 3 mile run with a friend, we will have completely different strains. We ran the same distance, but that doesn’t mean our hearts beat the exact same. Also, the longer you wear the Whoop, the better the Whoop adjusts to your body and can give more valuable feedback.
Optimal Strain. Along with a daily recovery score, the Whoop will also give an optimal strain to aim for depending on your recovery. This is helpful to avoid overtraining and a suggested guide to follow. It is not a bad thing to ‘ go over’ your optimal strain into the ‘over reaching’ zone, it just means you would need to take the proper steps to recover before going into ‘over reaching’ again.
Education. Whoop has a great podcast. I’ve learned so much about STRAIN, RECOVERY, SLEEP, HRV, circadian rhythm, and many more topics. It is a lot to digest sometimes, and it takes time to fully educate yourself on well… yourself… but once you do- it’s worth it.
What I DON’T love
The phrase “Live and Die by your Recovery” comes to mind. It is tough to avoid wanting to be green everyday! Our bodies are not going to be Green everyday, baseline recovery is 66% and that is a great recovery score. Instead of focusing on ‘being green’ focus on healthy habits and then watch your recovery increase! Also, use the date to learn about your body to know how to properly recover after workouts, big meals, stress, sleep deprivation. I remember talking to a friend about the Whoop and he asked, should I push my strain outside the optimal range? I thought to myself, of course because that is how you make fitness gains, but also- if you do that, take the time to allow your body to recover properly. The Whoop is a great tool to help increase fitness in a safe and healthy way, with the right mindset.
Aesthetics. Just recently, Whoop introduced a new Lux strap which I was so excited about! There are many colors and styles, but even with the Lux branding… it’s all pretty much the same- a stretchy strap with a clunky top. I don’t wear my Whoop when I get dressed up. I know that’s silly, but I felt the same about my previous fitness trackers. It’s just not aesthetically pleasing, if I’m being honest. I don’t mind wearing it to sleep and it goes just fine with my workout clothes, but I don’t love wearing it to work and other places.
OVERALL
There are definitely more pros than cons, but I wanted to be honest about my experience and share everything I’ve thought that last 6 months. I have loved having a Whoop, it has helped me with my goal to find a balance in my workouts, get back to my healthy habits, plus a few unexpected benefits!
Thank you so much for reading! If you decide to try it out, use my referral code for a FREE MONTH – link here! I’d love to hear your thoughts if you already have a Whoop, or if you want to get one. There is also a great Black Friday sale – 25% off annual memberships, and accessories are also 25%.
Photos by: Alexi Conroy
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