Whoop Review

I know many of you have been on the edge of your seats waiting for my @whoop review, so without any further ado, let’s jump right in!

Overview:

First, let me introduce Whoop to those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about. Whoop is a fitness tracker that you wear as a strap on your wrist. It is not a watch, nor does it have a screen of any sort and it truly does nothing but focus on reading your body and providing you with feedback, which you can review via the Whoop app on your smart phone or desktop. Unlike most smart watches, the Whoop band is to be worn 24/7, through shower, sleep, daily life, etc., allowing the device to collect as much data as it can to provide you with accurate feedback. The last thing to note about the physical look of the band is that it measures about an inch across and straps tightly to your forearm, right below your wrist bone, so if you’re used to wearing a watch, you will want to place this band on the other arm, effectively looking a little Spy Kids like 😉

Data Review:

Now that we are all on the same page about the general look and purpose of the Whoop band, let’s dive into the various features and feedback this tracker provides:

1. Sleep

The Whoop band uses 3 different sensors to measure sleep tracking. According to their website, each sensor plays a vital role in detecting and analyzing sleep, calculating not only blood flow, heart rate and heart rate variability, but also respiratory rates extremely accurately as proven by a recent study done by the University of Arizona and published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

While all the science behind the sleep tracking mechanism is fascinating, sometimes visuals help me understand the process better, so let’s take a look.

The first screenshot below is a look at the app main sleep page, showing how many hours of sleep I got, how many hours I needed for full recovery and overall sleep performance percentage based on those hours. Furthermore, the section at the bottom of the screen gives feedback based on the sleep results of the day, reminding me that more consistent sleep schedules would improve overall quality. The notes in this section update daily, coordinating with your tracked sleep results. Tapping on this paragraph, reveals the sleep statistics versus the previous 30 days screen, shown in the second image below. This window gives you insight into how many times you woke up, were restless and how long it took for you to fall asleep. Lastly, if you swipe up on the first two screens, the third screen below will appear, giving you a 7 day average of your sleep performance.

In addition to the info above, the sleep features of Whoop also include a sleep coach, telling you exactly how much sleep to get, when to head to bed and when to wake up to optimize your performance the next day. As you can see below, the sleep coach can be personalized by selecting the type of day you’re needing to wake up to (peak, perform, get by), so make your selection and experience first had the type of impact sleep can have on your overall physical performance. One thing to note is that when you first get Whoop, it does take 30 days for the sleep coach to calibrate, so make sure that if you are going to commit to this system, you stick it out past your first month to experience the full bandwidth of this device.

2. Recovery

Whoop calculates your recovery based on 4 physiological markers: heart rate variability, resting heart rate, sleep and respiratory rate. These metrics are calibrated to your baseline, which means your recovery is personalized each day. Basically, Whoop measures how recovered your body is by measuring changes in your heart rate variability, resting heart rate and duration of sleep and as with all features of this band, the more you wear it the more accurate your recovery score becomes.

The first screen below shows my recovery as it relates to the sleep scores shown in the previous section, so you see, I was primed for action last Friday! Swiping up on the first image below reveals the 7 day average recovery range, showing that with an average recovery of 71% I am doing a decent job of balancing sleep and strain on my system.

Your daily recovery score is presented in one of three colors, green, yellow or red, showing that you are primed for peak performance, should be aware of your daily strain but can still perform, or should probably take a rest day respectively.

Part of the recovery and sleep analysis is a daily journal which asks you a few quick questions each day, such as if you drank alcohol, experienced any stress, wore blue light glasses, etc and then takes those data points into consideration when calculating recovery. What my husband and I quickly learned is that drinking alcohol greatly diminishes your body’s ability to recover, regardless of how much sleep you get, which was quite eye opening to both of us.

3. Strain

Whoop uses heart rate sensors to keep track of your heart rate throughout the day, whether you’re exercising, resting, or just going about your daily business. Using those data points, Whoop strain will reveal how your body is responding to things like stress, travel and work, allowing you to make smarter decisions when it comes to recovery. As is described on the Whoop website, your strain is a measure of the cardiovascular load your body takes on over the course of the day or during a given activity. It calculates your exertion and quantifies it on a scale from 0-21. The idea behind this feedback is that it allows you to maximize the efficiency of your training by balancing your Day Strain and Recovery in a very visual and efficient manner.

The first screenshot below shows you my strain level at the end of the day, reflecting the 2 activities I did that day. As you can see below, the feedback bubble tells me that a strain between 14.0 and 17.9 is considered strenuous and to be aware of any additional activity I plan to do as the day progresses. As you can see in image two below, tapping on the feedback bubble reveals more detailed info in regard to the day’s strain levels, capturing max heart rate and overall calories spent. Tapping on each of the two recorded activities brings up a screen as shown in the third screen shot below, with a more in depth look at the activity and associated strain levels.

When you first get Whoop, don’t get frustrated if the band does not pick up a given activity as it takes time for the system to learn your body. Entering a workout manually is super easy and again, the more info you provide Whoop, the more accurate of feedback it can give in return.

Battery:

Whereas you probably charge your fitness watch nightly or every other day, Whoop has a 5 day battery life and charging is super easy. This system has a battery pack that slides onto the wrist strap, making charging an on the go activity, preventing you from having to remove the band to get the battery up to 100%.

Price:

Whoop is based on a monthly membership, rather than a one time equipment charge. Memberships can be purchased on a monthly (6 month commitment required), 12 month or 18 month frequency and come with the wrist strap, access to all analytics listed above and connection to the Whoop community where you’ll find like minded fitness enthusiasts, can create custom teams based on activities, interest, training groups and more!

Review:

As you can see, Whoop is a fascinating system that provides a ton more info than your average fitness watch, but is it really needed, that is the question. When my husband and I first got our bands, we were not too impressed, not realizing that the band takes a full 30 days of wear to truly calibrate to its full capacity. Now that we made it past the 30 day mark though, we both agree we are very intrigued about the provided feedback and love to wake up in the morning and check out the night’s sleep analysis.

As much as we love seeing our recovery scores, strain levels and sleep data, we also think that unless you are a true athlete or are training heavily for some sort of race or competition, you probably don’t absolutely need to add Whoop to your wrist. The reason we say that is only because unless you are truly putting immense levels of strain on your body each day, getting crappy sleep and not prioritizing recovery, your Whoop feedback will likely show that you are always in the yellow or green zone, which is something I kind of think you can also just feel if you are in tune with your body. With all the workouts, runs, hikes, walks I’ve done and the, at times, less than perfect sleep I’ve gotten over the past 40 days of wearing Whoop I have yet to be in the red zone to give you an idea of what I’m trying to get at.

With all of that said, Whoop is definitely a super interesting thing to add to your fitness routine, even if just for a few months, as it truly will give you a very detailed look at your system as a whole and give you a new appreciation for sleep and recovery. If you are in the market for a fitness tracker, Whoop is the best and most accurate on the market and is used by thousands of competitive athletes around the world. The sleep feedback is unmatched by any app I’ve tried and the comfort of the band makes wearing and charging it 24/7 a breeze.

If you’d like to give Whoop a try use the link below to receive $30 off your membership, which essentially lets you sign up for your first month for free!

FitnessFrivolity $30 Off Whoop Link

I hope this review was helpful and feel free to reach out if you have any other questions I can help with!