It's a wearable fitness tracker: https://www.whoop.com/ I got one a few weeks ago. I have been working out consistently for years but sort of stuck at a plateau with no real fitness gains. I saw a friend around Thanksgiving and asked him what he was wearing and he showed me his app. A few weeks in and I have to say I love this thing, just for the sleep and recovery gains. But the fitness gains are a whole other level. I work out religiously Monday, Wednesday and Friday and I thought that was good. Come to find out, many of my gym workouts-while strenuous and with a good 400-500 calorie burn-were not enough. Just this morning I did an hour strength workout, burned 400 calories active. My strain was only a 5.9, barely more than a regular day for me, so it motivated me to got for a slow 4 mile run. Now my strain is up to 14.3 already and so I know I'll likely sleep well tonight. @Doug. and @ryalex I know you have these wearables, care to share your experiences? I could use some help getting into the teams and stuff, I've only been using it as a fitness tracker so far. Any other advice would also be appreciated!
These trackers are not very accurate to track calories burned. There are way too many variables involved to do so accurately. The technology isn't that advanced yet. However what these can do is show you the difference from one training to the next. So if your current workout 'burned' 200 calories but the next one 'burned' 400, you can be sure that there is a difference. Just don't blind stare on the actual calories burned. Use them as a guideline to judge your actuall perception of effort from one workout to the next. That's where they do shine.
I've been a Garmin user since about 2005 (Forerunner 301/205/310xt/605/610, Fenix 5X/6X) so can't help much with Whoop. The absolute best place to read up on fitness products is DCRainmaker. Looks like he has reviews of Whoop that might help you out: https://www.dcrainmaker.com/product-reviews/whoop.
Sorry for the late reply, @GatorFL One thing about Whoop that you will see in online reviews is it is aimed more for the cardio-focused workouts, when it comes to measuring strain. This is ideal for me, as I no longer really do any weightlifting. My main activities are Motocross, Mountain Biking, Manual Labor, Running, Swimming, Golf and Hiking/Rucking. I did notice subtle changes in average daily calorie count when I went from my Apple watch to Whoop. I don't pay too much attention to the calories, because no matter what wearable you use it's going to be different on all of them. Not real sure why that is exactly, but in general I look at it as just being in the ballpark. The recovery is really, interesting. It really helps me know when a good day is to push it or to just keep things light based off my HRV. I know Whoop has a disclaimer about it not being a medical device, but since I got it I have been sick twice. Each time, a day before I had any symptoms I woke up feeling fine but bothered by a red recovery score, and whacky numbers. It really knew what my body was going through before I did. Now, I can use that info to stack vitamins and supplements to hopefully ward off sickness before I really feel it. It's really aided my sleep a lot, my one gripe is it says I am always in a sleep debt and that I need 9+ hours to catch up. If I stayed up for 36 hours straight, doing continuous excercise, which I've done numerous times in my life, I will be lucky if I sleep a full 8 hours after that. My body is peaked with 6.5-7 hours of sleep. Most nights 4.5 hours of that is restorative sleep in REM and slow wave. What I've learned about my sleep since being on Whoop has helped me out greatly and now there is almost never a day where I feel tired, at any point. I also average 16-17 strain 7 days a week. The monthly performance assessments, especially the longer you use Whoop, are insanely insightful and tell you where to adjust your habits to improve aspects of your life. In all, Whoop is my accountability device. Since I got out of the Marines, it helps me stay doing the things I love, doing difficult things...but also things that I need to make time for. It's pretty crazy that a wearable device can make me feel that way, but I really appreciate all the work and effort that has gone into this thing and I hope to use it forever. I should invest lol.
I donated blood yesterday. While I slept good I noticed my recovery was way, way down to 41%, the lowest I've seen. Every other day has been higher and on days I work out hard it's over 80%. Will be interesting to track the next few days.
From this thread and Whoop users, it seems the greatest benefit of the device is realized when the wearer is fit, working out, and ambitious to improve. True? How about me? Currently use a Fitbit. Losing strength and endurance(=old); my workouts are living rural,maintaining a 100+ year old home, making/chucking/handling 10 cords of firewood, toting 50 lb bags of critter food, and walking to the outbuildings and mailbox, etc., and etc. Going to the gym is what city folk do....there's plenty of work here. Staying even is a victory.
I was in great shape when I was splitting wood every evening. Of course, much like you I was a LOT younger then too. I get the ripped look and gains when I control my diet and always push a bit. I think about it like a pyramid, I have to build a robust base to move up or I will hurt myself. Depending on age, what you are doing WILL keep you in pretty good condition for a long time.
I wouldn't say I am super fit. Gym 3x per week, but my weight fluctuates between 205-220-ish depending on diet. We're foodies and love wine and beer. I have been and can get much fitter. I'd say I was plateaued out when I got this thing last month. It has provided almost immediate insight into the impact of what I am doing and consuming. For instance, ONE drink with alcohol has a profound impact on my sleep and recovery. Probably a 20% negative swing. Also, my "hard" gym workouts where my Apple Watch said I burned 500 calories turned out to have a lower than required strain. When that happens now I simply mix in a run to get my strain up to required levels. I've not even been wearing it a month but I can see the benefits already.
I would disagree, to a point. While the device was originally conceived for elite athletes, it has excellent lifestyle benefits for any type of user. I don't really even go to the gym anymore, and of the above mentioned activities that I track (7), manual labor is far and away my most frequent. I'm a finish carpenter during the day, and for 8-10 hours I am putting different loads on my body. Of what you mentioned I would surmise that this would also be a frequently logged activity for you. And it's not like you have to press a button or do anything, Whoop will monitor your heart rate and notify you when it's been at an increased level for a time, and then you can tell it what you did. Then it processes it, and will break down everything to include how much time you spent at different heart rate zones (ex. 70-80% of your max zone, which is good for _____). It is worth a try to see if you like it.
@stever Here is an example from last week of me at work. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
