WHOOP is a company founded by Will Ahmed, a former D1 college athlete who came to the realization that the entirety of his training was a mystery. He had this idea that there had to be a better way to quantify all of the variables that went into or effected his training and recovery.

The WHOOP website states that “Optimizing performance was not a random sequence of events and decisions, but rather a systematic approach to understanding your body.” Although the WHOOP band exists within a highly competitive market, it was designed to exist as a screen less wearable that provided maximized data. The central focus of WHOOP is recovery. The belief is that if people have a better understanding of their recovery patterns, then they would be more likely to prioritize them. The WHOOP band and its accompanying app gives its users vital data for them to review. This data includes sleep patterns, including the time they spent in various stages of sleep cycles and heart rate variability (HRV). HRV is effected by many lifestyle factors such as stress levels, diet, sleep patters and training. By measuring the changes in your HRV you can gauge how various aspects of your life are effecting your recovery patterns.

WHOOP has also been able to make an impact with its users in its ability to track their respiratory rate (RR). They had been developing the feature for some time and decided to release it early after experts suggested that tracking the daily fluctuations in your RR can help you determine if you have COVID-19.

When PGA tour player Nick Watney, who is a WHOOP user, noticed a significant spike in his RR he immediately knew something was wrong. This from Golfdigest.com, “ The device he was wearing on his wrist to monitor his breathing showed an alarming spike in the breaths per minute he was taking. He’d been warned that might indicate he was suffering from COVID-19.” According to Watney, “That is literally the reason why [I got tested], because I didn’t feel badly in terms of anything. I didn’t feel very rundown. I didn’t feel hot. I didn’t have a cough. I didn’t have shortness of breath, none of that.” Watney went and got a COVID-19 test that morning after seeing his RR was so high. Sure enough, as he was warming up for the second round of the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage he received a call telling him that he had tested positive. If Watney had not been a WHOOP user he would of played that day and exposed himself to dozens of fellow players, caddies, media, family members and other staff. Watney says, “My wife and I have been talking about this: Is there a silver lining to this?” Can something good come out of this? It was a bit scary, but if people can learn more and this helps anybody else, that can be a good thing, obviously.”

I am a user of WHOOP and have been for the last year. I can say unequivocally that it has made a profound difference in my training and recovery. I am a visualizer. Visualizing data allows me to confirm what is working and what is not. Analyzing my behaviors over the past year has been an education. Their journal feature has been a game changer. Each morning you fill out a “journal” of information about the previous days training, sleep, supplement intake, food timing and other lifestyle factors. Each month WHOOP provides a “monthly performance assessment” where you can view how each of these behaviors effected your performance and recovery. I have learned that magnesium increases my sleep time, adequate hydration is the biggest factor in my next day recovery score and that alcohol destroys my sleep. As you learn these things and make changes to your routine you begin to not only feel better but also train harder and more efficiently. On days where my recovery is “in the green” then I know that my body is telling me that its okay to push it today, you are well recovered and ready to take on significant strain.

WHOOP is like having a coach always there ready to guide you. It’s also humbling. It is hard to not get in a solid workout when all of your vitals are in the ideal ranges and the app is telling you that you are primed to perform. Its equally as difficult to dial it back on days where it’s clear that your body is telling you it needs to rest. As someone who has used fitness to make tremendous changes in their life its hard to take any off-days, even when the data is telling you to back off. Below are two examples of what your WHOOP may look like in the morning.

Although my sleep was down, my HRV on this day was 24 points above my 30 day moving average and my resting heart rate was 4 points below my average. My WHOOP was telling me that it was time to perform, my body was clearly indicating that is was ready.

Waking up “in the red” is never a good feeling. However, it’s important to have this data. My numbers on this day are clearly telling me to take a break today. Even with good sleep the night before my RHR was was up and my HRV was down significantly. These days can happen for a variety of reasons. I almost always wake up in the red after a few drinks the night before. This was not the case for this day, my WHOOP journal for the day did not indicate anything out of the ordinary. So what this tells me is that I had been overtraining and it was starting to catch up to me.

Data visualization is very important. For me, it’s the most effective way to learn and make informed decisions. You have much more freedom when you are making informed decisions about your fitness and health based on data that is right in front of you.

If you decide that you would like to give the WHOOP band a try, use the referral link below to get your first month free!

Get a free WHOOP strap and your first month free when you join with my link: https://join.whoop.com/#/1056CB