Is WHOOP worth the hype?

The fitness tracker WHOOP has been becoming increasingly popular and started to make its appearance in the rowing world. I first saw the hype of it among CrossFit athletes and if money were endless it would be something I would use.

A popular saying is ‘What gets measured gets monitored’ and this got me thinking about how much this popular, maybe hyped fitness tracker, fitness tracker can make a difference.

In the last month, I have been wearing a WHOOP (1-month free trial - whoop whoop!)

My interest in the WHOOP 30-day free trial was to:

1) understand how my behaviours were impacting my overall health, recovery and performance,

2) identify ways to gain small margins and

3) understand if the WHOOP has the power to make positive behavioural changes.

Here are my honest opinions and what I have learnt:

1. The amount of data you get is crazy! Far more than my Garmin watch (vivoactive 3). The instant feedback is useful to let me know how my actions are impacting my performance and recovery.

2. The training sessions that we do as rowers are more demanding on our body than we think. The WHOOP measures this as ‘strain’ and includes the cardiovascular and muscular load we put on our bodies as well as the daily life stressors and how our body responds.

3. I need more sleep than I realise! - you probably do too! And time in bed is not the same as being asleep! I have found it useful for keeping me accountable for my nighttime routine. One feature I like and find valuable is ‘planning bedtime’. It calculates the time you need to be asleep (not be in bed or start getting ready to go to sleep) by combining the amount of sleep you want to get with the time that you need to wake up. This made me realise I need to go to bed earlier and stop faffing before bed!

4. A big psychological impact! If I have a bad night's sleep or a low recovery score it makes me feel like the training sessions are harder, whereas if the opposite is true I feel such a psychological boost to push harder.

5. The recovery score can become so competitive! - As someone who talks about recovery so much, I think it is one of the most useful and controversial parts! This is a combination of heart rate variability, resting heart rate, respiratory rate, sleep performance (time in bed, consistency of sleep habits, percentage of sleep that is restorative (deep and REM sleep), and sleep debt). All this data is used to produce this score and it can show you so many ways to improve: go to bed at a consistent time, practice breathwork.

6. It uses the data and provides personalised recommendations for you which make sense to your lifestyle.

Of course, there are negatives to using a WHOOP.

1. Analysis by paralysis is a real thing - sometimes there was too much data that I found it both confusing and contradicting leaving me to be unsure about how to train or just go about life.

2. It’s a lot more expensive compared to other fitness trackers. A fitness watch would be a one-off cost whereas a WHOOP has a small initial fee plus a monthly subscription.

3. It appeals to a certain demographic - If you are a data junky and serious about taking your sport to the next level then it may be for you; A preference, not a need.

4. Easy to become obsessed. I find myself constantly tracking my WHOOP app and the data influences how I approach my day. If I’m under recovered I feel like the day will be an uphill battle.

5. It has a bigger psychological impact than I would like to admit. If my recovery score is green I feel like I can crush all my workouts, but the opposite for when it is red.

6. Not all fitness trackers are accurate; Your body will tell you things a fitness tracker can’t.

With all this learning, I didn’t expect to understand how sleep can be my superpower.

My data has shown that certain behaviours have a better impact on my sleep and recovery. The first is dimming lights 1-2 hours before bed. The second is sleeping in a colder room which supports the body’s natural nighttime routine and releases melatonin (sleep hormone), therefore improving the quality of each sleep stage.

One of my hesitations about fitness trackers in general is the accuracy and the behaviours they try to promote. I think a lot of fitness trackers emphasise the importance of moving more; Certainly the case for my Garmin with the ‘Intensity Minutes’ measure - essentially the amount of minutes every week that are activity.

While it is important to exercise and there are lots of proven health benefits, I think it depends on your lifestyle. As rowers, we are already exercising above the “normal” or government-advised amount. So now the question is not “How much exercise to do?”, it shifts “How much is efficient and how much does my recovery allow me to do?”.

Another classic quote is ‘You can only train as hard as you recover’ and this is one I stand by both as a physiotherapist and athlete.

My conclusion is that you don’t need a WHOOP, but you may like one. Recovery doesn’t need to be over-complicated; It can be rather simple really.

Focus on the controllables, set routines, and build habits.

Sleep will be your best friend.

Being in tune with your body will be part of your lifestyle.

Consistency and routine will be your new superpower.