Wearing a WHOOP Changed My View on Health in 6 Months

I’ve been wearing a WHOOP band for 6 months now. I’ve recorded every night of sleep, every workout and almost every minute of the day.

WHOOP is a relatively young company, yet it has shot up to dominate the fitness tracker market. It’s done that from its belief in having Heart Rate Variability (HRV) front and centre. More importantly coupled with high quality data insights.

But is it worth the hype? Is it worth the hefty monthly subscription? (starting at £16/month for 2 year plan)

I think it is, but it depends who you are. I’ll explain who it’s aimed at, what it’s good at and what it’s not so good at.

how does it work?

WHOOP works on a subscription model. You pay a monthly fee and in return you get a WHOOP band and the fancy analytics in app.

The comfy knitted wrist band records all your vitals and feeds them into the app. This feeds back on your sleep, strain and recovery.

You never have to take it off because of the nifty charging system (explained in a bit).

Unlike some fitness trackers, it doesn’t prescribe workouts and programs. You do the work and the general living, and WHOOP gives its data-driven view on sleep, strain and recovery.

Strain is WHOOP’s main currency of cardiovascular and muscular exertion. The muscular bit of the equation takes in data from the new strength trainer feature (i’ll be honest, I haven’t used much). It then puts it into the same currency as cardio – a revelation for you hybrid athletes.

is it for me?

Who WHOOP is aiming at and who WHOOP is ACTUALLY useful to, are two different answers. WHOOP will say it’s aimed at anyone who wants to “unlock their potential”… Yet, WHOOP is overkill for most of the population.

WHOOP is useful to one of two groups: endurance-heavy athletes and biohackers. Let me explain…

In a nutshell, balancing loads of running with a bit of strength work, ON TOP OF a busy life is hard. It’s a fine balancing act that requires you to stay on top of how hard you workout, how much you sleep and what things help you recover. WHOOP is the perfect partner if your life is this.

But, if your goal is to keep your fitness ticking over (working out a couple of times a week), WHOOP is death by data. It’s paralysis by analysis. etc. etc.

Oh and the second group – biohackers. If you’re familiar with Bradley Johnson, the man on a mission to reverse aging, being optimal at all costs. WHOOP is fantastic at delivering the data and analysis that satisfies that group.

But if you’re trying to get a few more steps in, then a cheaper fitness watch will probs do you fine.

it’s made me conscious of choices I make on the impact they have

I’m a pretty conscious of my health. I’m not one to binge on food and drink, and I already prioritise my sleep. But, WHOOP took that consciousness of choices to the next level – for better and worse…

Now, every choice and habit now seem like they’re made for one sole reason… To get green recovery on the wheel in the WHOOP dashboard.

Now you may be asking – why is chasing ‘good health’ or rather, green recovery, a bad thing? Isn’t finding stuff that has a positive impact on your recovery and energy a good thing?

I am a lot more healthy (resting heart rate, HRV, etc.) six months on. But I do feel like I crossover into compulsiveness by living by the sleep schedule it sets me, and not my own.

i drink less

I also don’t drink as much now because I can see that the impact of 1-2 drinks for me is -8%, yet 3+ is -19%. Again, this is a good habit reinforced but it’s still in the back of my mind even when I have a bi-monthly blowout.

I’m keen to make good choices and be in control of my health, but it’s WHOOP calling the shots (the non-alcoholic shots ofc).

the charging system is incredible

In the event of some kind of Doomsday, the US President’s private 747, Air Force One, would take to the sky. Where it would remain airborne for as long as the emergency is happening. This is because it has the capability to refuel in mid-air by special military fuelling jets. The refuelling jets land, refuel and then refuel Air Force One again and again. The President never has to land.

This is what comes to mind when describing how WHOOP bands recharge…

Ok, I definitely over-egged the analogy but it’s very good…

WHOOP comes with a light, slide-over portable charger, that also charges. This means you never have to take off your WHOOP to charge (or have to land Air Force One…).

a fitness tracker on your wrist will NEVER be accurate

One of my gripes with WHOOP is how prone the system output is to bad input data. If you feed in inaccurate heart rate data, the resulting strain will be an overestimation. And so will your recommended sleep time and recovery.

I’ll let you in on a secret… Any heart rate data taken from your wrist while running WILL be inaccurate. This is because sweat interferes and it being less reliable than conductor pads.

I sometimes feel like a bit of a wrong-un when I run with three heart rate measuring devices. But it does bring out a hilarious range of outputs on easy runs. My heart rate chest strap saying 140bpm and WHOOP saying 180bpm…

i will go for my sunday long run regardless of what it tells me

The best and worst thing about WHOOP are insights of how ready you are to perform. It’s useful info but I have a training schedule and a busy life. So if I want to do my Sunday long run, I will go whether WHOOP says I’m ready or not – unless I’m ill or injured ofc.

what about the alternatives?

When buying a fitness tracker, there are four questions you need to ask yourself:

• Goals: Are you looking to improve your sleep, track your workouts, or lose weight?
• Budget: How much are you willing to spend on a wearable fitness device?
• Lifestyle: How active are you? A couple of workouts a week or everyday?
• Device preferences: Do you prefer a wristband, ring, or smartwatch? Do you want a device with a long battery life? Do you want a device that can make calls and send text messages?

I’ve created a handy comparison table to match this to your needs:

Feature	WHOOP	Oura Ring	Fitbit Charge 5	Garmin Forerunner 265	Apple Watch Series 9	Samsung Galaxy Watch6
Who is it for?	Serious athletes who train nearly everyday	Health-conscious entrepreneurs	Just want to be a bit healthier and active	Suits most everyday runners	Likes to stay fit but also wants to pay for stuff on their wrist…	You’re like the Apple person but you have a Samsung
Pros	High-quality data analytics, the most accurate, strong community of users	Comfortable to wear, long battery life, most stylish	More affordable	Durable, long battery life, many features	The most features possible crammed into it	Affordable, similar features to Apple Watch
Cons	Expensive subscription required, no screen	Can be uncomfortable to wear, limited features	Not as accurate, subscription hikes price	Not as stylish as some other devices	Interface may lack for more advanced users	Not as many features as Apple Watch
Price	from £16/pm	$299 (+$6/pm membership)	£130 (+£8/pm membership)	£429	£399	£289
Equiv over 2 years	£384	$443 (£356 as at 15/09/23)	£322	£429	£399	£289

final thoughts…

I’m paying £19 per month for something that has the same sensors as my running watch. But the value I get back in good habit reinforcement is somehow justified. It’s silly things like ‘sleep need’ that keep my actions bound by WHOOP.

Being transparent, other subscription-free smartwatches out there have the same sensors as WHOOP. But I don’t think they distill the data and insights that matter in the beautiful way that WHOOP does.

It’s an annoying conclusion to come to but WHOOP matches my lifestyle. I run and lift every day of the week, so it’s enabled me to prioritise recovery and make measurable gains as a result.