Who has a WHOOP band and how are you getting on with it?

Fuzz

Fuzz

Fuzz

Soldato
Joined
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I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on a whoop 4.0 so I can get some more data on how hard I'm pushing myself due to asking my PT to up my training to 6 days a week when I was with him this Saturday.
Are they giving you realistic, worthwhile metrics that tally with how you actually feel and perform?
I have been sleeping badly since the clock changes and it seems like I feel totally shattered, and my gains have stalled / slowed considerably since then too.
Partly because I have not noticed how late it has got before getting ready and into bed mind.....
 
You're feeling shattered and gains have stalled, so you're looking to increase training?

Whilst these watches can be helpful, it sounds like you already have a lot of data points that you're not listening to.
 
sigma said:
You're feeling shattered and gains have stalled, so you're looking to increase training?

Whilst these watches can be helpful, it sounds like you already have a lot of data points that you're not listening to.
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Which I think is my sleep and the clock change. Off to bed now to combat that from this week onwards..
Wondered if Whoop aligns with other peoples feelings about their levels of fitness / recovery and whether it tells them things they didn't already know
 
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Fuzz said:
Which I think is my sleep and the clock change. Off to bed now to combat that from this week onwards..
Wondered if Whoop aligns with other peoples feelings about their levels of fitness / recovery and whether it tells them things they didn't already know
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The person I know who had one said it was quite good. It showed him that even one/a small number of alcoholic drinks trashed the body as bad as a ridiculously hard workout. I've heard that the watches in general can help to show when you're ill even if you're not showing symptoms.
 
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I used one for three years, posted on here a few times about it. Latest subscription lapsed in March and decided not to renew it.

Positives:
Metrics and app are brilliant.
Auto detects and uploads workouts
Sleek and barely noticeable, its not a watch - which was important to me, means I can wear a watch on the other wrist.
Never need to take it off, not even to charge it.
Bases everything on HRV, which is a factor in getting sick. So an unusual high spike without other factors is a good indicator of covid for example. I saw sponsored athletes in 2020 posting on Insta their mystery red recovery scores before being sick or having a positive test. However on the 2 occasions I've caught covid were when I wasn't wearing it. 1 on a scuba liveaboard trip and 2 when I was on holiday. Maybe its a secret covid shield!
Good integration with zwift and strava.

Negatives:
Cost. Best bet is a 12 or 18 month upfront sub which costs more than a Garmin or Fitbit, when it lapses it will auto renew monthly, which is the highest cost option.
Feels a bit weird when its wet, you have to get used to it. Or buy extra straps and faff about changing them.
Can dig into the wrist a bit and be uncomfortable if oly lifting or Crossfit. Especially when your hands are in a front rack position or when using lifting straps.
Battery life falls off a cliff quickly. lasts 6 days when its new, down to about 3 days after just a few months.
Can't use when scuba diving
Doesn't track steps
Sometimes gives you data for a random activity you didn't do. I would quite often get a phone notification saying my workout had been processed when I was doing little more cleaning the house or cooking. Showed me at 155+ BPM which simply couldn't have been the case. I contacted support and they suggested i was wearing it incorrectly. :rolleyes:


Ultimately though I chose to not renew mainly because I was ignoring the messages it was sending me. I suppose the idea of a device like this is to adjust your behaviour as a result of what it tells you. I wasn't doing that. Sleep tracking is good but I am of the opinion that there isn't a lot you can do with that data or much you can change other than going to bed earlier if you are tired. Sleep really is the very best recovery.
Alcohol consumption though is the absolute enemy of whoop. I drink a few on a Friday, usually heavily on a Saturday and moderately on a Sunday. Usually a glass or two of wine Wednesday night. This has a huge effect on your data and recovery score and in turn pulls down all your averages so has the feeling that you are diminishing all your previous good work - which you are. I don't need a device to tell me that. Even 1 drink raises your body temp, it increases your heart rate and your HRV, resulting in a poor sleep. Again I know this. I go through periods of time where I don't drink, I never had a red single figure recovery score regardless of how hard I pushed in workouts.
 
I've literally just completed my first full year (14th April) and decided to pay upfront for two more years. This was the cheapest option but was still about £360, which is, of course, a lot still.

I agree with all of @Vandle positive comments.

To some of the negatives...

When I bought mine, I got an armband variation strap and tbh I often forget I have it on.
I can't say I've noticed my battery life change, after a years use.
The only problem for me with auto tracking is it sometimes calls my bike rides 'commutes', which I think is it taking the p*ss out of how slow I ride... I don't think I've ever noticed any odd HR spikes.
As for red recoveries. Definitely, alcohol will do it. Last year, I think all my reds were after alcohol (I don't drink often) Looking back 3 months though, I've had 3. 1 was after the Superbowl (21%). I didn't drink, but I only slept about 4 hours. The second was the only time I'd drunk this year and was after A LOT of alcohol (21%). The third was after the hardest ride I've ever done (according to Strava's Relative Effort - 20.6 on Whoop's scale) and I woke with a 19%.

If I'm honest, I don't think I notice too much of a difference if I wake up at 90% or I wake up at 60%. But, I do like the metrics I can check in with. I've been convinced (for about two months now) that I'm a little under the weather. Could I have had Covid maybe, etc. and I kind of rely on these numbers being right, telling me I can't have as I would have seen it in raised temp, or lowered HRV etc.

If something is 'worth it for the money' is hard to say as £360 for two years means different things to different people. I was kind of on the fence about it, but figured I could afford it now, so lets keep going and see how things are in two years.
 
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AndyCr15 said:
I've literally just completed my first full year (14th April) and decided to pay upfront for two more years. This was the cheapest option but was still about £360, which is, of course, a lot still.

I agree with all of @Vandle positive comments.

To some of the negatives...

When I bought mine, I got an armband variation strap and tbh I often forget I have it on.
I can't say I've noticed my battery life change, after a years use.
The only problem for me with auto tracking is it sometimes calls my bike rides 'commutes', which I think is it taking the p*ss out of how slow I ride... I don't think I've ever noticed any odd HR spikes.
As for red recoveries. Definitely, alcohol will do it. Last year, I think all my reds were after alcohol (I don't drink often) Looking back 3 months though, I've had 3. 1 was after the Superbowl (21%). I didn't drink, but I only slept about 4 hours. The second was the only time I'd drunk this year and was after A LOT of alcohol (21%). The third was after the hardest ride I've ever done (according to Strava's Relative Effort - 20.6 on Whoop's scale) and I woke with a 19%.

If I'm honest, I don't think I notice too much of a difference if I wake up at 90% or I wake up at 60%. But, I do like the metrics I can check in with. I've been convinced (for about two months now) that I'm a little under the weather. Could I have had Covid maybe, etc. and I kind of rely on these numbers being right, telling me I can't have as I would have seen it in raised temp, or lowered HRV etc.

If something is 'worth it for the money' is hard to say as £360 for two years means different things to different people. I was kind of on the fence about it, but figured I could afford it now, so lets keep going and see how things are in two years.
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If you've never drunk yourself into a single digit recovery then you haven't lived lad!
 
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First, yes I have :p Second, I think I got up to about 20 shots (and had cycled 100km including Sa Calobra during the day) and still had 21% recovery the next day :cry: Funnily enough, I think I'd only had about 8 shots both times I scored a single digit recovery.

I definitely felt worse the 20 shots morning though. It's not often I decline going out on the bike... but I did that morning...
 
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Pretty much echo most of the above....Postives and negatives

I've had whoop 3 and 4. App improving all the time, more features etc.

It's nothing earth shatteringly new in terms of info it provides - I know when I'm tired, I know when I'm not sleeping enough, without Whoop telling me - but I do like it, provides good data for me to manage my training and get to bed at a reasonable time etc as sometimes it's good to have a prompt for that.

@Vandle - Managed a 1% recovery before - was actually impressed with myself in a strange way.... :cry: :cry:
 
Having had a Garmin smart watch for years (currently on a Fenix 6), I personally would be very hesitant on using an optical HR based device for training/metrics etc. I find that compared to a 'proper' HRM, they can be wildly inaccurate, therefor skewing the effort and thus the whole point of the device.

Is their HRM based on the same technology? Or has anyone found any issues with this?
 
My Fenix 6 Pro cost less than that subscription and I don't pay any monthly fee to get all the same stats and more, from what I can see. Plus is does a boatload of other useful things like GPS maps, incident detection etc.

What is the point of it?
 
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booyaka said:
@Vandle - Managed a 1% recovery before - was actually impressed with myself in a strange way.... :cry: :cry:
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impressive! What did you do to manage that?
Shadowness said:
I find that compared to a 'proper' HRM, they can be wildly inaccurate
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I compared my Whoop to my chest strap and it always seemed to be within 2 or 3, so I thought it was pretty accurate.
mid_gen said:
Plus is does a boatload of other useful things like GPS maps, incident detection etc.
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I guess the reason I like my Whoop is because it doesn't have all that. I don't want something on my wrist 24/7, I want something I don't even notice I'm wearing.
 
Shadowness said:
Having had a Garmin smart watch for years (currently on a Fenix 6), I personally would be very hesitant on using an optical HR based device for training/metrics etc. I find that compared to a 'proper' HRM, they can be wildly inaccurate, therefor skewing the effort and thus the whole point of the device.

Is their HRM based on the same technology? Or has anyone found any issues with this?
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Mine is accurate to within a beat or 2 either way with my garmin chest strap.....
 
mid_gen said:
My Fenix 6 Pro cost less than that subscription and I don't pay any monthly fee to get all the same stats and more, from what I can see. Plus is does a boatload of other useful things like GPS maps, incident detection etc.

What is the point of it?
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I personally don't like wearing watches at all, especially when training etc - it's very small and hardly noticeable on my wrist. Just personal thing. I don't walk/run/cycle so no requirement for GPS, never really seen the big thing about "incident detection". Again all just personal reasons.

Nothing against Fenix/garmin watches etc - excellent bits of kit.
 
mid_gen said:
My Fenix 6 Pro cost less than that subscription and I don't pay any monthly fee to get all the same stats and more, from what I can see. Plus is does a boatload of other useful things like GPS maps, incident detection etc.

What is the point of it?
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I've got the 745, mostly because I run/hike/train and cycle. It gives me enough feedback that I can align my training with it. For me - I don't feel like I need anything more. Plus the navigation, and other tools are extremely useful for my uses.

Will probably upgrade to a solar version at somepoint.
 
Can we not turn this into an "all other wearables" thread please, although I suspect it's already run its course with people who have one.. can't be that many on this forum I guess.
It certainly doesn't come up regularly in wearable reviews.
 
Shadowness said:
To make the most of the 2 days a year it's sunny in the UK?

(Presuming you are in the UK of course)
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Yes, but a few thru hikes planned in France etc where it may be useful. Though I just done 3 days in Snowdonia with clear sunshine :)

But the 745 is so slim, it might be hard to change to something thicker.
 
I had a Fenix 3 (I think it was 3, last of the non HR ones) and had it for years, was brilliant but only ever wore it for activities like running, hiking or Tri's. Have an Edge for the bike. They really aren't suitable for gym work and weight lifting in particular. I upgraded last year to the Garmin Descent which is basically a Fenix crossed with a scuba computer and it is an amazing bit of kit to go with Garmins dive app which is streets ahead of PADI's poor effort. Again only use it for activities although I no longer run. The HR was always in step with whoop whenever I checked although I feel the calories burned metric from the whoop was more accurate but have no evidence to back that up!
 
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