Whoop
- Use your recovery score as a guide. A red recovery score doesn’t mean you shouldn’t exercise. Instead, use it to gauge how you feel and adjust your exercise accordingly.
- Get your baseline set. Don’t try to change too many behaviors the first few weeks after getting your Whoop strap. Set a baseline so you can see how the new behaviors are taking effect.
- HRV (Heart Rate Variability) is personalized. Your HRV reflects your health and overall fitness. Focus on trends rather than absolute numbers. Look for upward trends, but avoid comparing your numbers to others.
- Utilize the journal questions. These questions help identify trends in your data.
- Every few months, review and adjust the questions in your journal. Remove questions that don’t seem to have much impact.
- Understand that some questions act as proxies for other behaviors. For example, not sleeping in your own bed often indicates business travel.
- Keep questions that make a big impact even when “you know what to do”. The act of answering a question every day will cement the behavior
- Review your heart rate during sleep every morning. Review your heart rate data each morning to understand the effects of late meals, alcohol, and workouts. If you notice significant spikes in your heart rate during the first few hours of sleep, assess whether the preceding activity was worth it.
- Use the Whoop widget on your iPhone Home Screen. This serves as a constant reminder of your daily strain and recovery. The visual reminder is one of the biggest benefits of using Whoop. How to Install the Whoop Widget for iOS
- Allergy/reaction to wine: I have stopped drinking wine altogether because I experience an elevated heart rate 4-6 hours after consuming more than a quarter glass.
- High sugar content: Foods and desserts with high sugar content don’t sit well with me late in the day. Overall, less sugar is better.
- Hydration Matters: Be sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day
- No eating after 8 PM: It’s often better for me to wait until breakfast.
- Saunas for recovery: Saunas aid my recovery more effectively than steam rooms and hot tubs.
- Less recovery may be better: When I first started wearing the Whoop I would take a recovery day after a hard workout. Over time I found working out more, unless I felt really hammered, helped boost my HRV. Four to five workouts a week is best.
- Watch for respiratory rate jumps: When I really get sick my respiratory rate at night jumps. So on days that I don’t feel great but my respiratory rate is normal I push on. This has generally worked out well.
- Outdoor time improves recovery: Spending more hours outside enhances my recovery. This likely results from multiple factors:
- Being outside you are more likely to be off your phone or computer.
- Being in nature is generally relaxing and likely not under the stress of working.
- Being outside typically involves social interactions.
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My Journey with the Whoop Strap: Lessons Learned and Tips for Getting Started
For over five years, I have worn a Whoop strap, and it has made a significant difference in my overall health and happiness. Its impact was so profound that when I decided to go without the Whoop strap for an eight-month trial period, I noticed a decline in my health behaviors and promptly went back to using it.