If it wasn't for the endless paid subscription model with Whoop I'd get one for sure, but I'm completely put off by the fact that it's something I'll never own or stop continuously paying for.
Its good to wear for a year or so. After that time, youve learnt alot about what works for you in terms of 'recovery'. Then by that time you dont really need it. Kinda like a good PT, it just helps boosts your knowledge about yourself in terms of your health/fitness
You do own it after the minimum subscription... They're not asking for them back, because they can't. So if you wanted to you could flash the firmware if you were so inclined. However that's probably not worth the time.
At least you don’t have to own outdated tech after 2 years. Works similar to a phone contract, 2-3 years later and you end up getting a new one anyway.
Dude I like the direction you’ve been going lately. Using your communication skills for the greater good. Also, I wear an Oura, whoop, Apple Watch, CGM and looking for other things to plug into myself so that I can paralyze myself with data and never actually do anything.
lol exactly. Why the fuck do you need data to tell you if you slept enough/well? what the actual fuck. there are signals that are inside your body that you can feel that no device will ever feel to give you the answers you need. Absolutely crazy that people buy this stuff.
Had a Whoop for 18months. Was cool to get to a good understanding of my sleep habits, recovery etc. After about a year I kinda had a good instinct for it all but still couldn’t imagine not having that info presented too me. At the end of 18months I didn’t feel it was telling me anything I didn’t intuitively know. I got rid of it and didn’t miss it. Great tool for teaching you stuff about yourself and helping to form good habits.
I had the 3.0 when it first came out, now I have the 4.0. I have huge issues with my sleep from spending most of my adult life in the military, and it gives me a good idea if what I'm doing is helping or hindering.
Nice vid James. You mentioned in the video you weren’t too sure how Whoop was measuring breathing rate. For anyone else interested it’s done through the heart rate sensor. Specifically, via respiratory sinus arrhythmia. (HR increases when we inhale and decreases when we exhale and this can be plotted and tracked).
Thank you for reviewing this! I had the ad for whoop pop up quite a lot and I was thinking if it'd worth the money for me... after this I'll just stay with my Apple watch as I'm no professional and I get the basics I need for an average life. Thanks again for the review.
I’ve been using Whoop for over two years and I’ve personally found it really useful. The my also have various options to wear it around your body which is pretty cool. Although the clothing to get them is expensive. Unless you like a lot of data and want to find small changes to make, probably not for you. Required studying the stats and seeing progress over time instead of seeing quick wins. Worth it though
Great review video, best whoop review and analysis video on RU-vid by far. Humor+ seriousness, none bias analysis and Honesty ?, absolute best. Any Potential future growth is well deserved for this guy.
Love my whoop, I’ve had it for over a year now and it has definitely made me stop drinking excessively on nights out. One drink and I’m done, none wants a red recovery the next day. My goal is to get 100% recovery score but I’ve yet to reach the holy grail 😂. P.s I’m also a 2 watch wanker according to colleagues even though the whoop is not a watch 🤷🏻♀️
You can wear it on your ankle if you want. I've been wearing a Whoop for about 3 years and I had to wear the 3.0 on my ankle because it didn't like to read through my tattoos. Looks like a house arrest monitor on your ankle though. If you like to wear an array of watches and you're into in depth sleep tracking it's great. I can see how it's not for everyone. Really honest and well thought out review.
Excellent. Looking like a criminal will be extra popular with the ladies. Just make sure you don't tell her you did something boring, like lie on your taxes.
Used my Whoop for 2 years straight and loved the data...but finally chucked it because of the ongoing frustrations with the dramatically 'off' heart rate. Like not just a few beats... but zones apart. Tried all the locatons, shaved my wrists! To me that metric was a key one... So I went to polar vantage... Polar is the OG for Heart Rate. The UI isn't as smooth as Whoop but it does have Sleep etc...
Great and honest review, I wear the Garmin Fenix 6 Pro daily and like the functionality and data it gives for my running. I personally like the look of it (I have the smaller version not the massive one as my wrists are small) and I like being somewhat of a poser a giving the illusion that I’m more of an athlete then I actually am 👌
Great review and highlighted the reasons I wear a fitness tracker all the time. Weapon of choice for me is the Fenix 6X Pro. As a watch wearer it fits my lifestyle, and the battery is superb. Plus nice to have some extra functionality from the thing on your wrist. Always been curious about the Whoop bands though. Maybe one day I will try one.
I got one to track my HR after 2x heart operations, but I wanted to resume my previous fitness program (cycling). I now use HRV / sleep score to calculate what efforts I can and cant do. And it works well for that - Ive nailed the routine. If HRV < 35 and Sleep < 40%, I do notice my heart „protests“ a little. If Im HRV55+ and 80%+, I can do intervals with no symptoms.
If it works, that's great but I had one that NEVER worked. I was a 4.0 pre-order and was very excited for it. When it didn't work it took forever, jumping though many hoops, just to get them to send a replacement, and that one never worked either. Both wouldn't charge at all. Not sure if the initial batch was busted, but I wasn't the only one with the issue. Their customer service was the worst. They also refused to refund the up front membership cost even though I had a broken product and broken replacement and at that point wished to cancel and move on. So I was out almost $200 for a product that never did what it was suppose to. Would not recommend on that fact alone.
Great review mate, couldn't have put it better. Had a whoop for a few years, and it has improved over time. But I've recently heard great things about the new Garmins. And although expensive, once you've paid them off, that's it. Whereas Whoop you just keep paying, and paying.... Also I believe it doesn't communicate well with Strava, so if your a big runner (I'm not) then whoop is not the best. But for having a tool that tells you how you are really doing, it's great. Keep the great content coming 👍🙏
As someone that also trains Jiu Jitsu I haven’t found anything else that is even an option to wear during training! It also has a haptic alarm that I love, because you can have your own alarm that doesn’t annoy your partner!
Really appreciate the transparency of this video as mentioned literally every other influencer that I've heard talk about the product has their "1 Month Free" which to my understanding any person that uses WHOOP can refer their friends for a month free and therefore I can imagine that influencers get around $25 per signup however you may be closer to this then myself
Love the content James, not sure if its mentioned WHOOP's DO NOT work with newer phones. I have the latest motorola razer+ and its REFUSES to connect to the app. I work IT it's not user error. Both my S.O Iphone, as well as two co-workers iphones connect fine, but something with Android 13 and how it handles bluetooth there is a break in communication between the app and band. And WHOOP is just playing the blame game. Was excited to try mine out, and 3 days after getting it, sent it back. No ones fault but WHOOP, always enjoy the content, but no one told me until it didn't work and I had to search Reddit, so figure I'd help some folks out if needed.
Great video you've answered most of the questions I wanted to know. I do have a few questions you may be able to answer. 1. Does the Whoop have a GPS tracker in it to track running distances and routes? 2. Does the Whoop record ECG data? 3. Have you worn another fitness tracker at the same time as the Whoop to compare the data? If yes which device do you think gave more accurate data?
I love the WHOOP but I am obsessive and ultra competitive so if I get a bad score it really can mess up my day. I won’t alter my workouts for a low recovery but if I get a really high recovery I will amp them up over the norm. It also stopped me from putting most bad shit into my system. Essentially my only vice is something chocolately too close to bed.
I’ve got the fenix 6x (can’t believe you said it looks disgusting 😂) and I prefer owning things to adding more subscriptions to my life. It provides most of the same data. Battery lasts at least a week, so it’s no hassle. It’s worth listening to andy galpin’s episode on recovery on the Huberman lab podcast as he was advising people not to jump to conclusions about when to not train based on these devices. In short he said that if you’re trying to improve, and it’s just one day of bad data, carry on. Really liking the content in the last few vids James. Keep it up sir.
I looked at these when Steven Bartlett had Whoop's creator on Diary of a CEO. I decided it offered no more than my Garmin and I didn't want to look like a Scouser out on license wearing a tag. Great review as usual James.
That's a fair talk. I wear wrist straps and elbow sleeves most of the time when i train so boxer would be a great solution. Not sure about deadlift though. You are right, what can be measured can be improved, not sure this is the right way to measure effort or quality. Some people get obsessed with the number instead of focusing on the what is important. I mean, you don't need an app to tell you had a good night of sleep or how hard the workout was.
Wore a Whoop 4.0 for about 17 days. Measured workouts against my Garmin Fenix 5x Plus and HRM Pro chest strap. The HR analysis was pretty much the same +\- 2bpm but the calories burnt the Whoop was miles away. Example was a round of golf. Garmin HRM Pro measured 800cals and Whoop 235cals. Ditched the Whoop mainly due to the customer service and experience. When I queried the data all Whoop said was move it slightly up the wrist. Done that and still no changes. Wasn’t even offered a replacement strap to try (as possible I had faulty strap).
It’s an interesting idea, especially all the ways it can be worn but I wonder if wearing it in your boxers for example, makes it less accurate. Also, how accurate is it? I read some studies comparing it to other trackers and it seems okay but I didn’t really have enough time to delve into it. Finally, the price. £250/year is fucking expensive. After just two years you’ve already well surpassed the price of a good Garmin, which is more accurate and has better features.
used one consistently for 6 months, switched from a sunto 9 baro. It served its purpose but the lack of no display really just fell short for me. I switched to an Apple watch ultra and have not looked back.
The journal function is valuable, especially for the monthly report which helps isolate which factors are helping or hindering your recovery. Of course not that I did not know that, but it really shows the hard and immediate negative impact of alcohol, killing your sleep and recovery scores. This helped me reduce alcohol significantly. For that alone it was worthy. Now I need to explore cross dressing!😂
I'd like a decent HRM but thats about it. I can see something like the Whoop as an anxiety inducing device rather than reducing as you're always concerned about your sleep stats etc. That said, I did read a Tweet a couple of years ago where a super fit guy got some sort of alert telling him he was having some sort of cardiac event. Two days later he was having heart surgery to have stents put in!
I tried one for about 4 - 5 months and found the data was no more useful than my Garmin and the benefit of the Garmin is you don’t look like your watch is shit or have to explain why you are wearing a tag to the 99% of people who don’t watch fitness RU-vid videos.
Calling like it is. Well done 👍🏻 I like your honesty and love this blasé yet so direct approach and direct to the camera talk. Bless you we need more men like you ✌🏻
I was a whoop subscriber for four years. After using the apple watch and other software such as Athlytic for calculating HRV much like Whoop for a fraction of the price, I question the accuracy of the information being provided. One could argue that the whoop data, its benefit to the user is in observing the trends in the data and the accuracy of its measurements is not that critical. I just cannot justify for the price point and the overall lacking experience with their useless customer support. In the end I was not sold on its value to me at the exceptional cost. I lost a band at the gym that I had had paid two years of service on. Instead of doing the right thing and taking care of the customer, it took two weeks of sending requests to whoop support to even illicit a response from the company. After two more questions and going back and forth with their support, I let them know that I was dissatisfied with their lack of care to my needs as a customer. I ended up purchasing an Aura ring, and will see if perhaps the culture of that company is perhaps a better fit. Perhaps they have more value for their customers. Whoop could care less about theirs.
I have huge issues with my sleep from spending most of my adult life in the military, and it gives me a good idea if what I'm doing is helping or hindering. The strain meter also gives me a decent idea if I worked harder today than I did yesterday. I don't think the calorie count is correct at all, but if I burned 4000 one day and 2000 the next I can safely say I expended more or less energy. I wouldn't use the data to decide how much food to eat though.
44 FUCKING AUSTRALIAN DOLLARIDOOS A MONTH!?!? You nearly had me there for a minute. That fact alone makes all of the competitors look INSANELY valuable.
Love my Garmin fenix 6 pro, especially for running and cycling feel it’s a lot more accurate and tends to be people who are more serious about training and can connect with like minded people not just the “hot girl walk, types”😂
I have a whoop, wore it for 2 months. My learning was that I actually know myself better than the whoop. So don’t need it. It’s another thing to charge, and take on/ off.
Not sure if it is 100% how they do it but i have heard that they measure your breathing frequenzy with your heartrate, when you breath in, your lungs extend and therefore your heart has less space so it increases the heart rate to compensate for it
Everyone complains about monthly payment when they don’t realize they’re replacing devices every 2-3 years and it ends up being the same thing. I work for a product company and know that recurring payments are important to keep the software updates coming so makes sense me. The cost probably ends up being the same on average as other devices since most continuously replace theirs
Exactly. I just read the oura ring battery basically dies at the 2 year point. A new ring is 400$ minimum, plus the subscription. Though one thing I will say is that Garmin watches have no subscription cost and a really sturdy battery. If you're gonna track mostly fitness and less sleep, Garmin would definitely be the way to go. Also, the Whoop membership is too expensive at $20. The development cost can't be that high. And any and all accessories are ridiculously overpriced - a band I can get elsewhere for 2$ costs me 50$ in the Whoop store. That's Apple levels of crazy.
Garmin all day long. Whoop band is flimsy and looks like a women’s bracelet. Garmin Fenix X 7 is a beast. Big, bold, packed with tech and makes you look and feel like a Navy Seal. 👊🏻💪🏻
I love your honest comments and presentation! Question - does this pick up the activities automatically or do I have to start and stop activity through my mobile? Example, if I am going for a run, in my Garmin, I start running mode and ends it run is finished. Same when I do CrossFit. Do I have to do the same with Whoop through mobile?
5:02 even his cute dog can't stand in the way to sliver play button 😅 Question, in your opinion how does the whoop compare to Garmin in terms of data? Keep up the great content 😊
There is a bicep band that significantly improves the accuracy, stays hidden most of the time ( specially with UK weather ) and you are not paying more for Whoop underwear.
I wear a “nice” watch and I still get regular comments “why are you wearing two watches” despite the fact there isn’t a screen on the whoop. So bring on the ankle bracelet Whoop. TBH, I felt like a bit of an imposter when I first got the Whoop, as everyone I knew with one was into CrossFit. But as someone who struggles to not overdo things, it’s really helped me manage balance.
I had a Whoop for 2 years (paid up front I think it was £300). When it came up to pay for another 2 years, I was going to carry on until they told me that I wouldn't get any of the new updated tech in the post - no new charger - nothing. So you pay £300 for the equipment and 2 years of use and then after 2 years you pay again but get nothing new..... right. No thanks.
If it was a one time payment for the band and the whoop app was free, then I'd definitely go for one. I hate having to pay monthly model for a fitness band
