This post couldn’t be more well timed. I’ve been wearing WHOOP religiously for about 8 months and just yesterday I took it off. It was starting to make me feel bad about myself, and causing me to focus on the wrong things (ie game-ifying my life and exercise instead of just having fun and not dying). That said, I learned a lot from it; it helped me drink less, go to bed earlier, and generally become more consistent with good habits. And now i know how my body responds to my typical workouts. But I’m not sure what the value-add is, now that I know all that.
I always use a chest strap HR monitor when I want accurate readings of my workout effort…typically when I am cycling. I use my Apple Watch for everything else just to track time under effort. Having other means of tracking/measuring my workout effort does not make me workout more or better. I just need to get my ass out the door and do something.
I stopped wearing my Garmin because it was stressing me out, telling me I only got 30 minutes of deep sleep and my “body battery”’score would be low - but I felt rested and recovered. I decided that if I felt good, I probably was doing well despite the Garmin’s opinion.
I do use a handlebar mounted Garmin tracker for bike rides, because I like to see how many miles I rode. Plus, I can load my route into it which is important as I have zero sense of direction and used to get lost all the time. But I decided the wrist Garmin was more trouble than it was worth, between stressing me out and also I didn’t feel like the calories burned thing was accurate.
I’ve been wearable-free for a while, and it’s been good. Lately I was kind of thinking “maybe I should try a wearable again…” but I think I’m happier without. There is such a thing as too much data - especially if it is not particularly accurate data.
This is great. A while back I was all in on my Fitbit and apps like Gentler Streak. Then I started getting confused because I'd have a day where I felt terrible and it was telling me to go full tilt and days where I felt great and it suggested rest. I got rid of both of them. I have an Apple watch but don't use it for fitness. I track workouts with Map My Run so I have a log. But that's it.
Thanks for doing this series, Michael. I love my Garmin but, to echo an earlier statement, it’s starting to make me feel shitty about myself. Metrics like Sleep Score, Body Battery, and Training Readiness are interesting but definitely suspect. Many times they don’t match how I actually feel. Don’t even get me started on heart rate accuracy. No matter what I do I can’t get an even remotely accurate heart rate measurement out of my Garmin Fenix while exercising. It’s a joke. Like someone else said, if I want accuracy I wear a chest strap or (oh the horror) I use my fingers and a watch to take a manual measurement. That leads me to my final comment, I think your spot on about going old school. Pen, paper, a watch, and a map (GPS) are the only truly accurate way to go. As an engineer and gadget guy I love these devices (or more accurately the gamification of fitness) but if they’re wrong most of the time, am I really winning the game? I guess sometimes close enough is good enough but like John Wooden said, "Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, but our aim is to win." I’m looking to win.
Apple Watch because of its integrations with your phone seems the most practical and usable for me. Yea it’s not as good as garmin probably and battery is short but I charge it overnight. I use all the metrics relatively so accuracy is not as important more the trend. If whoop had any IP then Apple would have bought it frankly
I have been using a FitBit for years because they do 2 things very well - 1) great silent alarm that doesn't wake my wife and 2) they buzz ten minutes before the hour if you haven't walked 250 measured steps. #2 ensures that I get up from my desk and move at least once an hour. I keep a Bullet in the office and knock out at least 250 steps on the stairs 8 times a day.
Curious if Marco had an opinion on the best area to measure HR if you don't use a traditional chest strap. Reason I ask, WHOOP appears to have a bunch of apparel options where you can embed the device in the waistband, shoulder strap, etc, rather than using your wrist. Is there any reason that'd be more accurate than the wrist?
Regardless, even if it was a great product, they lose me at the $20/month subscription model anyways.
I have a Garmin watch and have noticed the same thing. Works fine when cycling (mostly) but when skinning up a mountain on skis and moving my arms...not so much. I have taken to wearing a chest strap which connects with my watch when I want reliable HR data. The newest Wahoo chest strap allows up to 3 BT connections simultaneously so I can also have it connect to my bike computer which is easier to read when trying to manage my effort in Z2.
yeah on my bike I can tell usually without looking. I find though that similar HR on activities that I'm not as used to doing feel "different" and usually harder just because I'm not used to it so I find the data/feedback useful. Plus as a scientist I like data...
I have been wearing a whoop for 4 1/2 years, also use an Apple Watch and purchased a polar heart Monitor strap last summer, the polar device I don’t use much due to inconvenience (yes, lame excuse). Have been a devoted whoop user and gained a lot of info, but I am also getting tested for afib and it’s weird how the whooo gives me a super high recovery (mostly due to elevated HRV) whenever I get an afib alert on my Apple Watch. I know the whoop has a disclaimer that it cannot provide medical advice but it seems like I should not depend on it solely for feedback and may give me a false sense of security. Now I wear my Apple Watch at sleep every night. A lot of other people I know had no idea they had afib until they started using their Apple Watch. I definitely need to get into using my polar chest strap more regularly from now on.
I use Apple watch to track my HR metrics and workouts. I noticed lately that the watch is having a hard time adjusting or figuring out my heart rate when I do HIIT. It may take a minute or two to record my heart rate. Also, I noticed that occasionally, when I am out of breath during workout, and my heart rate is a little low for how I feel, if I move the watch a bit it will show a higher HR.
While it’s a good thing to track some of these metrics, I personally don’t pay attention to calories burn or how many steps I did. Working out 4-5 times a week, plus walks/hikes/runs and adequate nutrition it’s all that matters the most.
I like to use the 150 minutes of recommended exercise as a good target but I’m almost always double or triple the goal. It’s become an almost 2 year streak but now I’m sick and trying to find the motivation to get it all done in a day or two.
What I find with the wrist is it is typically lower during exercise and reacts slower. If I’m actually doing exercises I add the chest strap. I think because if you I’m running, cycling or racing my motorcycles the arms aren’t asking for more blood flow so the body is sending it where it’s needed.
Could they use both wrist and chest hr data to improve it? Maybe
This post couldn’t be more well timed. I’ve been wearing WHOOP religiously for about 8 months and just yesterday I took it off. It was starting to make me feel bad about myself, and causing me to focus on the wrong things (ie game-ifying my life and exercise instead of just having fun and not dying). That said, I learned a lot from it; it helped me drink less, go to bed earlier, and generally become more consistent with good habits. And now i know how my body responds to my typical workouts. But I’m not sure what the value-add is, now that I know all that.
You nailed it. I think most wearables can be useful for giving people awareness. Then once you know ... you know.
I always use a chest strap HR monitor when I want accurate readings of my workout effort…typically when I am cycling. I use my Apple Watch for everything else just to track time under effort. Having other means of tracking/measuring my workout effort does not make me workout more or better. I just need to get my ass out the door and do something.
Your last sentence is pretty spot on. Unless you're making a living from sport or exercise, that's a great approach for most people!
I stopped wearing my Garmin because it was stressing me out, telling me I only got 30 minutes of deep sleep and my “body battery”’score would be low - but I felt rested and recovered. I decided that if I felt good, I probably was doing well despite the Garmin’s opinion.
I do use a handlebar mounted Garmin tracker for bike rides, because I like to see how many miles I rode. Plus, I can load my route into it which is important as I have zero sense of direction and used to get lost all the time. But I decided the wrist Garmin was more trouble than it was worth, between stressing me out and also I didn’t feel like the calories burned thing was accurate.
The Wall Street Journal actually wrote about that phenomenon: https://www.wsj.com/health/wellness/sleeper-performance-people-obsess-over-their-stats-biometrics-6a6feff
If a wearable is causing you stress, I think it's a good idea to take some time away and see what happens. Sounds like you have a good approach now!
I’ve been wearable-free for a while, and it’s been good. Lately I was kind of thinking “maybe I should try a wearable again…” but I think I’m happier without. There is such a thing as too much data - especially if it is not particularly accurate data.
I sometimes think about going back to a wearable but I don’t want the stress of it :)
This is great. A while back I was all in on my Fitbit and apps like Gentler Streak. Then I started getting confused because I'd have a day where I felt terrible and it was telling me to go full tilt and days where I felt great and it suggested rest. I got rid of both of them. I have an Apple watch but don't use it for fitness. I track workouts with Map My Run so I have a log. But that's it.
Nice. Sounds like you found a good approach for your goals.
Thanks for doing this series, Michael. I love my Garmin but, to echo an earlier statement, it’s starting to make me feel shitty about myself. Metrics like Sleep Score, Body Battery, and Training Readiness are interesting but definitely suspect. Many times they don’t match how I actually feel. Don’t even get me started on heart rate accuracy. No matter what I do I can’t get an even remotely accurate heart rate measurement out of my Garmin Fenix while exercising. It’s a joke. Like someone else said, if I want accuracy I wear a chest strap or (oh the horror) I use my fingers and a watch to take a manual measurement. That leads me to my final comment, I think your spot on about going old school. Pen, paper, a watch, and a map (GPS) are the only truly accurate way to go. As an engineer and gadget guy I love these devices (or more accurately the gamification of fitness) but if they’re wrong most of the time, am I really winning the game? I guess sometimes close enough is good enough but like John Wooden said, "Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, but our aim is to win." I’m looking to win.
Apple Watch because of its integrations with your phone seems the most practical and usable for me. Yea it’s not as good as garmin probably and battery is short but I charge it overnight. I use all the metrics relatively so accuracy is not as important more the trend. If whoop had any IP then Apple would have bought it frankly
I have been using a FitBit for years because they do 2 things very well - 1) great silent alarm that doesn't wake my wife and 2) they buzz ten minutes before the hour if you haven't walked 250 measured steps. #2 ensures that I get up from my desk and move at least once an hour. I keep a Bullet in the office and knock out at least 250 steps on the stairs 8 times a day.
I think behavioral nudges can be a huge value proposition of wearables.
Great article Michael. I use a Polar Grit X, which is a great, but had my suspicions on its accuracy. So I use it more as a guide vs. bible.
"More as a guide vs. bible" is an excellent way to frame it.
Curious if Marco had an opinion on the best area to measure HR if you don't use a traditional chest strap. Reason I ask, WHOOP appears to have a bunch of apparel options where you can embed the device in the waistband, shoulder strap, etc, rather than using your wrist. Is there any reason that'd be more accurate than the wrist?
Regardless, even if it was a great product, they lose me at the $20/month subscription model anyways.
I have a Garmin watch and have noticed the same thing. Works fine when cycling (mostly) but when skinning up a mountain on skis and moving my arms...not so much. I have taken to wearing a chest strap which connects with my watch when I want reliable HR data. The newest Wahoo chest strap allows up to 3 BT connections simultaneously so I can also have it connect to my bike computer which is easier to read when trying to manage my effort in Z2.
Nice. I typically gauge my effort by feel and my breathing. It took me awhile to learn that though, and using a monitor helped me learn.
yeah on my bike I can tell usually without looking. I find though that similar HR on activities that I'm not as used to doing feel "different" and usually harder just because I'm not used to it so I find the data/feedback useful. Plus as a scientist I like data...
I have been wearing a whoop for 4 1/2 years, also use an Apple Watch and purchased a polar heart Monitor strap last summer, the polar device I don’t use much due to inconvenience (yes, lame excuse). Have been a devoted whoop user and gained a lot of info, but I am also getting tested for afib and it’s weird how the whooo gives me a super high recovery (mostly due to elevated HRV) whenever I get an afib alert on my Apple Watch. I know the whoop has a disclaimer that it cannot provide medical advice but it seems like I should not depend on it solely for feedback and may give me a false sense of security. Now I wear my Apple Watch at sleep every night. A lot of other people I know had no idea they had afib until they started using their Apple Watch. I definitely need to get into using my polar chest strap more regularly from now on.
I use Apple watch to track my HR metrics and workouts. I noticed lately that the watch is having a hard time adjusting or figuring out my heart rate when I do HIIT. It may take a minute or two to record my heart rate. Also, I noticed that occasionally, when I am out of breath during workout, and my heart rate is a little low for how I feel, if I move the watch a bit it will show a higher HR.
While it’s a good thing to track some of these metrics, I personally don’t pay attention to calories burn or how many steps I did. Working out 4-5 times a week, plus walks/hikes/runs and adequate nutrition it’s all that matters the most.
I like to use the 150 minutes of recommended exercise as a good target but I’m almost always double or triple the goal. It’s become an almost 2 year streak but now I’m sick and trying to find the motivation to get it all done in a day or two.
What I find with the wrist is it is typically lower during exercise and reacts slower. If I’m actually doing exercises I add the chest strap. I think because if you I’m running, cycling or racing my motorcycles the arms aren’t asking for more blood flow so the body is sending it where it’s needed.
Could they use both wrist and chest hr data to improve it? Maybe