By now we all know how much of a fan of Whoop I am and come 2020 I am even more of a fan! Whoop did a very cool thing, they analyzed all of my data in 2019 (so about half of the year) and in an “Annual Report” they showed averages, how I compared to other groups of Whoop users, and trends in my sleep, strain and recovery habits. I want to share some of the more interesting finds with all of you!
For starters, when it comes to Strain (amount of cardiovascular exertion built throughout the day):
· My highest strain was on Thursdays
· My lowest strain was on Mondays
· My average was 12.4 (on a scale to 21 – a strain of 21 means you held your max heart rate for 24 hours, pretty impossible!)
· The average daily strain for the top 10% of Whoop users was 16.4
· My highest recorded strain was 19.3
When it comes to Recovery (how ready the body is to take on Strain):
· My highest recovery scores were from Sunday nights
· My lowest recovery scores were from Saturday nights
· My average recovery was 53%
· The average recovery for the top 10% of Whoop users was 72%
· My lowest recorded recovery was 6% (yikes…)
When it comes to Sleep:
· I got the most sleep on Sunday nights
· I got the least sleep on Saturday nights
· My average sleep was 6:20
· The average sleep for the top 10% of Whoop users was 8:03
· My highest recorded sleep was 9:42 (boy that felt good)
After a night of sleep Whoop asks questions about the sleep, focusing a lot on what was done before trying to sleep (like did you consume caffeine or alcohol, were you looking at a screen before sleeping, etc.). Here were some of the interesting results based on my data with caffeine usage:
· Caffeine decreased the amount of time sleeping by 21%
· It increased my resting heart rate by 12 beats per minute
· It reduced my recovery by 30%
· Also, alcohol decreased my sleep time by 15% and reduced my recovery by a huge 32%
· The screen use didn’t give very accurate data because I answered yes almost every night, so it had nothing to compare to (although studies show screen time within an hour of sleep decrease the amount and quality of sleep).
Lastly, looking at training behavior, I spent most of my training time “over-reaching,” meaning I was putting more strain on my body than my recovery suggested I do (versus being “optimal” or “restorative”). Also, over the 6-months I’ve been wearing the Whoop, my resting heart rate has increased slightly, and my heart rate variability has decreased slightly (both of which are in the bad direction!).
So, lesson learned. Looking at these results, especially when compared to the top 10% of Whoop users (many of which are professional athletes), I need to make some changes.
1. Sleep more! – reduce caffeine use within the 6 hours leading up to bed, and reduce screen time
2. Hopefully with more sleep my recovery scores will increase, and I can keep training as hard as I do now, but it will then be categorized as “optimal” rather than “over-reaching”
3. Get my RHR down and my HRV up!
Very interesting stuff! I highly recommend everyone that is normally active (whether you’re an athlete or not) to invest in a Whoop. It is a crazy cool tool that offers some great feedback on Strain, Recovery and Sleep.
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