Whoop

[Shoogs]

Anyone seen this? Looks like a pretty cool tool. I'll let you watch the video, I'm intrigued.
Highly specialized target group, not all that expensive compared to other tools out there.

WHOOP

[Too Tall]

I like the metrics they track and it's one he!! of a good pitch.
Go for it brah.

[Shoogs]

I've got zwift in my future. Intrigued by the metrics and the business model.

[Too Tall]

I've got zwift in my future. Intrigued by the metrics and the business model.

It's quite alot of hype Shoogs. I've been a coach for good part of my life. Asking athletes to journal this stuff accomplishes the same thing but you know that. I TOTALLY realize me asking anyone to do this in this day and age is byzantine and pedantic when the metrics could be captured electronically so heyyyy....punt.
The portion that intrigues me are mostly related to "freshness" and tracking that over the course of a extended training period. The device + software could, by appearances, do that nicely. Looking back at this data historically will be pure gold regardless how it is captured. I guess the point is that it is captured by just wearing it and keeping the thing charged. Oh...ahhh...now I'm pitching it ;) Ouch.

[AngryScientist]

they lost me at "less alcohol consumption"

[Shoogs]

Toots- I had difficulty communicating with my coach how I was feeling until it was too late and subsequently burned out...it came in consecutive seasons. I fully take the blame on that, not wanting to disappoint etc... If I had trained with power, I could more easily see how 'tired' I was and alter plans based on that. While this wouldn't be an exact replacement of power ... Ah well you see where I'm going. It's an intriguing model.

And yes, less alcohol bit...that's no fun.

[sonicw]

I previously got burned (ripped off) by another wearables start-up when they marketed and sold an incomplete product. I'm glad I wasn't an investor and it was only a 100 bux. Anyway, I've stared at and thought about wearable devices for far too long the past year.

From a glance, y'all seem to know what this is and what it's capable of. I'd also argue that the sensors on a wrist-worn device cannot collect many readings, such as in sleep, nutrients, hydration, etc. at a high-enough grade to make an impact on a training regimen. At best, these are all ballpark figures as the margin of error will be too high, and the clinical grade equipment (with good, useful readings) is bulky and/or invasive. Is Whoop a training tool or a training service? The use-cases are very different but the marketing doesn't make it too clear. And algorithms can pick up something a trainer might miss, but still is no subsitute for a real trainer who learns and knows the athlete.

The strongest suit I think is the use by professional athletes, which in turn means that amateurs and fans will also account for much of the Whoop's sales (like the basketball sleeve à la Allen Iverson). And with this much marketing potential, no doubt there's tough competition from Fitbit, Garmin, and Withings :P

[joosttx]

I saw on my credit card "recent purchases" a purchase from whoop.com. I think my wife bought me one for christmas. The freshness is the real cool thing but I feel you probably can dial it in with a heart rate monitor coupled with a power meter while on a bike. To me what could be interesting it could help when experimenting with recovery protocols i.e. diet, sleep, and yes lowering alcohol consumption. But thats a lot of interactions to slice and proc glm... So I am cautiously optimistic.

Just a side note. I had a wearable for a while early when the things were starting. One of the most intresting learnings from it was the just before getting a flu or a bad cold my heart increased about two hours before I felt sick or before I felt anything. This made me believe that there are these wearables can detect things (like sickness or fatgue) without you knowing it.

[Matthew Strongin]

I previously got burned (ripped off) by another wearables start-up when they marketed and sold an incomplete product. I'm glad I wasn't an investor and it was only a 100 bux. Anyway, I've stared at and thought about wearable devices for far too long the past year.

From a glance, y'all seem to know what this is and what it's capable of. I'd also argue that the sensors on a wrist-worn device cannot collect many readings, such as in sleep, nutrients, hydration, etc. at a high-enough grade to make an impact on a training regimen. At best, these are all ballpark figures as the margin of error will be too high, and the clinical grade equipment (with good, useful readings) is bulky and/or invasive. Is Whoop a training tool or a training service? The use-cases are very different but the marketing doesn't make it too clear. And algorithms can pick up something a trainer might miss, but still is no subsitute for a real trainer who learns and knows the athlete.

The strongest suit I think is the use by professional athletes, which in turn means that amateurs and fans will also account for much of the Whoop's sales (like the basketball sleeve à la Allen Iverson). And with this much marketing potential, no doubt there's tough competition from Fitbit, Garmin, and Withings :P

My thoughts as well. Until I got my Withings I was pretty disinterested in wearables, but I'm now fully on board and think they can be really useful. But I also think it's about having the right amount of data for the user along with the ability to make sense of all that information. Outside of elite athletes, I don't know that many people really need this kind of information. I know countless people with power meters who don't have even the slightest idea how to use them. Or relatives trying to lose weight who are obsessed with getting enough steps but not making any lifestyle changes to actually lose the weight. If there's a service aspect to Whoop that can help people leverage the collected data to make better decisions without a coach, it could be a very good tool for bridging the gap between data collection and action. If not, I imagine Whoop would be too overwhelming for most "regular folks" and would end up being fitness nerd jewelry.

As for the alcohol consumption number, the fine print said "just prior to bed" or something along those lines. Day-drinking is more fun anyways, so there's nothing to worry about there.

[defspace]

ooof. $500.

I wonder what gets you more bang for your buck as a cyclist, a WHOOP or a used power meter, a copy of the Allen & Coggan book, and GoldenCheetah.

I'll add a +1 to what Matt says about having a PM and not knowing how to use it. Heck, I know I'm not using mine to the fullest. I don't track every metric, but that's not what's keeping me from a pro contract.

Unless WHOOP is telling you what to do in plain English ("you should take a rest day today"), it'll just be fitness nerd jewelry (great phrase). I have coworkers who talk about their fitbits so they can "keep track of their heart rate."

[boots2000]

The main benefit of this device is an additional feedback loop if you are training to maximize performance-

If you just like riding a lot- it is not like you are going to say "My Whoop says I am tired, no long ride today".

[TTX1]

Whoop is here in Boston - some of the team at Whoop are refugees from Quanttus, which had a lot of potential before they burned through $$$$ and flamed out.

The HRV aspect is intriguing. Lots of companies are working on this, but few have actually shipped...

Interested to hear about folks' experience so far.

[robin3mj]

Bumping an old topic here.

Who has a Whoop these days and what are your opinions of it?

I'm contemplating one but not quite sure how it fits in with, supplements, or replaces what I am using now, which is mainly Strava and a Suunto HR/GPS watch (sometimes with a Sosche HR strap.) My primary forms of exercise are outdoor cycling, indoor Peloton bike, and indoor Erg, with some occasional running mixed in.

If I want to keep using Strava for cycling, the Whoop will not feed its HR data to it?

I like all kinds of data and am intrigued by the rest/strain/sleep/(booze) analytics of the Whoop but don't want to get buried in data.