Thank you for making this video. It's really deplorable that to find the "real" answers we have to look for unpopular and low sub count creators because everyone who is big is either paid by whoop or sponsored. But seriously keep doing what you do, and thank you so much.
it's also just an opinion... just because it's low sub and "off the grid" does not necessarily make it "correct"... Real? Sure, but your experience may differ.
Thanks Austin, I was contemplating whether I'd stick with my Whoop, but you articulated all of my concerns with the band. You helped me work through the issues and I'm cancelling my membership!
Totally agree, I feel the same way after my 30 days trail, I learned a lot about how my behaviors affect my sleep but I don’t see the value after that, I won’t pay the subscription anymore, thanks for sharing an honest review
Was debating getting one but you made me realize I could probably just write down how I slept and what time I slept in a journal and within a month learn my sleeping habits. And for the price, it’s not worth it for 2+ months. Thank you for the video
Liked the video because you gave your honest opinion:) As someone who’s used the whoop for nearly four years, and also does a lot of videos on the Whoop, there might be a few misunderstandings with the information, and if I misunderstood I apologize. Whoops rings are a measurement of recovery not sleep. 4 different metrics are what govern that recovery score so it is possible to have a poorer sleep recovery and still get a high score. HRV has the most “weight” to said score and HRV is the bodies ability to handle stress, that’s why you might be getting green bars with a low sleep performance score. Sleep coach and strain coach are the resources you’d use to optimize performance given what you’d want to do. I have had many occasions where I’ve had a low recovery score low yellow to red where I’ve still been given a directive of achieving moderately high strain. To the comments saying “Garmin does everything Whoop does and does it better” that’s not true. Some things like long term tracking of behavior via a customizable journal, no it can not. But there are definitely things it does that the whoop can’t touch: if you’re an endurance athlete or an avid outdoorsman like the video host your much much better off with Garmin. If you like a lot of what Whoop offers but don’t wanna pay the annual subscription and are ok with a few less features and have an Apple Watch, the Athlytic App is pretty solid. There is a new feature for weightlifters and gym goers : you can build workouts or do preprogrammed workouts that measure sets, reps, rest etc… however it BLOWS haha. It’s way too tedious. Does it have that functionality? Yes, will you use it? Probably not. For many of you Whoop’s cost to value ratio over the long term probably isn’t there, UNLESS you run a ton of self experiments. Four years later and I’m still learning a lot about myself. It sucks that whoop hasn’t reached out and thank you for supporting them and that would definitely make me wanna raise a middle finger. I’ll definitely pass this on. I don’t have much pull if any but I do have a channel of communication open to me. Thanks for the video brother Get after it😊
Fantastic! Thank you for your analysis…it sure helped. You’re right - over time, we get the same readings & you get to “know yourself” in your routine. If it does any good, it ends up working itself into obsolescence.
I’ve been using whoop since 2019 and this is the month that I’ve cancelled my membership It’s taught me a lot over that time and now I’m pretty in tune with my body and have learnt was is going to effect me in a good or bad way I’ve found the HR data to be shocking, and off quite a bit (even with the bicep band), it could be such an incredible product, and I agree it does seem to be very much about the money they can make over anything else
I agree with everything you said. Two weeks into my free trial I already have decided that it is not for me. Like you said it gives conflicting information. I've already been trying to get enough sleep, adjust my workouts based on how I feel, eat right and meditate. That's been working for me.
I have similar thoughts to you im around 6 months into my 1 year and think I will be cancelling at the year. The one thing I did however think was brilliant is I have had 2 colds while having the band and both times the whoop told me I was ill around 12-24 hours before I actually felt any symptoms myself. Which meant both times I got my diet, supplements and watch consumption in check early and then the cold only lasted about 1-2 days both times whereas usually a cold for me can last anywhere between 3-7 days. I do find that impressive however nothing else that whoop is doing is ground breaking for me. Not enough to justify the price! I don’t regret getting my Whoop membership because I was thinking about it for a long time and would have always wondered what it was like. But now I know. It has also helped me understand HRV and ways to improve it which is also great but once you have learnt it you kinda know forever then. If Whoop were to drastically reduce their price or offer a one off payment deal then I would maybe consider it however I don’t think that will ever happen so I will be giving mine up at the year mark.
I have a whoop and Apple Watch. My Dad always says to me ‘you don’t need that crap, just listen to your body’. He’s probably right, but l like having data to validate how l feel.
I used whoop from the beginning of its launch and did not renew after 3 years because it did exactly what you say in this video. You are 100% right. I thought of trying the latest model in case they have improved it, but, it is the same crab.
Thanks for your video Austin! I recently purchased the Fenix 7 Pro (47 mm) and have been using it for 4 days now... I'm already blown away on all its features (first time garmin watch owner) vs my Whoop 4.0. I recently got into hybrid athlete training this summer as I recently completed Andy Frisella's 75 Hard, so I'm looking forward to running and lifting with my Fenix 7 Pro going forward. I've really enjoyed using my Whoop for the past 3 months, however, I'm starting to think that my Whoop is becoming less insightful over time like you mentioned. You pretty much figure out what you need to do to achieve a high recovery or to get better sleep within the first 3 months from my experience (mouth tape, proper fueling, sleep, electrolytes, trace drop minerals, etc.).
Dear Austin. I totally agree with you and I would add that the customer service is non existent. The app on the iphone does not allow you to end the subscription itself as it grabs the credit card since the beginning. I had to send some emails and they got back to me with a not even average kind of answer. Just in case someone reads this and may find it helpful. Cheers.
Thanks for an honest review. Got the itch again to buy one, even though I knew already from wearing a fitbit for 6 months that it's mostly just a 4fun tool for a while for most people, and having watched all the more honest reviews about sleep tracking accuracy and all of that - most tracking is too inaccurate to be reliable and comparable. I really love data and tracking and improving, but it's just worthless in my opinion because if I only get bad data I can't do anything at all with it. So for now, I'll stick with a quarterly assessmetn that includes wearing a Polar H10 throughout the night to track heart rate and HRV so I see potential tendencies and whether changes in diet etc had an impact.
Ye I mean less than a $1 a day to learn how you sleep recover and stress levels is a joke right!!! How many coffee you buying a month? Smoke? Drink? Weed? Rest my case 😂
@@Kyzzeh ok maybe its better than a Netflix subscription, but in general this argument applies to so many things. And before you know it, you'll end up with a massive pile of fixed expenses each month. Here 30$ there 25$… Instead of investing money into a 24 mo whoop subscription you could buy a good mattress that lasts you 8 years. Or a air conditioning/heating system that regulates the room temperature to the perfect sleeping temperature according to current scientific data. Making your room 100% dark. This really improves your sleep instead of just monitoring it.
@@Rgb-z when your buying things like a whoop, your choosing to spend wisely on your health, Netflix, smoking, drinking etc is not healthy for you. Make smart choices my guy I totally hear what your saying but just spend wisely on yourself things that really matter and improve you as a person. I stopped smoking weed to go gym and get my whoop, I smoked an awful lot complete addict won’t lie
@@Kyzzehit’s really about perceived value vs price. If you don’t find the whoop metrics valuable there is nothing to convince you to buy a membership. Besides there are other players on the same market who don’t ask monthly membership and they are as good as whoop is. So I’d say Whoop is challenged greatly in that space.
I think the problem is the subscription model. You don’t own the hardware, so once the subscription ends you’re not going to be able to use the Whoop band. I have a garmin and I’m really happy with it. I’ll get many years of use out of it. One time purchase. Perfect
@@iceshadow487 I guess it's context. For me it's the opposite. I bought my Whoop 4.0 at Best Buy, plus sales taxes, and got 12 months free sub. So in my mind, the hardware better bloody work if I drop my sub. But apparently, since you need the app, the device might be useless at the end of my sub. The sub isn't worth $30/m to me, and the fact that they use this model at all is a bit strange. $10-12-15/m is more reasonable.
I have 5 friends who wore them and they have all canceled because of the subscription model. I think Seeing the layoffs at the company show that they are really feeling the hurt. It will be interesting to see if they pivot.
I have to say I have to agree with you on everything. It has always bothered me, for example, that when you go to their site, the big site real state is to get new customers. Current members have to go down to the bottom of the page to find a tiny "member login"- I also agree that for a subscription service, they could do MUCH better in terms of developing a relationship with the customer.
you really put it into perspective for someone who is already active, aware and mindful of their exertion and restfulness to how sleep attributes to them. We are just paying for realities of our health to be put into numbers and have them regurgitated to us. Nothing extremely insightful. The things these devices point out are never close to inconceivable
Thank you so much for this! I just got mine and am already unsure of it. They have 30 day return but it also says it needs like a month to get the correct data
Pretty much what I suspected, thank you for confirming it. I don't believe that anything doesn't track the actual brainwaves will ever be an accurate sleep monitor.
For me, it's about increasing HRV and finding out what supplements and lifestyles work and don’t. I'm only 2-months in, but I think I'll be sticking around for a while.
Yeah sleep is really what's keeping me around after the first year, got one year left. But idk if that's enough. The weight lifting aspect has a LONG way to go as well. And more and more often I find myself questioning the metrics that are added. Stress monitor has been a big question mark for me. And more recently Im now having the dreaded issue where wrist movements = higher HR.
Your heart rate varies with your breathing and is measured all day long. And there are several things that make your recovery a good recovery or a sub-par one - and you will feel it. I have gotten not enough sleep before and been in sleep debt and yet felt fine and had a green recovery. The Whoop explained that this was because I have high heart rate variability and I got a higher percentage of deep sleep with very few wake events. I have gotten yellow recoveries - and I felt groggy and tired - even though I got more sleep than usual, but I didn't get enough deep sleep. This has mostly been because I went off my diet and ate something I have sensitivities to and had more wake events getting up and going to the bathroom.
I recently got the bug to get a Whoop. I love data and what you can do with it but this is exactly what I was afraid of. Paying that high of a monthly fee to get data that you can predict after certain amount of time sounds expensive. Plus, once you stop paying you are left with a useless device. So basically, your video convinced me not to get one. Thanks!
my membership ends tomorrow - I've had it for several years. it had ALWAYS over-estimated how much sleep I needed. I've slept 6-7 hours a night for pretty much my entire life. Whoop constantly said I got poor sleep and needed 9 or 10. my other trackers all show I slept great (I usually feel great).
I also find that it adds stress for me to see the 'Stress' stats constantly updated all day long. And I totally agree about Recovery. It just seems lame. I did an experiment yesterday and didn't wear the Whoop all day so my 'Strain' was only 4.1. That should have resulted in a great Recovery score since I had 100% sleep that night. My HRV was average so there's no reason why my Recovery was only 52%.
I like mine for the stress and calories (although I don’t trust it completely) so I’m know how hard to go in the gym. Other than that, i don’t really use any of the other data
Thanks for this, I was on the fence but now I don’t think I will bother with it. Kind of intrigued to know the sleep data though…. But then, if it’s not the accurate that would be a disappointment. Totally agree that it feels like a money grab and that isn’t very appealing. Too expensive imo.
I’ve just bought a whoop. I bought it for my sleep and recovery and for my weight training to see how hard I’m pushing. I’ve only had it for a few weeks, and I’m mostly always in yellow for recovery. The other day I worked out in the gym and warmed up on the bike. I was dead but it said I was only in 60% of my heart rate, and I was literally so sluggish and tired I was pushing myself but it was barely registering. I’m enjoying it so far, but I do feel it’s expensive for what it is £27 in the uk a month. But it’s making me more mindful about my rest recovery and pushes me to do a little extra in the gym. However I mainly bought it for weight training and I still feel it doesn’t show as much effort/ feedback for weightlifting as it’s still measuring heart rate it seems. I can do 5 mins on a bike and my stress monitor is almost the same as if I do a hard 60 mins weightlifting.
Completely agree. I just tossed my whoop after two months. It’s impressive at first with all the info, but after a while you realise you’re just getting told stuff you can already discern just by listening to your body or googling ‘how to sleep better’ I think it’s only worthwhile for people who are OBSESSIVE about cardio-based exercise or for people who need constant reminders and feedback and motivation to live a healthy lifestyle. I’m so pissed I can’t get a refund, but at least it feels good not to have this pointless thing on my arm.
I was already second guessing my decision to buy it next month due to not being owner of my data, unsure about it's privacy and anonymity as well as being a service instead of buying a good. This just slamdunks my decision to stay with suunto.
To my knowledge, the best way to assess your sleep is directly through brain waves which, I doubt you can do with something that is worn on your wrist or finger or arm etc. Algorithmic based monitors could be the way of the future, but certain metrics must be included. The bottom line, in my mind, is what is your state of over-all health is and what level of training/exercise is in your best interest based on that level of Fitness and over-all health.
This is 100% truth. It gets even worse when you happen to have several of these trackers and they are all significantly off from each other each day and night. Which one is correct? You never know. All of them are novelty for 2-3 months and after that aren't of value. One thing that is consistent and useful is how badly your realize just a few drinks messes up your scores. But again, after a few times of seeing that what is the point afterwards?
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.
Excellent video. I have a Garmin Epix Pro and thought I should give Whoop a go to better track overstraining. The HR monitor is super inaccurate, unless worn on the bicep. Really disappointing how little has changed in the one year since I last tried it. The strength trainer is an absolute pain to use and I gave up quite quickly. Trying to get a return label is proving really difficult, which doesn’t speak well for the company’s practices..
Thanks for this review. I'm grateful Whoop allow you to trial the product for a month. I feel that the month will give me all the insight I'm likely to get and don't see myself continuing beyond that. I've not been overly impressed with it and it's not giving me vastly more than my 5year old Fitbit in terms of useful data
1 month trial is a catch. Your meaningful data analysis starts exactly after 30 days of use when a data baseline is built. For proper test they trial period should be at least 3 months. I’m telling this after trying several similar devices like Fitbit, Garmin, etc.
@@BobaFit indeed. I did the trial but Whoop really dragged their feet with sending out the return details which caused some added stress thinking they were going to charge me the full amount. Luckily they didn't but their customer service is horrible and incredibly inefficient. I'm glad I did the trial but it's too expensive for what it is.
Agree with all of this and I realised it all 2 weeks in, another shit thing for me is that I cant see the timeline of all my workouts and their strain levels and other details which is super disapointing.
Same ima cancle my whoop cool the first month but then what it tells me i didnt sleep good i knew that lol still wont change how i live my life with what i got going on. I tried the apple watch as a alternative and doesnt work with tattoo sleeves. If the whoop at least had a screen to see time and count my steps would be a little better
Redundant was a perfect word for this product. I’ll still recommend it to anyone interested in learning which patterns work for them but other than that. I didn’t find it very helpful at all after the fourth full month.
Still have the Whoop 4.0, but cancelled my sub a year ago. Haven't looked back, but the device is still a HR monitor at its core so I use it for running/cycling with Strava. I genuinely liked the Whoop, but pricing is quite high for what it's worth.
nice summary !! i had also a 2 year suscribtion. the benefit is for 2-4 months nice and helps you to be more aware of some health metrics. After this period you get 0 benefit. agree fully
Just wondering if you chose some other wearable to use instead of the whoop? I want to track my metrics and workouts but don’t want some obnoxious wearable , which is what attracts me to the whoop, but I’m not sure it’s a good idea.
Who's going to tell him that's not what heart rate variability means? It's not not heart changes, it's the difference in time between individual heart beats. Nothing to do with increases or decreases in HR.
I'm right now on my 1st month free trial. And I like that it can just keep track of my hours of sleep. I'll keep using mine until I don't feel the need for it. Maybe Just for 2-3 months of it then I'll cancel it.
Keep in mind, that after 1st month free trial is done, you are stuck with it for a year. So, if you see yourself stopping using it within under a year, probably cancel the membership before 1st month expires. That’s what I might do. I just got mine for a free trial and I think I might stop using it before full month.
Also, just to add...even if you go down the pay monthly route and pay for say 3 months. I believe you still have to pay the yearly amount if you try to cancel.
So...I don't want a smart watch. I had a Google Pixel and reurned it after 2 days, and I NEVER return purchases as I generally do a lot of researching of a product. That said, I'm currently at a point in my life where I need to re-build a routine, get better & more frequent sleep and generally exercise more. This has led me to seek out a more passive tracker without a screen so I can check it once or twice a day. I have zero intent to use this item for longer that 2 years MAX. At a certain point the data will no longer be needed, and I'm really only purchasing it to be a baseline and foundational pin in creating and tracking a routine for myself.
I've had an oura ring for a year, but I've just lost it. I always lose rings so I should have known. I loved it. But now it's gone I have nothing and I've realised that the accountability it gave me was so helpful. I'm going to bed later and as a result feel more tired. I was considering the whoop because it's likely I will not lose it unlike the oura rings and all other rings I've had. The price puts me off. Have u had any issues with accountability like I've mentioned since getting rid of it? Even tho u know the patterns of sleep and data now?
Thank you so much for your video. I had the same experience with the sleep (tossing and turning, and I was always in the green - I had a feeling it was a marketing plough to keep the device). Curious though, did you end up trying the other monitors? ie) Oura, Apple Watch?
Thanks for the insight. I guess it comes down to knowing your benchmarks by wearing it the minimal amount of time necessary i.e. not for longer than 6 months. However, it comes into question when the accuracy is questionable. I will most likely try it for six months and then switch to the new Garmin Venu 3 when that comes out and cross compare stats to look for consistencies and therefore, know my real stats.
I actually think Whoop is really struggling. Every single person (maybe 40 people at my crossfit box) who had Whoop two years ago no longer use it. Why? Mainly the monthly cost. It’s outrageous for what you get. I know there are the “it’s only €1 a day” crowd but the value for money and what you’re getting for that dollar is not worth it. Add to that the inaccuracies in the band. My 4.0 stopped working maybe five times whilst I had it and they would send me a free new one but I would go months without data. Then it would track a dog walk at 21 strain and a crossfit class at 4 strain. Then I spent so long plugging stuff into my journal that in the end I was fairly convinced I was simply doing the Whoops job for it. I tried it for two years and honestly from about 6 months in I felt like it just wasn’t worth it at all. What you get for your money is so far from worth it. Now I have a Garmin forerunner 955 which gives me even more functionality, doesnt require me spending 20 minutes journalling a day, and doesn’t leave me thinking every month “god was this worth it”? If Garmin add in a monthly performance summary it kills whoop in my opinion. Body battery and sleep score from Garmin are basically the same features as whoop already but with one off cost.
I returned mine for a full refund in the first 7 days. I enjoyed it but I don’t think it was worth it for the price for where I am in my life. Maybe if I was training for a triathlon it would be more useful. A lot of the sleep stuff didn’t help me anyways. I’ve been big into sleep science for years and I generally know what to do to sleep well and feel good the next day
I’ve just cancelled my Whoop free trial I thought I would keep it but it’s far 2 expensive 4 what it is £229 a year or £27 a month isn’t worth it. If it was £120 a year or £12 a month then fair enough but it does the same as my Apple Watch and that’s a 1 off payment so I’m better off sticking with my Apple Watch
If you are not wearing it 24/7, or you are not recording your activities with it, it is most likely going to throw incorrect data, as it only has periods of time when your heart rate is low as a baseline to perform the calculations. On the other hand, when you are weight lifting, what matters for the body and the device is the exertion, not how many reps you did, and that data you are taking away, it is going to be taken away in the metrics at the end of the day. I do not own a whoop, but a Polar sports watch, and if you don't want your notifications in your wrist it is just a matter of disabling notifications altogether, so maybe what you need is a sports watch. Garmin also has a lot of great options based on the customer use and needs. In my case it is not just a matter of common sense (if you are tired do not train) but a matter of having feedback in the gray zone days (today I feel somewhat tired, I think I could train, but I do not know whether it should be a better idea to rest or not) to have some feedback on your 24/7 metrics, the feedback from the watch, how you're feeling and your personal experience altogether, it also helps me plan my training volume according to my load and my overall rest day by day, week by week.
Thank you for making this video. It's really deplorable that to find the "real" answers we have to look for unpopular and low sub count creators because everyone who is big is either paid by whoop or sponsored. But seriously keep doing what you do, and thank you so much.
it's also just an opinion... just because it's low sub and "off the grid" does not necessarily make it "correct"... Real? Sure, but your experience may differ.
It shows that whether big or small, the world of full of grifters.
I was considering subscribing to their membership but decided to do some research and found this video. Thank you for sharing it.
Thanks Austin, I was contemplating whether I'd stick with my Whoop, but you articulated all of my concerns with the band. You helped me work through the issues and I'm cancelling my membership!
Totally agree, I feel the same way after my 30 days trail, I learned a lot about how my behaviors affect my sleep but I don’t see the value after that, I won’t pay the subscription anymore, thanks for sharing an honest review
Was debating getting one but you made me realize I could probably just write down how I slept and what time I slept in a journal and within a month learn my sleeping habits. And for the price, it’s not worth it for 2+ months. Thank you for the video
Liked the video because you gave your honest opinion:)
As someone who’s used the whoop for nearly four years, and also does a lot of videos on the Whoop, there might be a few misunderstandings with the information, and if I misunderstood I apologize. Whoops rings are a measurement of recovery not sleep. 4 different metrics are what govern that recovery score so it is possible to have a poorer sleep recovery and still get a high score. HRV has the most “weight” to said score and HRV is the bodies ability to handle stress, that’s why you might be getting green bars with a low sleep performance score.
Sleep coach and strain coach are the resources you’d use to optimize performance given what you’d want to do. I have had many occasions where I’ve had a low recovery score low yellow to red where I’ve still been given a directive of achieving moderately high strain.
To the comments saying “Garmin does everything Whoop does and does it better” that’s not true. Some things like long term tracking of behavior via a customizable journal, no it can not. But there are definitely things it does that the whoop can’t touch: if you’re an endurance athlete or an avid outdoorsman like the video host your much much better off with Garmin.
If you like a lot of what Whoop offers but don’t wanna pay the annual subscription and are ok with a few less features and have an Apple Watch, the Athlytic App is pretty solid.
There is a new feature for weightlifters and gym goers : you can build workouts or do preprogrammed workouts that measure sets, reps, rest etc… however it BLOWS haha. It’s way too tedious. Does it have that functionality? Yes, will you use it? Probably not.
For many of you Whoop’s cost to value ratio over the long term probably isn’t there, UNLESS you run a ton of self experiments. Four years later and I’m still learning a lot about myself.
It sucks that whoop hasn’t reached out and thank you for supporting them and that would definitely make me wanna raise a middle finger. I’ll definitely pass this on. I don’t have much pull if any but I do have a channel of communication open to me.
Thanks for the video brother Get after it😊
Thanks for the great post.
Thank you for the long, elaborate and intelligible comment. This really helped me 😊
Great comment
Fantastic! Thank you for your analysis…it sure helped. You’re right - over time, we get the same readings & you get to “know yourself” in your routine. If it does any good, it ends up working itself into obsolescence.
I’ve been using whoop since 2019 and this is the month that I’ve cancelled my membership
It’s taught me a lot over that time and now I’m pretty in tune with my body and have learnt was is going to effect me in a good or bad way
I’ve found the HR data to be shocking, and off quite a bit (even with the bicep band), it could be such an incredible product, and I agree it does seem to be very much about the money they can make over anything else
I came to the same conclusion. A one time payment would be a completely different story. But paying a monthly rate really sucks.
Or maybe 10 bugs a month like oura
I appreciate the honest review.
Totally helped me on top of the price I feel like I’m going to research other options
I’ve been using Whoop for a couple years and I agree with your points. I’m gonna cancel now 😂
I agree with everything you said. Two weeks into my free trial I already have decided that it is not for me. Like you said it gives conflicting information. I've already been trying to get enough sleep, adjust my workouts based on how I feel, eat right and meditate. That's been working for me.
I could one day see myself ditching the Whoop band but the improvements they have made since I’ve subscribed have impressed me so who knows.
I have similar thoughts to you im around 6 months into my 1 year and think I will be cancelling at the year.
The one thing I did however think was brilliant is I have had 2 colds while having the band and both times the whoop told me I was ill around 12-24 hours before I actually felt any symptoms myself. Which meant both times I got my diet, supplements and watch consumption in check early and then the cold only lasted about 1-2 days both times whereas usually a cold for me can last anywhere between 3-7 days. I do find that impressive however nothing else that whoop is doing is ground breaking for me. Not enough to justify the price!
I don’t regret getting my Whoop membership because I was thinking about it for a long time and would have always wondered what it was like. But now I know. It has also helped me understand HRV and ways to improve it which is also great but once you have learnt it you kinda know forever then.
If Whoop were to drastically reduce their price or offer a one off payment deal then I would maybe consider it however I don’t think that will ever happen so I will be giving mine up at the year mark.
I have a whoop and Apple Watch. My Dad always says to me ‘you don’t need that crap, just listen to your body’. He’s probably right, but l like having data to validate how l feel.
I used whoop from the beginning of its launch and did not renew after 3 years because it did exactly what you say in this video. You are 100% right. I thought of trying the latest model in case they have improved it, but, it is the same crab.
Thank you so much for posting this!! Very insightful and helpful review. Please make more videos!
100% spot on. I also canceled it. Whoop is 90% hype. The patterns are visible after a few weeks already.
Thanks for your video Austin! I recently purchased the Fenix 7 Pro (47 mm) and have been using it for 4 days now... I'm already blown away on all its features (first time garmin watch owner) vs my Whoop 4.0. I recently got into hybrid athlete training this summer as I recently completed Andy Frisella's 75 Hard, so I'm looking forward to running and lifting with my Fenix 7 Pro going forward.
I've really enjoyed using my Whoop for the past 3 months, however, I'm starting to think that my Whoop is becoming less insightful over time like you mentioned. You pretty much figure out what you need to do to achieve a high recovery or to get better sleep within the first 3 months from my experience (mouth tape, proper fueling, sleep, electrolytes, trace drop minerals, etc.).
I have a fenix 5, just way to massive on my wrist when I’m lifting weights.
agree with all the points you made, just ended my membership too
Excellent video! Thank you!
I wanted to get this purely for sleep. This will save some time and money.
Dear Austin. I totally agree with you and I would add that the customer service is non existent. The app on the iphone does not allow you to end the subscription itself as it grabs the credit card since the beginning. I had to send some emails and they got back to me with a not even average kind of answer. Just in case someone reads this and may find it helpful. Cheers.
Thank you sooooo much! I was thinking about it but noticed the membership crap & that’s a big NO THANK YOU!
Thanks for an honest review. Got the itch again to buy one, even though I knew already from wearing a fitbit for 6 months that it's mostly just a 4fun tool for a while for most people, and having watched all the more honest reviews about sleep tracking accuracy and all of that - most tracking is too inaccurate to be reliable and comparable. I really love data and tracking and improving, but it's just worthless in my opinion because if I only get bad data I can't do anything at all with it. So for now, I'll stick with a quarterly assessmetn that includes wearing a Polar H10 throughout the night to track heart rate and HRV so I see potential tendencies and whether changes in diet etc had an impact.
It’s funny that RUclips is showing me the Whoop ad at the middle of this video 😅
It’s too expensive for what it offers in my opinion
Ye I mean less than a $1 a day to learn how you sleep recover and stress levels is a joke right!!!
How many coffee you buying a month?
Smoke?
Drink?
Weed?
Rest my case 😂
@@Kyzzeh ok maybe its better than a Netflix subscription, but in general this argument applies to so many things. And before you know it, you'll end up with a massive pile of fixed expenses each month. Here 30$ there 25$…
Instead of investing money into a 24 mo whoop subscription you could buy a good mattress that lasts you 8 years. Or a air conditioning/heating system that regulates the room temperature to the perfect sleeping temperature according to current scientific data. Making your room 100% dark. This really improves your sleep instead of just monitoring it.
@@Rgb-z when your buying things like a whoop, your choosing to spend wisely on your health, Netflix, smoking, drinking etc is not healthy for you.
Make smart choices my guy I totally hear what your saying but just spend wisely on yourself things that really matter and improve you as a person.
I stopped smoking weed to go gym and get my whoop, I smoked an awful lot complete addict won’t lie
@@Kyzzehit’s really about perceived value vs price. If you don’t find the whoop metrics valuable there is nothing to convince you to buy a membership. Besides there are other players on the same market who don’t ask monthly membership and they are as good as whoop is. So I’d say Whoop is challenged greatly in that space.
paying 30/month when there are better no sub alternatives is dumb
I think the problem is the subscription model.
You don’t own the hardware, so once the subscription ends you’re not going to be able to use the Whoop band.
I have a garmin and I’m really happy with it. I’ll get many years of use out of it. One time purchase.
Perfect
What?!! Seriously? The Whoop 4.0 becomes useless without the sub?!
What garmin do you have?
Do you know if the Vivosmart 5 can record jump rope?
@@happyfreekywell they send the hardware to you for free .. the only way they profit is through the subscription lol
@@iceshadow487 I guess it's context. For me it's the opposite. I bought my Whoop 4.0 at Best Buy, plus sales taxes, and got 12 months free sub. So in my mind, the hardware better bloody work if I drop my sub. But apparently, since you need the app, the device might be useless at the end of my sub.
The sub isn't worth $30/m to me, and the fact that they use this model at all is a bit strange. $10-12-15/m is more reasonable.
I have 5 friends who wore them and they have all canceled because of the subscription model. I think Seeing the layoffs at the company show that they are really feeling the hurt. It will be interesting to see if they pivot.
I have to say I have to agree with you on everything. It has always bothered me, for example, that when you go to their site, the big site real state is to get new customers. Current members have to go down to the bottom of the page to find a tiny "member login"- I also agree that for a subscription service, they could do MUCH better in terms of developing a relationship with the customer.
Perfect video dude, thanks 4 taking the time to make it ^
you really put it into perspective for someone who is already active, aware and mindful of their exertion and restfulness to how sleep attributes to them. We are just paying for realities of our health to be put into numbers and have them regurgitated to us. Nothing extremely insightful. The things these devices point out are never close to inconceivable
Finally, legit review. Well deserved like.
Thank you so much for this! I just got mine and am already unsure of it. They have 30 day return but it also says it needs like a month to get the correct data
Thanks for your honest review. Was thinking about getting a membership but can’t get over the cost and not too sure how clever the data is.
This is helpful because Mickey gave me his old one forever ago and I’ve been deciding if I should use it
Pretty much what I suspected, thank you for confirming it. I don't believe that anything doesn't track the actual brainwaves will ever be an accurate sleep monitor.
For me, it's about increasing HRV and finding out what supplements and lifestyles work and don’t. I'm only 2-months in, but I think I'll be sticking around for a while.
Cancelling mine too. Nail in the coffin was it's uselessness weightlifting. Its fine for stuff like running or tennis, but its just trash in the gym.
Yeah sleep is really what's keeping me around after the first year, got one year left. But idk if that's enough. The weight lifting aspect has a LONG way to go as well. And more and more often I find myself questioning the metrics that are added. Stress monitor has been a big question mark for me. And more recently Im now having the dreaded issue where wrist movements = higher HR.
Great video Austin, love the honest content!
Your heart rate varies with your breathing and is measured all day long. And there are several things that make your recovery a good recovery or a sub-par one - and you will feel it. I have gotten not enough sleep before and been in sleep debt and yet felt fine and had a green recovery. The Whoop explained that this was because I have high heart rate variability and I got a higher percentage of deep sleep with very few wake events. I have gotten yellow recoveries - and I felt groggy and tired - even though I got more sleep than usual, but I didn't get enough deep sleep. This has mostly been because I went off my diet and ate something I have sensitivities to and had more wake events getting up and going to the bathroom.
I recently got the bug to get a Whoop. I love data and what you can do with it but this is exactly what I was afraid of. Paying that high of a monthly fee to get data that you can predict after certain amount of time sounds expensive. Plus, once you stop paying you are left with a useless device. So basically, your video convinced me not to get one. Thanks!
Thank you, I'm glad I watched this video. Definitely not what I'm looking for.
Fears and suspicions confirmed. Thank you sire
my membership ends tomorrow - I've had it for several years. it had ALWAYS over-estimated how much sleep I needed. I've slept 6-7 hours a night for pretty much my entire life. Whoop constantly said I got poor sleep and needed 9 or 10. my other trackers all show I slept great (I usually feel great).
I also find that it adds stress for me to see the 'Stress' stats constantly updated all day long. And I totally agree about Recovery. It just seems lame. I did an experiment yesterday and didn't wear the Whoop all day so my 'Strain' was only 4.1. That should have resulted in a great Recovery score since I had 100% sleep that night. My HRV was average so there's no reason why my Recovery was only 52%.
I like mine for the stress and calories (although I don’t trust it completely) so I’m know how hard to go in the gym. Other than that, i don’t really use any of the other data
Thanks for this, I was on the fence but now I don’t think I will bother with it. Kind of intrigued to know the sleep data though…. But then, if it’s not the accurate that would be a disappointment. Totally agree that it feels like a money grab and that isn’t very appealing. Too expensive imo.
I’ve just bought a whoop. I bought it for my sleep and recovery and for my weight training to see how hard I’m pushing. I’ve only had it for a few weeks, and I’m mostly always in yellow for recovery. The other day I worked out in the gym and warmed up on the bike. I was dead but it said I was only in 60% of my heart rate, and I was literally so sluggish and tired I was pushing myself but it was barely registering. I’m enjoying it so far, but I do feel it’s expensive for what it is £27 in the uk a month. But it’s making me more mindful about my rest recovery and pushes me to do a little extra in the gym. However I mainly bought it for weight training and I still feel it doesn’t show as much effort/ feedback for weightlifting as it’s still measuring heart rate it seems. I can do 5 mins on a bike and my stress monitor is almost the same as if I do a hard 60 mins weightlifting.
Completely agree. I just tossed my whoop after two months. It’s impressive at first with all the info, but after a while you realise you’re just getting told stuff you can already discern just by listening to your body or googling ‘how to sleep better’
I think it’s only worthwhile for people who are OBSESSIVE about cardio-based exercise or for people who need constant reminders and feedback and motivation to live a healthy lifestyle.
I’m so pissed I can’t get a refund, but at least it feels good not to have this pointless thing on my arm.
Thank you for this video. You helped me make a decision. Im not going to buy a whoop. Maybe I'll change my mind in the future.
Awesome honest review. This confirms My skepticism about whoop.
Thanks for this- I was curious to use the whoop. I have a garmin forerunner and instinct so the garmin connect app is pretty good enough.
I was already second guessing my decision to buy it next month due to not being owner of my data, unsure about it's privacy and anonymity as well as being a service instead of buying a good. This just slamdunks my decision to stay with suunto.
I agree with all the comments above. Cancelled my whoop and found better through Polar and now Garmin.
Which Garmin, the VivoSmart 5?
To my knowledge, the best way to assess your sleep is directly through brain waves which, I doubt you can do with something that is worn on your wrist or finger or arm etc. Algorithmic based monitors could be the way of the future, but certain metrics must be included. The bottom line, in my mind, is what is your state of over-all health is and what level of training/exercise is in your best interest based on that level of Fitness and over-all health.
This is 100% truth. It gets even worse when you happen to have several of these trackers and they are all significantly off from each other each day and night. Which one is correct? You never know. All of them are novelty for 2-3 months and after that aren't of value. One thing that is consistent and useful is how badly your realize just a few drinks messes up your scores. But again, after a few times of seeing that what is the point afterwards?
I actually get the best sleep when I'm camping. Something to do with waking up outside, even with an uncomfortable bed
I just cancelled mine after 3 months, and 4 new band purchase.
My Garmin Fenix 7X Pro knows everything I need and Whoop can offer.
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.
Excellent video. I have a Garmin Epix Pro and thought I should give Whoop a go to better track overstraining.
The HR monitor is super inaccurate, unless worn on the bicep. Really disappointing how little has changed in the one year since I last tried it.
The strength trainer is an absolute pain to use and I gave up quite quickly. Trying to get a return label is proving really difficult, which doesn’t speak well for the company’s practices..
Thanks for this review. I'm grateful Whoop allow you to trial the product for a month. I feel that the month will give me all the insight I'm likely to get and don't see myself continuing beyond that. I've not been overly impressed with it and it's not giving me vastly more than my 5year old Fitbit in terms of useful data
1 month trial is a catch. Your meaningful data analysis starts exactly after 30 days of use when a data baseline is built. For proper test they trial period should be at least 3 months. I’m telling this after trying several similar devices like Fitbit, Garmin, etc.
@@BobaFit indeed. I did the trial but Whoop really dragged their feet with sending out the return details which caused some added stress thinking they were going to charge me the full amount. Luckily they didn't but their customer service is horrible and incredibly inefficient. I'm glad I did the trial but it's too expensive for what it is.
Agree with all of this and I realised it all 2 weeks in, another shit thing for me is that I cant see the timeline of all my workouts and their strain levels and other details which is super disapointing.
this is the most truth instilling review I have ever watched
Same ima cancle my whoop cool the first month but then what it tells me i didnt sleep good i knew that lol still wont change how i live my life with what i got going on. I tried the apple watch as a alternative and doesnt work with tattoo sleeves. If the whoop at least had a screen to see time and count my steps would be a little better
I personally love it. It's like an accountability buddy.
Thank you for the great review.
After reviewing this video I too am cancelling my Whoop
Same here… I cancelled 4 subscriptions just a few days ago.
Did you have to pay $15
@@sydthebraider nop, cancellation is for free
@@lili-anne4858 what website did you go to
@@lili-anne4858what about the strap do you send it back to Whoop?
Redundant was a perfect word for this product. I’ll still recommend it to anyone interested in learning which patterns work for them but other than that. I didn’t find it very helpful at all after the fourth full month.
Thanks for the honest and informative review!
Thanks for the honesty!
Are you planning to use any other fitness tracker? Would really love to hear your thoughts on the oura ring
It's not worth it just get the Ultrahuman ring
great insight my guy, couldn’t agree more
I did read recently that the yearly subscription does go down to reward customers. Maybe they heard this and took note.
Yeah so essentially, you used, you liked it, you were able to learn how your body works and now you don’t need it anymore.
Still have the Whoop 4.0, but cancelled my sub a year ago. Haven't looked back, but the device is still a HR monitor at its core so I use it for running/cycling with Strava. I genuinely liked the Whoop, but pricing is quite high for what it's worth.
Can you still use it as a Hr monitor regardless of not having a subscription anymore?
@@brentx8934 yes
@@barrywinatacan you use it as a sleep tracker without a subscription?
nice summary !!
i had also a 2 year suscribtion. the benefit is for 2-4 months nice and helps you to be more aware of some health metrics.
After this period you get 0 benefit.
agree fully
Just wondering if you chose some other wearable to use instead of the whoop? I want to track my metrics and workouts but don’t want some obnoxious wearable , which is what attracts me to the whoop, but I’m not sure it’s a good idea.
Who's going to tell him that's not what heart rate variability means? It's not not heart changes, it's the difference in time between individual heart beats. Nothing to do with increases or decreases in HR.
I'm right now on my 1st month free trial. And I like that it can just keep track of my hours of sleep.
I'll keep using mine until I don't feel the need for it. Maybe Just for 2-3 months of it then I'll cancel it.
Keep in mind, that after 1st month free trial is done, you are stuck with it for a year. So, if you see yourself stopping using it within under a year, probably cancel the membership before 1st month expires. That’s what I might do. I just got mine for a free trial and I think I might stop using it before full month.
Also, just to add...even if you go down the pay monthly route and pay for say 3 months. I believe you still have to pay the yearly amount if you try to cancel.
So...I don't want a smart watch. I had a Google Pixel and reurned it after 2 days, and I NEVER return purchases as I generally do a lot of researching of a product.
That said, I'm currently at a point in my life where I need to re-build a routine, get better & more frequent sleep and generally exercise more. This has led me to seek out a more passive tracker without a screen so I can check it once or twice a day. I have zero intent to use this item for longer that 2 years MAX. At a certain point the data will no longer be needed, and I'm really only purchasing it to be a baseline and foundational pin in creating and tracking a routine for myself.
I've had an oura ring for a year, but I've just lost it. I always lose rings so I should have known. I loved it. But now it's gone I have nothing and I've realised that the accountability it gave me was so helpful. I'm going to bed later and as a result feel more tired. I was considering the whoop because it's likely I will not lose it unlike the oura rings and all other rings I've had. The price puts me off. Have u had any issues with accountability like I've mentioned since getting rid of it? Even tho u know the patterns of sleep and data now?
Thanks for your honest review.
So its good for people with active lifestyle where things change and you don’t know if you are rested enough.
Interesting. Thanks brother.😊
Thank you so much for your video. I had the same experience with the sleep (tossing and turning, and I was always in the green - I had a feeling it was a marketing plough to keep the device). Curious though, did you end up trying the other monitors? ie) Oura, Apple Watch?
Good review, thanks. What about smart alarm when it wakes you at the best possible time?
Didn’t work for me. It’s a silent alarm, the band just vibrates. It’s great for not waking a partner if you share a bed.
Well said. Thanks for sharing
I cancelled my subscription first year in for the same exact reasons
Thanks for the insight. I guess it comes down to knowing your benchmarks by wearing it the minimal amount of time necessary i.e. not for longer than 6 months. However, it comes into question when the accuracy is questionable. I will most likely try it for six months and then switch to the new Garmin Venu 3 when that comes out and cross compare stats to look for consistencies and therefore, know my real stats.
I actually think Whoop is really struggling. Every single person (maybe 40 people at my crossfit box) who had Whoop two years ago no longer use it. Why? Mainly the monthly cost. It’s outrageous for what you get. I know there are the “it’s only €1 a day” crowd but the value for money and what you’re getting for that dollar is not worth it. Add to that the inaccuracies in the band. My 4.0 stopped working maybe five times whilst I had it and they would send me a free new one but I would go months without data. Then it would track a dog walk at 21 strain and a crossfit class at 4 strain. Then I spent so long plugging stuff into my journal that in the end I was fairly convinced I was simply doing the Whoops job for it. I tried it for two years and honestly from about 6 months in I felt like it just wasn’t worth it at all. What you get for your money is so far from worth it. Now I have a Garmin forerunner 955 which gives me even more functionality, doesnt require me spending 20 minutes journalling a day, and doesn’t leave me thinking every month “god was this worth it”? If Garmin add in a monthly performance summary it kills whoop in my opinion. Body battery and sleep score from Garmin are basically the same features as whoop already but with one off cost.
100%, Garmin's app kills me.
Great video bro
I returned mine for a full refund in the first 7 days. I enjoyed it but I don’t think it was worth it for the price for where I am in my life. Maybe if I was training for a triathlon it would be more useful. A lot of the sleep stuff didn’t help me anyways. I’ve been big into sleep science for years and I generally know what to do to sleep well and feel good the next day
I’ve just cancelled my Whoop free trial I thought I would keep it but it’s far 2 expensive 4 what it is £229 a year or £27 a month isn’t worth it. If it was £120 a year or £12 a month then fair enough but it does the same as my Apple Watch and that’s a 1 off payment so I’m better off sticking with my Apple Watch
The bands are now 45
Fitness wise go for Garmin, Lifestyle and all rounder, Apple Watch I’d say.
thanks for your review!
Any equivalent alternatives on the market that don’t embed subscription?
If you are not wearing it 24/7, or you are not recording your activities with it, it is most likely going to throw incorrect data, as it only has periods of time when your heart rate is low as a baseline to perform the calculations.
On the other hand, when you are weight lifting, what matters for the body and the device is the exertion, not how many reps you did, and that data you are taking away, it is going to be taken away in the metrics at the end of the day.
I do not own a whoop, but a Polar sports watch, and if you don't want your notifications in your wrist it is just a matter of disabling notifications altogether, so maybe what you need is a sports watch. Garmin also has a lot of great options based on the customer use and needs.
In my case it is not just a matter of common sense (if you are tired do not train) but a matter of having feedback in the gray zone days (today I feel somewhat tired, I think I could train, but I do not know whether it should be a better idea to rest or not) to have some feedback on your 24/7 metrics, the feedback from the watch, how you're feeling and your personal experience altogether, it also helps me plan my training volume according to my load and my overall rest day by day, week by week.
If there’s anyone out there who doesn’t wear a Whoop 24/7 then they are just flat out stupid. lol