At some point in the late 2010s, I became obsessed with my heart rate. I was at a point in my fitness life that I was training for marathons and I cared a whole lot about every process involved. I spent a certain percentage of my workday staring at my heart rate on my fitness watch and feeling smug if I kept my resting heart rate below 50 beats per minute (bpm) and wigging out if it went over 60 bpm. Heart rate was my gateway drug into health tracking, and it soon devolved into an unhinged compulsion.
A couple of years in, for the sake of my mental health, I stopped tracking everything. It was liberating and freeing. Around this time, the Whoop—a fitness tracker that passively monitors heart rate, sleep, and stress, among many other things—started gaining popularity among elite and amateur athletes and other fitness enthusiasts. I tried it for a month or two, but stopped, in an attempt to remain committed to the no-fitness-tracking bit. In the meantime, Whoop has now become a fixture in the fitness space and has gone through five iterations. The latest, the Whoop 5.0 starting at $199 annually (includes a subscription), was released in May. The screenless band is a significant upgrade from earlier models, and is Whoop’s most committed attempt at putting itself in the growing longevity and anti-aging space.
See Whoop 5.0 at Amazon
Whoop 5.0 If you are serious about health tracking, Whoop 5.0 has everything you could ever want. But for most people, it might be too much information. Pros Sensor tracks a ton of useful data
Sensor tracks a ton of useful data Long battery life
Long battery life Easy setup
Easy setup No distracting display Cons Might be too much data for casuals
Might be too much data for casuals Requires a yearly subscription
Requires a yearly subscription Uncomfortable for tiny wrists
These days, I usually (but not always) use a fitness watch (either an Apple Watch or a Garmin) to track my pace or mileage when I run, but I don’t wear it 24/7. I finally forced myself out of my retirement and dove head first back into the deep waters of health tracking with Whoop 5.0. I was so not ready.
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