Since its founding in 2012, wearable performance brand WHOOP has dominated the worlds of football, golf, tennis, and swimming. Its fan base includes superstars at the top of their respective sports—from Cristiano Ronaldo (who is also an investor) and LeBron James to Rory McIlroy and Michael Phelps.
The signature elasticated strap may not be able to tell you the time or share your step count at a glance, but paired with its app, it reveals a wealth of stats about your recovery, strain and sleep.
I'm no professional athlete, but I've been wearing the WHOOP 4.0 wristband for almost two years. I was first intrigued by the brand to get to the bottom of my constant fatigue - and my frequent participation in the dreaded 1% Club for poor sleep performance was fascinating, but it became a staple in my routine through training for two marathons.
And now the next generation is here.
There is not one but two new wearables added to WHOOP's collection - and they are set to change health tracking forever.
While the brand's 4.0 is all about optimising athletic performance, the fifth iteration and MG (medical-grade) models take this to the next level. WHOOP's wrist adornment is no longer simply a fitness tracker. It’s a comprehensive wellbeing analysis.
Here is what I thought of it.
Specs
- Price: From £169
- Battery life: 14 days
- Waterproof: IP68 water-resistant
- Tracking: sleep, HRV, and more
Set-up
For new WHOOP users, scan the QR code on the box and follow the set-up instructions that include detailing your goals and intentions. If you’re like me and you’ve been a long-term user, it’s even simpler. You just connect the new hardware by clicking the icon in the top right-hand corner, and no additional setup is required. You can immediately get going, testing out the functions below.
Design
WHOOP claims the 5.0 and MG are smaller than their predecessor but, wearing both on my wrist, this is not at all noticeable. Much like the 4.0, it has the same slight design with a pretty identical strap. The clasp, however, comes in a sleek silver over the demure black of the outgoing gadget.
Functionality
Heart health monitoring
Both the WHOOP 5.0 and MG have been boosted with cardiovascular health and longevity features, but only the latter has an FDA-cleared, medical-grade ECG to detect heartbeat irregularities. In a matter of seconds, you can detect atrial fibrillation (abnormal heart rhythm) with a notification if it occurs. You can then access a full report, which you can share with your doctor. It is important to stress that this function is only available with the Life membership.
There is also the ability to measure blood pressure, but this is in beta testing. This was a functionality that immediately appealed to me. I have high blood pressure, and it’s something that I need to monitor closely, but I certainly do not do enough. WHOOP explains that there is increasing research on its importance in fitness and recovery, suggesting that those with high blood pressure may struggle with sleep quality, something that is certainly true for me.
The brand stresses that this is about observation and well-being rather than a replacement for a cuff. To start, you need a baseline, which needs to be taken with a traditional blood pressure monitor and then it gives you the WHOOP reading, which was pretty spot on when comparing the two, but is obviously a lot less intrusive and doesn’t require remembering to actually do it.
Data is captured through sensors that take readings 26 times per second, which is then displayed in colour-coordinated graphs with actionable feedback.
WHOOP Age
The stand-out addition, however, is what the brand is referring to as WHOOP Age. Instead of your chronological age, this is a reflection of your quantified physiological age, which can be younger if you have a good basis of functional health, balanced if it's true to your age or older should you need to adapt your habits. This is determined by harnessing six months' worth of data and taking into consideration sleep consistency, VO2 max (maximal oxygen consumption), activity time and more.
Created in partnership with the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Healthspan offers insights into how your routine is affecting your health on a long-term basis so you can make small everyday changes that can have a big impact. It takes a few weeks after a switch-up in behaviour to see results - not ideal for those instant gratification types, but realistic. Improving cardiovascular fitness could subtract years, while lacking restorative slumber may add on.
I felt more than smug that my WHOOP age is six years younger than my 30 years - and I know I have pilates to thank for this, but the app says I need to be more consistent with going to bed and waking up at the same time to take this further. It breaks it down in detail, which suits my data nerd personality - minus years for the time I’ve spent in heart rate zones one to three, my quantity of steps walked, and blood oxygen levels during high intensity activity - a commonly used indicator of cardiovascular health and aerobic endurance.
The gadget also tracks your pace of ageing. The day after a heavy weekend of drinking at my friend’s hen do with less sleep than usual and a resulting bout of illness, WHOOP tells me that my pace of ageing has increased by 0.9 faster one week to the next. So I’ll be hitting the hay for the foreseeable future to combat this.
Hormonal tracking
You can now also track hormonal fluctuations and how they impact your recovery. There is advice detailing how you should focus on resetting and recharging on the first day of your period and during the fatiguing luteal, but opt for energising activities in the follicular and ovulatory phases when estrogen levels are higher. I typically use the Clue app for this, so it is handy to have it all in one place and to clear some precious storage on my very full phone. Although I won’t be deleting Clue for good, as I like the ability to monitor my acne, something that WHOOP does not offer.
The new gadgets have a longer two-week battery life and maintain the same effortless charging method of the power pack slotting on top of the gadget so you never need to take it off.
Membership options
There are three membership options that make entry to the world of WHOOP more accessible:
- One (£169 per year) offers the basic fitness functionalities with the upgraded 5.0 hardware. Through the app, you will get more in-depth data but similar functionality to the previous 4.0 generation.
- Mid-tier is known as Peak (£229), which adds the advanced health features above with the 5.0.
- Whoop Life (£349) pairs the MG hardware with more accurate medical-grade and detailed insights.
Verdict
WHOOP MG
Both the WHOOP 5.0 and MG have been boosted with cardiovascular health and longevity features, but only the latter has an FDA-cleared, medical-grade ECG to detect heartbeat irregularities. In a matter of seconds, you can detect atrial fibrillation (abnormal heart rhythm) with a notification if it occurs. You can then access a full report, which you can share with your doctor.
There is also the ability to measure blood pressure, but this is in beta testing. The brand stresses that this is about observation and well-being rather than a replacement for a cuff. To start, you need a baseline, which needs to be taken with a traditional blood pressure monitor and then it gives you the WHOOP reading, which was pretty spot on when comparing the two, but is obviously a lot less intrusive and doesn’t require remembering to actually do it. Data is captured through sensors that take readings 26 times per second, which is then displayed in colour-coordinated graphs with actionable feedback.
The stand-out addition, however, is what the brand is referring to as WHOOP Age. Instead of your chronological age, this is a reflection of your quantified physiological age, which can be younger if you have a good basis of functional health, balanced if it's true to your age or older should you need to adapt your habits. This is determined by harnessing six months' worth of data and taking into consideration sleep consistency, VO2 max (maximal oxygen consumption), activity time and more.
Created in partnership with the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Healthspan offers insights into how your routine is affecting your health on a long-term basis so you can make small everyday changes that can have a big impact. It takes a few weeks after a switch-up in behaviour to see results - not ideal for those instant gratification types, but realistic. Improving cardiovascular fitness could subtract years, while lacking restorative slumber may add on.
There are three membership options that make entry to the world of WHOOP more accessible:
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