Strapping on the high-tech WHOOP MG, I questioned what more I could learn about my body.
I’ve always considered myself a healthy person. Well, as healthy as you can be working in the high-stress world of journalism. I regularly run long distances, lift weights whenever possible, and own a variety of health-related gadgets like the Withings body scan bathroom scale, various Therabody products, a full-body red light therapy machine, and test new supplements like the offerings from Sarah Wraggle Wellness. And yes, the Eight Sleep is in my future letter to Santa. I first started wearing a WHOOP back in 2022 when I was getting ready to interview the infamous centimillionaire Bryan Johnson. At the time, the biohacker bragged to me that he’d managed to keep a perfect sleep score with his WHOOP for the last 6 months. When I showed him and his son Talmage my 1% recovery from drinking a few the night before while preparing for their interview, they gasped. In his words, “sleep is the difference between happiness and despair.” Testing the new WHOOP MG, I came to find that sleep also has a very real impact on your biological age.
Whoop 4.0 (L), Whoop MG (R)
That’s right, the latest iteration of the celebrity and athlete-endorsed WHOOP can now measure your biological age. (More on that later.) The top-of-the-line offering from the Boston-based company can also now take ECG readings, similar to competitors like the Apple Watch. But unlike other competitors on the market, it can also estimate your blood pressure. That feature is currently in beta. I found the estimates match up relatively well with a standard blood pressure cuff. Just one more piece of data to gauge your holistic health, to then export and share with your medical provider (another favorite feature). The latest WHOOP 5.0 line also improves on battery life to such a degree that, for that reason alone, I can’t recommend the upgrade enough. The WHOOP 4.0 could manage about 5 days of battery. This latest WHOOP MG lasts 14 days on a single charge. Even better, the device is 10% smaller. You won’t notice it much, but it does feel slightly lighter. There are now a variety of product tiers, including different subscriptions to meet your needs. Only the MG can do an ECG and blood pressure estimate.
Here’s the bad news: you’ll have to buy new bands for the upgraded line. Tragic, since I was quite proud of all the colorful bands I’d amassed for every possible occasion. But all is not lost, the top-of-the-line WHOOP comes with titanium metal on its black knit band, and it looks very luxurious. I’m told more colorful options will come soon. You can also wear it more discreetly. WHOOP offers workout clothes to slip the device into. Another thing worth pointing out, this device is still screenless, something the CEO told me back in 2022 would never change. I happen to like not having a screen. I also believe the form factor on the wrist is less noticeable than the giant Oura ring. Plus, it’s pretty cool to spot people wearing one too, knowing you’re part of the same “club.”
The WHOOP continues doing what it’s always done, taking many measurements and figuring out how that squares up with balancing exertion (they call it “strain”) with rest (a “recovery” score). The device measures heart rate and resting heart rate, skin temperature, respiratory rate, blood oxygen, VO2 max, cycle tracking, and critically, heart rate variability.
Heart rate variability (HRV) has become the gold standard for measuring a person’s recovery and readiness for taking on strain. Other competitors like Oura and Garmin take a similar approach.
Side view of the Whoop MG
The unsung superpower of the WHOOP: it’s a stellar sleep tracker. I was surprised to see how many micro-wake-ups I go through in a night. Maybe that’s a NYC street sound thing. It can also track naps. Recently, they updated the algorithm, appearing to make it slightly more accurate. If you want a more gentle wake-up call than the blare of your phone, WHOOP can vibrate at an exact time or once you’ve hit your sleep goal.
In the wild, I’ve taken the WHOOP out on short runs and half marathons. It’s great at detecting movement, even detecting dance! I’ve found the WHOOP really shines when used in tandem with a smart watch, in my case, an Apple Watch. Others in my running group do the same. It’s fine if you don’t, I just feel that the WHOOP slightly underestimates distance more than other devices on the market. I expect that will improve. Also, somewhat controversially, WHOOP has finally relented and added a step counter.
For those addicted to Strava, WHOOP can sync with the workout and post. I mentioned I own a Withings smart scale. It links with that too, giving an even fuller picture of my health. You can even log Barry’s workouts and various recoveries, like if you strap on those space-age Normantec boots.
Earlier, I teased the new biological age feature. WHOOP calls it “Healthspan.” This is where things get really interesting. By looking at my sleep, workouts, and various metrics, the company estimates my body’s age. I am chronologically 33 years old. WHOOP said… drum roll… I’m biologically 35.5 years old! The horror!!! This, despite saying I’m aging at a rate of just .5x. Once I picked myself off the floor, I dug into why. The culprit? I’m not sticking with a consistent bedtime. Lack of consistent sleep, it seems, adding not just to potential “despair” but to the hands of time. My WHOOP has scared me straight. Perhaps that’s the goal. I now drink less (just 1 or 2 drinks wrecks your HRV and recovery), and try to get to bed more consistently. It’s been a few weeks, now I’m only biologically 34.5 years old… sigh. Progress, not perfection.
Brace yourself!
As a longtime user of WHOOP, I see that with this latest version, they’ve attached less weight to journal entries. Every morning when you open the app, it will ask you to fill out your digital journal. I’ve found the correlations it attaches to documenting which supplements I take, whether I got a massage, if I’ve used drugs, or even if I’ve had sex, to be really unreliable to how well I’ve recovered. There are just too many factors for it to be meaningful. But it does get three correlations correct: sleep, alcohol, and strain all majorly affect recovery.
All this data can be overwhelming. WHOOP’s AI assistant can help you sort through it, giving suggestions on what activities work best based on your recovery that day. Once, at a spa, I noticed a personal trainer in a hot tub wearing a WHOOP. She also had on an Oura ring. I asked her what she thought about having access to so much data. “Sometimes I take the devices off for a few days. It’s good to have a data break.” That’s stuck with me ever since. When I have high-stakes interviews I’ve stayed up all night preparing for, waking up, I know my recovery is likely in the red, yet I refuse to open the app, fearful I’ll psych myself out by seeing just how horrible of shape I’m really in. While the WHOOP certainly isn’t meant to be taken off (you actually slide the battery pack on to charge while wearing it), I’ve learned it’s okay to have a day without opening my most-used app. There’s always tomorrow to start again, and knowing is half the battle.
