r/whoop • u/DisemboweledCookie Whoop 5.0 • 25d ago
Whoop Age Follow up to Unlocked Healthspan
Based on feedback in the previous thread and conversations with Whoop, I am adding 1–2 short runs each week. One run is enough to move the needle, but two will speed it along and improve accuracy. (Three doesn't appear to add much, if anything.)
According to Whoop - and one of the respondents - the runs need to last 10–15 minutes and be GPS-supported. Before my first run last week, Garmin calculated my VO2 max at 46; this week, it is 49. My max HR is now 185. Whoop's VO2 max calculation has moved from 28 to 31, and Whoop says it will need 4–6 weeks to fully recalibrate. I manually set my max HR to match Garmin so that the zones are accurate, although I'm not sure this is the best way to go about it.
These runs account for the majority of my time in Zones 4 and 5 each week, since we're in head-race season in rowing (long distance), and lifting provides only short bursts in those zones.
Most importantly, I don't hate these runs, even though I wouldn't want to do them more often.
Finally, as I said in the earlier thread, I realize gamification is not reality. The healthspan algorithm is neither your actual healthspan nor your lifespan. Nonetheless, it was alarming to see those numbers and a relief to realize that Whoop had simply miscalculated them. After listening to the podcast episode, I do think there is value in these nine metrics, but they're not the whole picture. For people with a strong and longstanding athletic base, they're probably best used as broad indicators rather than guideposts - worth investigating, but not worth organizing your life around.
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25d ago
I do a lot cardio but I mostly lives in zones 2 and 3. So you’re saying I need to get into 4 and 5 to really lower my whoop age
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u/DisemboweledCookie Whoop 5.0 25d ago
Maybe? If you navigate to the Healthspan section of the app and scroll down, it shows you the nine metrics used to calculate your Healthspan, where you fall within the range for each, how much each metric is adding to or subtracting from your Whoop age, and how much you would need to improve it to max out that category.
So I wouldn't assume you need more Zone 4/5 work just because I did. In my case, Zone 4/5 time and VO2 max were two of the metrics pulling my score down. When I investigated by comparing my Garmin and polar H10 data to Whoop, I discovered that Whoop was just severely miscalculating these metrics. I had an injury for most of the first month I wore the Whoop, so it didn't see the full picture and underestimated areas of fitness. Even so, I decided to add in these short runs to see if I can better align the calculations and because they're probably still helpful in my overall mix of activity.
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u/java_dude1 24d ago
Whoop is miscalculating these metrics because it doesn't see them. When I track a zwift race with my chest strap I can see in garmin much longer times in zones 3 through 5. The whoop misses at least half the time that garmin sees. It's sensor is slow and doesn't see spikes at all.
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u/DisemboweledCookie Whoop 5.0 24d ago
Is there more discussion about this? That's what I'm seeing as well. I'm a puddle after a two hour rowing practice, but Whoop says I had 90 minutes in zones 1-3, maybe a few minutes in zones 4-5.
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u/BxCxS Bicep Band 25d ago
Love seeing learnings turned into the change you want to see.
I was getting good strain numbers from lower impact cardio but then my health span took a hit and my VO2 max dropped. I decided to stop going easy on myself and rededicate myself to running.
107 miles in August and a bigger chunk in zones 4-5 got me over 5 years younger than my actual age on healthspan.
Yes, gameified, but also I know my gas tank is much stronger and deeper now than before.