Fitness fans might be tracking their step count and heart rate, but what about the maximum amount of oxygen their body produces during a workout? Anyone inspired by the amazing runners at the London Marathon might want to unlock this key measure, which can be crucial to helping optimise health and fitness.
One of the best ways to do so is by wearing a health tracker, and shoppers have been raving about how ‘terrific’ the WHOOP wearable is. It monitors a range of metrics, including VO₂ Max, which measures how much oxygen the body can use during sustained, intense exercise.
According to WHOOP, this is ‘one of the strongest independent predictors of endurance performance and long-term health’. Athletes normally find out this measure by going into labs and running on a treadmill or pedalling a bike until they’re exhausted, while wearing a mask – but WHOOP brings this onto shoppers’ wrists, into their everyday lives.
As a measurement, VO₂ Max shows how someone’s aerobic system is working, so it is a powerful indication of how healthy one’s cardiovascular system is. It’s a useful measurement to keep track of, as fitness fans can see if their trips to the gym or weekly runs are helping them move in the right direction – with WHOOP saying its wearable helps VO₂ Max measurements become ‘a weekly signal of how your fitness is changing’.
Some pretty impressive names use WHOOP wearables – including footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and tennis star Aryna Sabalenka – but it’s also for the average person who’s looking to up their fitness. The band doesn’t just track VO₂ Max, but also monitors sleep, stress, heart rate, hormonal changes and more, and can give advice on things like recovery. According to WHOOP, daily wear is linked to 91 more minutes of weekly activity and 2.3 more hours of sleep a week.
WHOOP works on a membership basis, and there are three options. ‘One’ includes a WHOOP 5.0 band with sleep, strain and recovery insights, personalised coaching, VO₂ Max and heart rate zones and women’s hormonal insights, available for £169 a year. ‘Peak’ offers all that, plus healthspan and pace of ageing insights, and health and stress monitoring, for £229 a year. And for £349 a year, the ‘Life’ membership offers everything on Peak, with the WHOOP MG band and daily blood pressure insights, heart screening with ECG readings and irregular heart rhythm notifications.
There are a variety of ways it can be worn – either as a band around the wrist, or a wearable in WHOOP-compatible clothing, fitting snug against the skin – a good alterantive for those who don’t want a strap around their wrist.
For other options, Argos has the Fitbit Inspire 3 available for £84. This sleek tracker monitors skin temperature, blood oxygen, heart rate and more, with up to 10 days of battery life.
On the more expensive end of the scale is the Garmin Venu X1, which costs £599.99. This smartwatch comes with a 2” display, over 100 sports apps, and the ability to make and take calls with a built-in speaker and microphone.
“I’ve had a very positive experience with my WHOOP for about a year”, said one wearer. They carried on to highlight how it gets stats precisely, and said: “It tracks sleep accurately, and gives you a good read on your recovery and strain.
“It drives you towards the cardiovascular system, events like running or cycling, but if you pay attention to the added detail required to measure weightlifting, it can track that well, also. They’ve put a lot of thought into it, and I think it’s a terrific product.”
WHOOP has a 4.8 average star rating on Google Play from over 19,000 reviews, with one five-star write-up reading: “The best tool for anyone setting fitness goals, or building habits to be healthier. Second year using it, and it has helped me to track my goals quite nicely. One of the best features is the built-in AI, which checks on how you are feeling or how you can amend your training goals for the day based on recovery. It has helped me a lot. Highly recommended.”
Another reviewer called it “the best health tracker on the market”, continuing: “Resilient, accurate and a lot of fun to use. Once you give it some time to get to know your lifestyle, it becomes a crucial part of your fitness life.
“Tracking metrics begins to give you strong insights into what you need to change, balance or improve upon in your everyday life. The AI component really gives you helpful information on your lifestyle and provides workout tips, as well as nutrition advice.”
While rating the app ‘good’, one user, however, did highlight its usability. They said: “It’s a good and detailed app, but it can be hard to navigate around and get used to as it’s not directly evident how to find certain stats without Googling.”
Customers can look at the WHOOP website for its annual memberships.