The name WHOOP has been appearing across the cycling world in recent months, as one of the most popular pieces of fitness wearable tech available for cyclists right now.
But what is the WHOOP Strap 3.0 and how can it improve your riding performance?
We’ve put together the ultimate WHOOP guide, from getting started to getting the most out of your WHOOP strap.
What is the WHOOP Strap 3.0?
In short it’s a wrist-strap heart-rate monitor that measures your heart rate 24/7 and provides insights into your fitness, recovery, sleep, and performance. You can even broadcast your heart-rate data onto your bike’s head unit while cycling.
The WHOOP Strap 3.0 fits any-sized wrist with a Proknit band designed for a high performance lifestyle, plus it absorbs sweat and stays secure all while providing the best-possible comfort and preventing unnecessary movement. The WHOOP Strap 3.0 captures five-key metrics at high-frequency 24/7, in order to offer you the greatest possible understanding of your body.
With a five-day battery life and a wearable battery pack for recharging, you can keep your WHOOP Strap on at all times so you never miss a moment of data.
The Strap is lightweight, water resistant, and comes in a wide variety of colour options. You can even customise your Strap with WHOOP Your Way, available at shop.whoop.com. Personalise your WHOOP band, hook and clasp with hundreds of different colour combinations. You can also purchase Hydrosleeves and Hydrobands, that protect WHOOP while swimming.
How can you use the WHOOP Strap 3.0 to improve your cycling performance?
(Image credit: Daniel Gould)
Improving your cycling performance is limitless with the WHOOP Strap 3.0. It tracks more than just calories or mileage—it provides invaluable fitness insights by measuring the strain and stress you’re putting on your body and the intensity of your ride. It also tracks how well you slept, how recovered you are, and if you’re ready to perform or need rest in order to be primed for peak performance down the road.
WHOOP uses your heart rate and heart-rate variability to offer insights and guidance about how to sleep better, train smarter, and recover faster.
Everyday cyclists aren’t the only ones who wear the fitness tracker. WHOOP is partnered with the EF Education-Nippo WorldTour team. During the 2020 Tour de France, WHOOP provided the US-based team with personalised biometric data to help the riders optimise their performance and recovery.
WHOOP Sleep
Sleep can often be a forgotten factor in cycling performance. But rest can be the most essential part of improving your fitness, as it’s the time when your body repairs and rebuilds after intense strain. WHOOP measures more than just sleep duration, but the amount of time spent in each stage to help you understand your sleep quality. With Sleep Coach, you’ll know exactly how much sleep you need in order to hit your desired performance level the following day. Sleep is broken down into quality, efficiency, and consistency, all of which WHOOP measures to help you take a step towards recovery.
WHOOP Recovery
WHOOP will track your recovery based on four vital markers: Heart-rate variability (HRV), resting heart-rate (RHR), sleep and respiratory rate.
HRV measures the variation in time between each heart-beat and is one of the most useful tools for determining the right amount of training.
WHOOP also measures your RHR and respiratory rate during the deep sleep stage every night in order to provide insight into how recovered you are after an intense ride. WHOOP quantifies recovery by giving you a 0-100 percent score, and puts you into one of three zones—green, yellow or red—so you know if you’re ready to perform. If you’re using TrainingPeaks as an athlete or coach, your WHOOP recovery data will sync directly to it, so athletes and coaches can see how you’re recovering day to day and provide better insight within TrainingPeaks.
WHOOP Strain
For cyclists, WHOOP strain can be a game-changer.
This measurement tracks your cardiovascular load during the course of the day, including during exercise like cycling.
WHOOP then quantifies your physical exertion on a scale from 0-21, allowing you to balance your strain with your recovery to ensure you’re getting the most out of your body from one day to the next.
Monthly Performance Assessments
To help you perform better on the bike, WHOOP offers Monthly Performance Assessments that analyse your progress over the last four weeks. This includes sleep performance reports, training breakdowns, performance overview, and even insights into your training behaviours, in order to let you know if you’re hitting your targets, overreaching, or recovering well.
How to get started with WHOOP
To start using your WHOOP, download the WHOOP mobile app available in the Apple App
Store and via Google Play. Next, connect your Strap to your phone via Bluetooth. Your WHOOP will immediately begin to collect and upload your data directly to the app, where you can access all of the latest sleep, strain, and recovery insights—including old data as well. You can also log into your WHOOP account on your desktop or web browser.
Some other features to check out include Sleep Journal—a feature that allows you to track sleep and build better habits to improve recovery. The WHOOP app also gives you the opportunity to connect with the rest of the WHOOP community and join teams with like-minded people, friends and family and other fitness enthusiasts. Another thing to play around with is WHOOP Live, an interactive experience that lets you record and share video footage on social media, and overlay live WHOOP data including heart rate, calories burned, and more.
Membership Options
Join WHOOP now for as little as £30 and get the new WHOOP Strap 3.0 for free with your membership.
There are currently three membership options available: A six-month membership minimum for £30 a month, an annual membership for £288 (£24 a month, 20 percent saving), or an 18-month membership for £324 (£18 a month, 40 percent saving). Whatever your preference is, get to know yourself with WHOOP.
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Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers. Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.
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