It had been 6 months and I’d decided it was time to look at an alternative to Whoop. After 1 month with that alternative, side by side or wrist by wrist in this case, I can say definitively, good bye to Whoop. Where did this come from and what did I end up going with?

I said in the beginning with the first post in this series that this would be a regular guy look at the Whoop, so I’ll wrap it up briefly and in simple terms.

I actually did like the Whoop.

Whoop changed the way I viewed exercise and more importantly the way I viewed recovery and rest. I learned to alter my workouts and expectations based on recovery and facts as opposed to simply the way I ‘felt’. I came to really appreciate the science behind Heart Rate Variability and how it factors into day to day life in addition to my fitness. I took my sleep more seriously and started to set a schedule and went to bed at proper times. The log you are encouraged to create caused me to control my alcohol intake and watch the effects of a host of variables.

But I found that the biggest benefits I got were from the logs that I created every morning. I saw the Whoop daily strain feature as somewhat problematic as it didn’t seem to react positively to a restful day unless I specifically logged a nap. And didn’t track the changes throughout the day as well as I would have liked.

Limited tracking during activity & no watch face with the Whoop

I like to wear a watch during the day which meant wearing the Whoop on my right hand for my watch to use my left. It might sound petty but I really didn’t like having something on both wrists.

And finally, there is tracking my trail running, gravel & MTB riding and back country skiing. I like to track my GPS and follow my accents and descents, distance and pace. To follow along I needed to wear my Suunto Spartan which I really wanted to eliminate. Whoop did track miles and time through my iPhone but it was limited to the information it logged.

Would expect more for Whoop’s monthly subscription.

I started to struggle with the monthly fee for what I felt was limited features, no watch or GPS and reliance on the information I filled in. I looked at Apple Watch with a variety of 3rd party apps for HRV tracking, along with the typical players in the personal fitness tracking category. Through recommendation I also considered a variety of Garmin products, specifically the Fenix 6.

The Garmin Fenix 6.

And that is what I went with, the Fenix 6 Pro. I kept them on side-by-side for a month. Simply put; the Body Battery as well as Stress status and the fact that it’s a quality GPS tool and watch made the decision.

To get heart rate variability data does require a chest strap with the Garmin Fenix 6. But without one you still get quality information on everything needed for fitness improvements. Continual tracking, encouragement and updated status based on rest or limited movement, pace setting and advice on training deficits, onboard music, Bluetooth headphone pairing… and…. it’s a watch.

I’m very happy that I tried Whoop, it opened my eyes and caused me to appreciate so much more than I ever thought. Perhaps for the seasoned user Whoop is the answer. But for this regular guy looking to rip a little faster and go a little longer there is a better answer. The Fenix uses a simpler system for me to view my health status and a more realistic tracking of effort and recovery. Lastly, I no longer need to have a device on both wrists.

I hope this series helped someone beyond myself. Cheers to you, and get outside! Because that’s what it’s all about!