‘Whoop’ fitness band gaining popularity
(KYMA, KECY/NBC News) - Spring is here and for many folks, that means getting outside and getting more active.
While this pertains more to the East coast folks who battle a long winter, unlike the Desert Southwest, there are a number of fitness trackers out there. While we are all familiar with ones like Fitbit, Apple and Amazon, there is one fitness tracker that is getting popular with regular consumers and well-known athletes.
It's called Whoop.
Even in a crowded and competitive market, the Whoop band has somewhat of a cult following. Athletes like Kansas City Chiefs Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Pro Golfer Justin Thomas, and Olympian Kate Courtney all wear the Whoop band. It has also created buzz through its weekly podcast.
Whoop founder, Will Ahmed, says that they have built the brand based off of great insights from consumers and the athletes that use it.
"Whoop is a wearable technology that's designed to change behavior and improve health," said Ahmed. "It's everything from hardware. So you can see this small sensor on my wrist to software and analytics."
This band includes an accelerometer that tracks heart rate and other metrics, but unlike the fitness bands we all know, Whoop doesn't count steps. Instead, it logs sleep, recovery and strain.
"Strain is a measurement of cardiovascular load, so we're looking at elevated heart rate for periods of time and calculating strain as a result," said Ahmed.
Users get the tracker for free with a monthly subscription of $18 to $30. A bigger long-term cost than competitors, but one Whoop user and data scientist says it has been worth it.
"I wake up and this recovery is calculated for me...You know what days you should be pulling back and what days you should be pushing a little bit more," said Jessica Dunn. "It is an eye-opening experience."
Over the past year, she's used an analysis reports and daily coaching in the app to make behavioral changes, improve her sleep and adjust her workouts.
