WHOOP Podcast

Leading evolutionary psychologist Dr. Bill von Hippel sits down for a discussion on what makes us tick as humans and how that plays a role in our mental health. Dr. von Hippel is the author of the book The Social Leap, and explains how the experience of our ancestors shaped the way our minds and bodies react to stressful situations, positive and negative emotions, and social settings. He joins WHOOP VP of Performance Kristen Holmes to talk about the beginnings of humanity (2:30), the pursuit of happiness (4:28), social comparisons (7:57), healthy motivation (12:02), stress (12:48), framing the right mindset (17:50), staying present (23:56), flow states (27:23), negative feelings and stress responses (29:07), self-control and willpower (32:29), our limitations as humans (37:27), and mindfulness practices (41:02).Support the showFollow WHOOP: www.whoop.com Trial WHOOP for Free Instagram TikTok YouTube X Facebook LinkedIn Follow Will Ahmed: Instagram X LinkedIn Follow Kristen Holmes: Instagram LinkedIn Follow Emily Capodilupo: LinkedIn

2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens joins the WHOOP Podcast for an in-depth conversation on her career, high performance, and mental health. Sloane is one of the most recognizable American tennis players of the last decade. She became the youngest woman in the top 100 by the time she turned 18 and has reached as high as the third overall ranking in the world. Despite that, she explains how she has avoided placing unnecessary pressure on herself and talks about how obsessing over winning proved to be a detriment to her. She discusses her journey to tennis (1:28), going pro at 16 (5:02), winning the U.S. Open (9:27), mental health and wellbeing (11:28), how she felt before the U.S. Open final (17:04), mindfulness and meditation (19:34), using WHOOP (23:19), strain (26:41), "peak Sloane" (33:19), finding gratitude (37:40), life after tennis (41:42), and the Sloane Stephens Foundation (42:25). Support the showFollow WHOOP: www.whoop.com Trial WHOOP for Free Instagram TikTok YouTube X Facebook LinkedIn Follow Will Ahmed: Instagram X LinkedIn Follow Kristen Holmes: Instagram LinkedIn Follow Emily Capodilupo: LinkedIn

Resilience expert Dr. Mollie Marti shares practical ways that you can go about building your mental resilience and improving your emotional wellbeing. She joins WHOOP VP of Performance Kristen Holmes to discuss what mental resilience is (6:32), the THRIVE model for building resilience (8:38), the importance of relationships (9:10), our core needs as humans (11:32), practicing realistic optimism (15:22), awareness (20:52), accepting what you can't control (21:44), negative thoughts and using sensory resets (24:21), physiological health and mental health (29:42), utilizing resets for your body (39:03), and stress, rest, and recovery (41:21).Support the showFollow WHOOP: www.whoop.com Trial WHOOP for Free Instagram TikTok YouTube X Facebook LinkedIn Follow Will Ahmed: Instagram X LinkedIn Follow Kristen Holmes: Instagram LinkedIn Follow Emily Capodilupo: LinkedIn

Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian in history, joins the WHOOP Podcast for an in-depth discussion on his career, high performance, and mental health. Michael talks about his journey to winning 28 Olympic medals, but also details his struggle with depression and anxiety. He explains his mission to help those battling mental health challenges and also talks about how WHOOP plays a critical role in his own health and well-being. He sits down with Will Ahmed to discuss his early days in swimming (1:52), how he quickly discovered swimming was therapeutic for him (3:37), dealing with expectations and his burning desire to win (9:42), capturing his first gold medal (13:31), making sacrifices (16:47), the pursuit of perfection at the Beijing Olympics (19:36), his love of competition (23:25), experiencing emptiness after Beijing (25:04), recovery and sleep (27:48), why WHOOP (29:41), his mental health struggles and his darkest moments (34:02), showing the world the "real" Michael Phelps (39:37), trying to lower the suicide rate (45:56), flow states (48:22), diet and nutrition while training (55:17), and the Michael Phelps Foundation (56:55). Support the showFollow WHOOP: www.whoop.com Trial WHOOP for Free Instagram TikTok YouTube X Facebook LinkedIn Follow Will Ahmed: Instagram X LinkedIn Follow Kristen Holmes: Instagram LinkedIn Follow Emily Capodilupo: LinkedIn

Orla Walsh's journey to professional cycling was far from ordinary. She was a self-described party girl who was smoking up to 20 cigarettes a day, but that all changed when she started biking to work.  She quickly transformed her life and is now one of Ireland's best athletes, winning three straight national championships in women's sprint. She sits down with Jeremy Powers to discuss her journey to sport (3:13), her competitive spirit (8:46), getting into racing (11:28), her vegan diet (15:31), being a woman in cycling (25:06), how she uses WHOOP (31:08), her respiratory rate story with COVID-19 (32:29), rest and recovery (34:06), and the performance mindset (37:17).Support the showFollow WHOOP: www.whoop.com Trial WHOOP for Free Instagram TikTok YouTube X Facebook LinkedIn Follow Will Ahmed: Instagram X LinkedIn Follow Kristen Holmes: Instagram LinkedIn Follow Emily Capodilupo: LinkedIn

Portland Trail Blazers guard Josh Hart is coming off the best season of his career, something he attributes to an increased focus on rest, recovery, and nutrition. He explains how WHOOP plays a critical role in his performance and tells us what he’s learned from his WHOOP insights both on the court and off. Josh details his dreams of being a professional athlete (1:55), nighttime practice sessions with his dad as a kid (3:15), his experience as a college athlete at Villanova (9:35), winning the 2016 national championship (12:06), getting his nutrition locked in (14:30), improving his sleep (15:58), the best game of his career and how his WHOOP data showed he was primed for success (18:52), eating habits (25:41), making sacrifices for better recovery (29:40), mindfulness and meditation (34:09), his advice to younger athletes (38:14), and getting in-game insights from WHOOP (41:23). Support the showFollow WHOOP: www.whoop.com Trial WHOOP for Free Instagram TikTok YouTube X Facebook LinkedIn Follow Will Ahmed: Instagram X LinkedIn Follow Kristen Holmes: Instagram LinkedIn Follow Emily Capodilupo: LinkedIn

This week’s guest is Malaika Mihambo, the reigning Olympic, European, and World champion in long jump. Malaika has been named the German Sportswoman of the Year for three consecutive years, the first person to accomplish that feat since tennis legend Steffi Graf. Malaika speaks openly about the self-doubt she experienced leading up to the Tokyo Olympics, and details how writing in her journal and using mindfulness practices helped her overcome the anxiety she felt approaching the Olympic competition. She also discusses her journey to sport (2:02), staying grounded (3:45), preparing for Tokyo (6:31), journaling (9:37), the night before winning gold (12:30), believing in yourself (18:09), mindfulness and meditation (20:34), using WHOOP (24:49), being a vegan athlete (27:38), and habit tracking (32:40). Support the showFollow WHOOP: www.whoop.com Trial WHOOP for Free Instagram TikTok YouTube X Facebook LinkedIn Follow Will Ahmed: Instagram X LinkedIn Follow Kristen Holmes: Instagram LinkedIn Follow Emily Capodilupo: LinkedIn

Brad Faxon is one of the best putters the PGA Tour has ever seen. He led the PGA Tour in putting average three times, and set the single season putting record in 2000, edging out Tiger Woods in what was Tiger’s best season on Tour. He sits down with Will Ahmed to discuss his beginnings in sport (2:24), how he overcame his early career struggles (8:41), the difference between playing scared and playing nervous (12:12), using WHOOP (14:18), the mental side of golf (17:24), becoming a great putter and the mindset for success (20:09), learning to accept your misses (26:37), The Masters (32:40), Tiger Woods and his impact on golf (34:28), and his favorite courses (40:22).Support the showFollow WHOOP: www.whoop.com Trial WHOOP for Free Instagram TikTok YouTube X Facebook LinkedIn Follow Will Ahmed: Instagram X LinkedIn Follow Kristen Holmes: Instagram LinkedIn Follow Emily Capodilupo: LinkedIn

Adam Thielen has become one of the most recognizable names in football, but his success in the NFL was far from guaranteed.  He joins the WHOOP Podcast to detail his journey from an overlooked Division II athlete to a star wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings, and explains how his determination led him to the NFL after going undrafted. Adam discusses his lifelong dream to play sports (2:32), why he chose football (5:16), his "good delusion" and how it helped him pursue the NFL (6:36), the mental side of performance (9:51), proving yourself (13:55), his mindset (17:36), injury prevention and overcoming setbacks (21:28), preparing for Sunday (25:17), using WHOOP (27:36), the importance of sleep (33:43), defining the many types of talent (34:51), and fulfilling your potential (37:30).Support the showFollow WHOOP: www.whoop.com Trial WHOOP for Free Instagram TikTok YouTube X Facebook LinkedIn Follow Will Ahmed: Instagram X LinkedIn Follow Kristen Holmes: Instagram LinkedIn Follow Emily Capodilupo: LinkedIn

Kristen Holmes, Emily Capodilupo, and Dr. Shon Rowan of West Virginia University detail a first-of-its-kind study with WHOOP on pregnancy and exercise. The research revealed that participants experienced an increase in resting heart rate and a decrease in heart rate variability for much of their pregnancies, but saw a bounce back in those metrics in the weeks before birth. The participants also reported higher HRV scores postpartum compared to their heart rate variability baseline before pregnancy. Kristen, Emily, and Dr. Rowan discuss the exclusion of pregnant women from studies on exercise (4:10), the current guidelines for exercise during pregnancy (8:36), the myths about exercise for women.(12:09), diet and exercise during pregnancy (13:39), the study findings (14:56), HRV during pregnancy (18:09), Postpartum data and HRV increases (22:05), and menopause (30:35).Support the showFollow WHOOP: www.whoop.com Trial WHOOP for Free Instagram TikTok YouTube X Facebook LinkedIn Follow Will Ahmed: Instagram X LinkedIn Follow Kristen Holmes: Instagram LinkedIn Follow Emily Capodilupo: LinkedIn