WHOOP Podcast

World-class athletic performance trainer and coach Bobby Stroupe, best known for his work with Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes, shares his philosophies on coaching, athletic training, and high performance. He sits down with Mike Lombardi to discuss how he became a trainer (2:50), his work with Mahomes (8:42), why the mental component of high performance is just as critical as the physical aspects (14:18), gamifying recovery with WHOOP (17:43), how to react to red recoveries (19:16), understanding stress (25:08), his advice to coaches (28:37), and learning to accept different philosophies (32:27). 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

It’s hard to believe, 2021 is almost over. It’s been a huge year – for WHOOP and for the WHOOP community.  It goes without saying that so many of our guests have inspired us, have made us think, and have challenged us to be the best version of ourselves. This episode looks back at some of the standout moments from the podcast in 2021, including from Alex Honnold (2:04), Rich Roll (8:04), Steve-O (12:29), Dr. Jim Loehr on the performance mindset (15:13), Dr. Meeta Singh on the science of sleep (19:35), Patrick Mahomes (23:18), Eli Manning and Larry Fitzgerald (26:41), Tom Daley (28:32), Gabby Thomas (30:23), Emily Capodilupo on COVID vaccine research (32:08), and Dr. Stacy Sims on women's physiology and performance (34:26). 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

WHOOP members were busy in 2021--not only trying new things and getting out there, but also prioritizing their recoveries and sleep. Emily Capodilupo, our VP of Data Science and Research, returns to the podcast for an in-depth discussion on what data from 2021 tells us about the WHOOP community and the world as a whole. We saw our members had a “summer of fun,” with a significant increase in their recoveries and the number of times they reported having sex, as well as noticeable decreases in sleep, stress, and working late.  Our community-wide data also showed us which behaviors most positively and negatively affected both recovery and sleep efficiency. In addition, we saw a direct correlation between mental well-being and sleep across the WHOOP population. Emily and Will Ahmed discuss the uptick in people trying new activities and why that's important for our health (2:27), the summer of fun (6:30), understanding optimal sleep/wake time (10:17), the lowest recovery days of 2021 (11:50), the boost menstruation gives to recovery (13:44), how diet plays a role in recovery (15:36), how alcohol affects the body (18:48), why eating close to bedtime is a bad idea (21:03), and the role mental health plays with good sleep (24:50). 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

Larry Fitzgerald is one of the greatest football players of all-time – and his journey truly started at the bottom. He was a ballboy for the Minnesota Vikings when he was a teenager before spending 17 seasons in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals, where he finished second all-time in league history in catches and receiving yards. Larry explains why his drive to be great in football extends to every other aspect of his life. He discusses what it was like to learn from the pros as a kid (4:05), how military academy gave him the structure to succeed (7:34), overcoming doubt in college (13:24), his relationship with his father and how he thinks about parenting his kids (16:30), the high performance mindset (19:51), advice to live by from his grandmother (23:59), losing his mom to breast cancer and how he goes about honoring her (28:48), taking care of your body (31:26), success over the long haul (32:23), discovering WHOOP (35:49), how WHOOP helped him with sleep apnea (36:20), the importance of sleep and health in every day life (41:23), and how an internship he did in the height of his football career changed his life (45:32).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

On this week’s podcast, we’re talking about how hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle produce highly individual physiological responses that affect training and sleep needs. We have launched a new feature in the WHOOP app – menstrual cycle coaching – which provides personalized sleep and strain recommendations to those who menstruate based on where they are in their monthly cycle. That feature – and this conversation – are based on groundbreaking research conducted by WHOOP and leading female physiology expert Dr. Stacy Sims, who returns to the podcast for an in-depth discussion on this topic with WHOOP VP of Performance Kristen Holmes and WHOOP VP of Data Science and Research Emily Capodilupo. They talk about why women and coaches need to have more information about the menstrual cycle (3:23), what WHOOP has learned through research of the cycle (8:08), how the pill affects your training (10:49), understanding the phases of the cycle (15:23), training periodization (20:25), alleviating PMS symptoms (24:19), how ibuprofen affects the body (29:29), why periods are a sign of good overall health (32:09), debunking the myths of the menstrual cycle, and why tracking your cycle is critical to high performance (40:30).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

Professional tennis player Shelby Rogers joins the WHOOP Podcast for an in-depth discussion on cultivating a winning mindset, persevering through injury and setbacks, and the inevitability of stress and how we can use it to our advantage. She talks about getting started in tennis at a young age (3:06), the importance of trusting your gut (6:02), overcoming injury (7:55), the role gratitude plays in success (11:18), her remarkable ability to stay out of the red (15:38), focusing on the right things (19:11), why stress should be viewed as a positive (21:12), how she puts herself in a winning mindset (24:25), using nerves to your advantage (33:36), and what she's learned from other players in her sport (39:21). 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

Dr. Robin Thorpe sits down with WHOOP VP of Performance Kristen Holmes for an episode on The Science of Recovery – the second of a three-episode series which also includes The Science of Sleep with Dr. Meeta Singh and The Science of Strain (coming soon). Dr. Thorpe is one of the leading experts in the recovery space, and is perhaps best known for his work with Manchester United for nearly a decade, where he served as Senior Performance Scientist and Conditioning coach. He explains the two subcomponents of muscle fatigue (8:45), if soreness is always a good sign for muscle building (12:59), the mental side of recovery and how HRV is an indication of where you are psychologically (19:23), understanding your HRV range (25:22), cold therapy (27:55), which recovery modalities are effective in which scenarios (33:40), the placebo effect in recovery (39:16), the fundamentals of recovery (45:59), and training your autonomic nervous system (48:27). 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

Only 1 in 8 of Americans are considered metabolically healthy – a measure of your blood sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure, waist circumference and triglycerides – which is alarming considering metabolic dysfunction is the root cause of many chronic illnesses. WHOOP VP of Performance Kristen Holmes sits down with Dr. Casey Means, a Stanford-trained physician and Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder of the metabolic health company Levels, for an in-depth discussion on metabolic health. They discuss the prevalence of chronic disease (2:37), inflammation (4:14), chronic illness and lifestyle (6:13), glucose spikes (7:56), metabolic health warning signs (12:55), sleep (17:33), exercise and glucose (25:21), a WHOOP-Levels metabolic health study (28:53), the importance of sleep consistency (39:43), walking after meals (46:33), and why we need to change our lifestyles (50:39). 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

Podcaster and author Rich Roll joins the WHOOP Podcast for an in-depth discussion on the power of change, leaps of faith, and finding your path in life. Rich shares how he battled alcoholism and health challenges in his 20s and 30s, before transforming his life after turning 40. Through this transformation he has become an elite endurance athlete and a leading name in veganism. He discusses his battle with alcoholism (5:32), why it's critical to become teachable (9:15), how mood follows action (15:09), starting his health journey (18:36), practicing patience (21:27), the importance of diet (22:28), taking leaps of faith (27:34), learning honesty and vulnerability (29:40), training, intuition, and technology (37:12), sleep and recovery (40:37), diet and recovery (44:37), being present (46:33), and finding gratitude (48:07). 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

Renowned sleep expert Dr. Meeta Singh joins the WHOOP Podcast for an in-depth discussion on the science behind sleep. Dr. Singh is a board-certified physician and psychiatrist with deep expertise in sleep, sleep disorder diagnosis, and treatment. She has worked as a consultant for multiple NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, Olympic, and college sports teams, as well as for large organizations. The Washington Nationals considered her work so vital to their championship in 2019 that they gave Meeta a World Series ring. She sits down with WHOOP VP of Performance Kristen Holmes to discuss society's disregard of sleep (5:01), the stages of sleep and how it progresses throughout the night (12:16), sleep need (15:10), why poor sleep leads to poor decision-making (23:16), understanding caffeine (27:02), sleep consistency and metabolic health (33:43), why meal timing is important (39:38), sleep's role in mental health (50:06), major factors that lead to poor sleep (1:02:10), and why sleep is the ultimate life hack (1:04:38). 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