

WHOOP Podcast
WHOOP
The WHOOP Podcast is all about sharing science-backed insights and strategies from the best in the world at what they do. Learn from Olympic champions, CEOs, bestselling authors, and PhDs about the habits, mindsets, and routines that improve their health, fitness, and resilience. Unpack everything from breakthrough health and nutrition research, life-saving tech advances, longevity hacks, and more—each episode features an empowering conversation you don’t want to miss.Tune in every Wednesday for a new episode of the WHOOP Podcast.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 10, 2021 • 54min
CrossFit owner Eric Roza details how he made his dream of owning CrossFit a reality.
WHOOP is the now official wearable of CrossFit, and we’re celebrating our new partnership by welcoming CrossFit owner and CEO Eric Roza to the WHOOP Podcast. Eric shares his story and why he believes owning CrossFit is his calling in life. He explains how he’s changing the culture at CrossFit, his vision for the brand and the sport moving forward, and why surrounding yourself with good people is one of the keys to success in business and in life. He discusses making his dream to own CrossFit a reality (2:34), taking over a brand in crisis (6:36), the CrossFit economy (10:36), the WHOOP-CrossFit partnership (12:56), his vision for the sport (15:10), CrossFit’s worldwide reach (19:29), what sets CrossFit apart (31:41), elite drive and determination (39:13), improving sleep (41:50), keys to succeeding in CrossFit (46:36), and cultivating good relationships (50:58).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

Mar 3, 2021 • 1h 5min
Will Ahmed discusses entrepreneurship, building WHOOP, and the future of technology
Will Ahmed sits down with Joe Bullmore of the Gentleman's Journal podcast to discuss everything about WHOOP and our journey over the last decade. This conversation is a deep dive on entrepreneurship, the future of wearable technology, and exactly how WHOOP is trying to unlock human performance. Will and Joe discuss the origin of WHOOP (4:16), believing in your vision (8:58), how WHOOP leads to positive health changes (12:33), being told you will fail (13:20), building prototypes and tracking HRV (20:57), WHOOP as a coaching tool (28:37), sleep: the last frontier of health (33:24), COVID-19 and respiratory rate (35:58), how WHOOP got its name (42:16), the future of wearable technology (45:00), learning on the job (49:03), how to hire the right people (51:14), and defining success (1:01:30). 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

Feb 24, 2021 • 1h 1min
Study with U.S. Army looks at Alaska soldiers' HRV and resilience
WHOOP is unveiling a major research effort with the U.S. Army in Alaska to better understand how soldiers are adapting to the harsh winter conditions in the Arctic. This study examines how circadian alignment impacts physiological metrics, heart rate variability, and self-reported measures of resilience. WHOOP Director of Military Teams Robert Moeller sits down with WHOOP VP of Performance Kristen Holmes and Army Chief Warrant Officer Phil Ranck to discuss helping those who serve (2:59), measuring stress in soldiers (5:45), sleep deprivation (13:06), the goals of the study (17:24), HRV and sleep quality (18:38), understanding stress (19:39), extreme Alaskan conditions (21:47), darkness and the human body (23:28), optimizing for shift work (29:12), the design of the study (35:33), keeping soldiers safe (37:55), rest and preparedness (41:21), the core principle of HRV (49:13), and the purpose of this partnership (55:31).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

Feb 17, 2021 • 48min
Understanding nutrition, eating disorders, and their impact on performance
This week’s episode is a deep dive on nutrition and how eating disorders can negatively affect your body and your performance. Allison Lynch, our Senior Marketing Manager of Running and Women’s Performance, details her powerful personal battle with anorexia and bulimia and shares how she overcame her eating disorders. Allison sits down with WHOOP VP of Performance Kristen Holmes to talk about her journey and just how important proper nutrition is for all athletes. They discuss the serious consequences of eating disorders (5:25), how many suffer in silence (6:43), anorexia and bulimia (7:47), the prevalence of eating disorders in track and field (11:55), addiction (16:02), the root cause of eating disorders (19:07), getting healthy (30:57), thinking about food positively (32:55), intuitive eating (36:19), increasing education on nutrition and well-being (45:43).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

Feb 10, 2021 • 48min
Chef Michael Chernow discusses sobriety, gratitude, and what drives him to perform
Chef, businessman, and athlete Michael Chernow discusses his journey to sobriety, the importance of gratitude, and what drives him to perform in life. Michael talks about overcoming adversity and what he’s learned along the way. He also shares how he’s learned to balance being a father, a husband, a fitness freak, and a successful businessman all at the same time. Michael discusses finding his passion at a young age (2:09), getting sober (5:14), the role fitness plays in sobriety (8:24), using WHOOP (11:47), skipping workouts on red recovery days (15:12), learning patience (21:31), becoming a bodybuilder (22:21), how kickboxing helped on his road to recovery (28:47), finding work-life balance (34:34), gratitude (37:39), and learning from failure (40:41).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

Feb 3, 2021 • 20min
WHOOP studies how first COVID-19 vaccine dose affects recovery, resting heart rate, and heart rate variability
WHOOP is researching how COVID-19 vaccines could affect your body. VP of Data Science and Research Emily Capodilupo breaks down our latest study, which found that the majority of 1,200 vaccinated WHOOP members did not show a significant difference in recovery, resting heart rate, and heart rate variability after getting the first shot. This study also found that those who did see a change in physiological metrics did not experience a diminished recovery for more than a day or two. Emily and Will Ahmed discuss how this research began (2:39), how vaccines work (4:18), why two shots are needed (7:07), WHOOP data post-vaccine (9:43), the quick data rebound for those who do feel the effects of the shot (11:06), why feeling sick after being vaccinated isn't a bad sign (11:56), studying the differences between the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines (13:26), how sleep can help your body build antibodies (14:41), our next research steps (16:34), and how WHOOP protects your privacy (18:00).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

Jan 27, 2021 • 46min
World-renowned HRV researcher Daniel Plews discusses everything you need to know about performance and training
Dr. Daniel Plews has been at the forefront of some of the most groundbreaking heart rate variability research over the last 10-plus years. He sits down with WHOOP VP of Data Science and Research Emily Capodilupo and VP of Performance Kristen Holmes to discuss how you can apply your HRV data to your training. They dive deep on how HRV can guide your training (4:08), why HRV is foundational to the WHOOP recovery metric (6:19), keys to excellent recovery (13:57), avoiding overtraining (14:56), looking at HRV over multiple days instead of one day (16:51), adapting to a training stimulus (20:11), working out based on recovery (25:33), understanding nutrition and eating for your performance goals (33:22), and why fasting and training don't always go hand-in-hand (39:22).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

Jan 20, 2021 • 44min
Study shows training based on WHOOP recovery improves performance, reduces injury
On this week’s episode, we cover the results of Project PR, a study in the value of using the WHOOP recovery metric to guide your training. This study showed that runners who used the recovery score to help determine their daily training load over an 8-week period improved their times significantly and sustained fewer injuries than those who used a static training program. WHOOP VP of Data Science and Research Emily Capodilupo and WHOOP Marketing Manager of Women’s Performance and Running Allison Lynch talk with Mary Cain, who served as one of the coaches for the program. Mary is a world-class runner in her own right and was the youngest person to ever represent the United States at the World Championships. They discuss Mary’s New York Times op-ed on culture issues in the running world (3:38), body image in sports (7:05), optimizing performance for women (9:57), avoiding overtraining with WHOOP (12:27) , balancing green, yellow, and red recoveries (15:18), Project PR (16:28), structuring the study (18:52), key takeaways (24:04), training to HRV (30:40), becoming an elite athlete (33:50), and sleep and performance (37:52).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

Jan 13, 2021 • 53min
Steve-O on becoming a stuntman, finding recovery, and sense of purpose
Our guest this week is legendary stuntman and star of MTV’s Jackass, Steve-O. This is a story about self reflection, change, and growth. Steve-O talks about his remarkable transformation from a drug and alcohol addict to a man who has been sober for over a decade and practices mindfulness and meditation on a daily basis. He discusses surviving his younger years (3:42), getting in to drugs and alcohol (11:37), getting injured (13:40), dropping out of college (18:39), becoming a stuntman (24:18), dealing with criticism (28:05), his sobriety journey (31:39), the instant success of Jackass (32:39), being homeless when he became a star (34:22), why fame and celebrity is unhealthy (40:35), finding recovery (43:39), WHOOP insights (45:58), meditation (47:29), and gratitude and serotonin (50:25). 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

Jan 6, 2021 • 52min
Stanley Cup champion Alex Killorn discusses perseverance, meditation, and channeling your nerves to optimize your performance
Tampa Bay Lightning forward and Stanley Cup champion Alex Killorn discusses why patience was a virtue on his way to the NHL, how meditation is one of his keys to success on the ice, and what he’s learned about nerves and how to channel them in a positive way. He also shares how he and his teammates overcame the adversity of the COVID-19 playoff bubble on the way to their Stanley Cup victory. Alex dives deep on becoming a hockey player (2:28), finding confidence in sports (6:04), his NHL call-up (11:21), recovery in hockey and his WHOOP insights (14:49), the COVID shutdown (18:43), being upset by Columbus in the 2019 playoffs (22:46), the 5-overtime game (24:49), meditation (28:57), staying calm when the pressure is on (30:56), the challenges of the bubble (36:19), dealing with nerves, (40:48), winning the Cup (42:03), and how he's been such a durable player (46:01).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