On this week’s episode, WHOOP VP of Performance Science, Principal Scientist, Kristen Holmes is joined by author Christine Yu. Christine is an award-winning journalist focusing on the intersection of sports science and women athletes. Christine is here to discuss her new book UP to SPEED: The Groundbreaking Science of Women Athletes and the state of women’s health and wellness in today’s society. Kristen and Christine will discuss Christine’s journalism career (2:55), the biggest inequities in health and athletics (5:00), areas for more women’s health research (7:40), young athletes dealing with puberty (9:50), the impact of hormonal birth control on female athletes (14:57), media coverage of women’s sports (19:05), the push for equal pay in sport (21:50), key takeaways from Christine’s book (24:30), a research study that Christine believes changed the industry (26:05), a story about the Australian National Field Hockey team and ACL injuries (33:05), Christine’s learnings across the continuum of a female athlete’s life (35:25), what women should be doing in perimenopause (42:17), an inequity Christine would improve today (46:15), and tips for women to achieve high performance (52:05).Resources:Christine's WebsiteChristine’s InstagramUP to SPEED Support the show

On this week’s episode, WHOOP VP of Performance Science, Principal Scientist, Kristen Holmes is joined by WNBA star Lexie Hull. Before Lexie was selected 6th overall in the WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever, she was a collegiate standout and 2021 National Champion at Stanford. During her collegiate career, she was a three-time All Pac-12 selection, and most recently, Lexie was named Defensive Player of the Year for Athletes Unlimited’s 2023 Basketball season. Kristen and Lexie will discuss Athletes Unlimited and what it means for women’s sports (3:15), Lexie’s collegiate career at Stanford (5:20), her mindset as an elite defender (7:20), going from a student-athlete to a professional (8:47), growing up competing with her twin sister Lacie (12:55), dealing with mental health (15:38), building a brand without creating distractions (17:55), how Lexie thinks about her performance data (22:00), her routine on game day (25:30), tracking her menstrual cycle on WHOOP (31:00), Lexie’s sleep tricks and habits (34:15), and her perspective on the current and future landscape of women’s sports (38:35).Support the show

On this week’s episode, WHOOP Founder and CEO Will Ahmed is joined by Matt Mullenweg the founder and developer of WordPress, the web platform powering over 40% of the sites on the internet. As the founder and CEO of Automattic, Matt is working to democratize publishing and commerce. Automattic is structured like a holding company, currently valued at over $7.5 billion, and is behind brands like WordPress.com, Tumblr, WooCommerce, Jetpack, Longreads and more. Will and Matt discuss how Matt started WordPress and his passion for open source software (3:05), what open source software is (9:20), creating an open ecosystem on the web (13:25), Matt’s early days as an entrepreneur trying to grow a business (17:40), the WordPress interview process (25:25), developing a growth mindset (32:20), managing stress and creating mental clarity (34:05), how Matt found WHOOP and the power of an executive coach (39:55), and Matt’s approach to a day-to-day routine (44:15).Support the show

On this week’s episode, WHOOP VP of Performance Science, Principal Scientist, Kristen Holmes is joined by health expert Dr. Gabrielle Lyon. Dr. Lyon is the founder of the Institute for Muscle-Centric Medicine and is a nationally recognized speaker and media contributor specializing in brain and thyroid health, lean body mass support, and longevity. Kristen and Dr. Lyon will discuss a patient’s story that unlocked Dr. Lyon’s research (3:15), where things start to go wrong for people’s health (6:35), what skeletal muscle does and the behaviors needed to build it up (11:35), the relationship between protein and skeletal muscle (13:50), how to find the right amino acids (17:20), Dr. Lyon working with patients to get proteins (21:45), fasting and eating throughout the day (26:50), getting adequate levels of protein as a vegetarian (31:25), protein and resistance training helping to prevent disease (34:25), having tough conversations about health (37:25), Dr. Lyon’s journey in writing her book (43:30), Dr. Lyon’s ideologies and practice (47:15), dealing with doubters and skeptics (53:55), talking with loved ones about health (57:40), and tips on improving muscle tissue health (1:01:25).Resources:Dr. Lyon's Website Dr. Lyon’s TEDx TalkEPISODE 45 The Science of Recovery: How to be More Resilient | Kristen Holmes Support the show

On this week’s episode, WHOOP VP of Performance Science, Principal Scientist, Kristen Holmes is joined by former U.S. Navy SEAL officer Mike Sarraille. After 20 years of service, including 10 combat deployments, Mike began to focus his energy on leadership and human performance. He was a member of the Triple 7 Expedition which was a record-breaking skydiving journey that completed 7 skydives across 7 continents in 7 days. Kristen and Mike will discuss Mike’s time in the service and the transition out (3:00), dealing with mental health (12:10), his leadership learnings and mentoring others (16:25), creating a culture of high performance (25:40), Legacy Expeditions and developing the Triple 7 campaign (37:40), the Folds of Honor Foundation (49:40), the Triple 7 Expedition Team’s WHOOP data (51:05), and developing longevity and a tough mindset (1:03:18).Resources:Mike's WebsiteLegacy Expeditions Everyday Warrior PodcastSupport the show

On this week’s episode, WHOOP VP of Performance Science, Principal Scientist, Kristen Holmes is joined by author and endurance coach Paul Laursen. Paul is the Co-Founder and CEO of HIIT Science, the Co-Founder and Head of Product for Athletica, and co-host of the Training Science Podcast. Not only has he published over 150 scientific manuscripts and had his work cited more than 15,00 times, but he’s also competed in 17 Ironman triathlons. Kristen and Paul will discuss how Paul got started training and teaching (3:05), the relationship between the cardiovascular system and the nervous system (6:15), defining the different training zones (10:50), creating a weekly program with cardio zones (25:40), staying balanced with your training (29:10), autonomic recovery and Zone 2 as an active recovery tool (31:25), how Zone 2 can be linked to hormone levels (37:33), Paul’s paper on metabolism and burning fat (41:30), the best medium for Zone 2 training (47:15), training for longevity and VO2 max (50:15), and how Paul thinks about sleep with his athletes (52:05).Resources:Paul's WebsitePaul’s TwitterHIIT ScienceAutonomic Recovery after Exercise in Trained AthletesAthletes: Fit but UnhealthyFat Oxidation during HIITSupport the show

On this week’s episode, WHOOP VP of Performance Science, Principal Scientist, Kristen Holmes is joined by author James Nestor. James is an international bestselling author and journalist known for his book Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art. Breath has sold over 2 million copies worldwide, was translated into 35 languages, and was an instant bestseller in the New York Times. Kristen and James will discuss the research that inspired the work for Breath (3:20), how breathing is linked to performance and health (5:05), where we went wrong with breathing (6:48), why people weren’t paying attention to breathing issues (8:54), the connection between asthma, allergies, and breathing (11:20), people using James’ teachings and techniques (16:45), negative effects of mouth breathing (18:55), getting started with nasal breathing (22:15), elite athletes working on their breathing (25:30), HRV’s correlation to breathwork (32:05), breathing protocols and optimization (33:30), seeing benefits from breathing protocols (40:40), and the connection between breathing and weight loss (46:05).Resources:mrjamesnestor.comBreath: The New Science of a Lost ArtSupport the show

On this week’s episode, WHOOP VP of Performance Science, Principal Scientist, Kristen Holmes is joined by Dr. Guy Winch. The licensed psychologist and author is a relationship and emotional health expert with one of the industry's most highly regarded TED Talks. His TED Talks have been viewed over 30 million times and his books have been published in 28 different languages. Kristen and Dr. Guy will discuss how Guy began studying emotional health (3:15), the approach and skills involved with emotional health (5:50), the dos and don’ts of emotional health (10:25), dealing with rumination (15:25), getting space to grieve properly (26:55), managing self-esteem (32:50), dealing with heartbreak and finding your identity (35:05), creating a social circle in line with your own values (44:20), the timeline for recovering from emotional damage (49:15), the global outlook on emotional health (53:25), and developing the right work-life balance (57:25).Resources:Dr. Guy's WebsiteTED Talk - Why We All Need to Practice Emotional First AidTED Talk - How to Fix a Broken Heart Dear Therapists PodcastSupport the show

This week’s episode is all about the newest feature on WHOOP, Strength Trainer. WHOOP Founder and CEO Will Ahmed is joined by WHOOP Chief Technology Officer Jaime Waydo to give an in-depth look at the science behind the new feature that tracks exercises, reps, and weight to calculate the load you put on your musculoskeletal system. With Strength Trainer, that muscular load is now going to be factored into your overall strain, giving you a more comprehensive view of the demands you place on your body. Will and Jaime will discuss what is Strength Trainer (3:25), the technology behind the feature (4:55), acquiring and incorporating the PUSH technology (7:35), testing the product and feature throughout development (11:00), how WHOOP is able to track various movements and muscles (14:00), the WHOOP Workouts available to users (15:25), how WHOOP is the first wearable to track this type of weight training data (21:25), how your strain, recovery, and sleep scores will be impacted (24:35), and the future of Strength Trainer (26:55).Support the show

On this week’s episode, WHOOP VP of Performance Science, Principal Scientist, Kristen Holmes is joined by WHOOP Senior Sport Scientist Chris Chapman. Chris is also the Lead Strength & Conditioning Coach of the Big Air / Slopestyle Team for Freestyle Ski Canada. Kristen and Chris discuss how Chris got into Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and how he applies it to training (3:40), how to assess training readiness in athletes (7:35), components of a strength training program (12:30), what is HRV and why it is important (18:45), how HRV is impacted by strength training (26:15), how people are adapting their HRV (34:00), how HRV can influence exertion and performance (45:45), recovery tools and tips (48:15), dealing with stress while training (54:15), and how age influences HRV (1:00:20).Resources:Oliveira 2019Williams 2020Thamm 2019Flatt 2019Figeuiredo 2015Marasingha 2022Support the show