More data as in more time to learn my baseline values for various data outputs. HR trends, HRV trends, sleep efficiency, and whatever else they use to provide outputs.
I can’t say if different data would help since I’m just an end user.
1 Like
How well do you feel it takes into account daily life stress? (Deadlines at work, passing away of family/friend, other life stressors). I’ve struggled with these things in the past and haven’t realized it until its too late. Looking for something that would help…
1 Like
I use a Whoop and I find that in my experience the sleep tracking is amazing, I can easily notice a difference in my recovery metrics based on what I do differently before bed. If I am on my phone/computer before bed or read a book it does make a difference in my sleep quality and I can see the improvement in the metrics that Whoop is tracking.
This has allowed me to improve my sleep quality/score by changing my habits before bed.
Unfortunately I find the tracking of exercise and daily strain to be not so great. For me its a great tool for improving recovery but not so great for tracking my training stress.
1 Like
Try an arm band instead of the wrist strap?
OK, I get what you mean.
The intent is that it measures these things through HR and Rest data. One thing I don’t see is it recording something like Yoga. I can do a 1 hour yoga/stretching session and it doesn’t auto record that as an “activity” because my HR doesn’t spike, but it’s definitely stress on your body. I would guess that’s similar to the way you tense up on a high stress day. I’d be interested to hear other opinions or facts on this.
A facund comment and interesting point, I have often pondered upon how my strength training is factored into these assessments. I may be physically shot, but my HR did not reach zone one. For a data fiend, this is concerning… how can I measure everything? 
2 Likes
Neither - Using the HRV4training app to monitor recovery. Does HRV, resting pulse and questionnaire in the morning - don’t really need any more info.
… and its £10/$10 provided you have a phone with a camera, so dead cheap compared to Whoop/Oura.
I never saw consistency from the app.
That’s the nature of HRV - it isn’t an exact science, though the marketing people would have you believe otherwise.
It is still a powerful tool though once you;ve learned what is “normal” for you. For me it definitely does flag up when I’m overdone on the bike (low HRV, Low Resting HR), struggling with non-bike stress or about to get sick (very low HRV/High Resting HR). Day to day when things are normal it bounces around a bit but without hitting any extremes.
1 Like
Just stating my experience with that app🤷🏼♂️
I realize nothing is perfect in terms of devices or the understanding. My typical HRV range was 6.5-7.5 for the time I used the app. There were a number of times when the HRV readings would swing down (7.8 to 6.9) after a quality rest days and other times it’d do the opposite (6.5 to 7.8) after a hard training days. Also, plenty of days I would restart the test, app, and/or phone but get different readings.
I tried the HRV app as well prior to switching to the Whoop. Even when using the app first thing in the morning before getting out of bed, I didn’t find the data very helpful or consistent. HRV is really variable and impacted by many things. Whoop tries to get around this by using measurements taken during specific sleep phases to try and produce more reliable results. In my experience this has worked much better than the HRV app.
2 Likes
My Polar Ignite watch takes the HRV and other ANS readings during the first 4 hours of sleep because, they say, that is the time when you get the most accurate and consistent results.
Hi @carytb, do you also use the orthostatic test with the heart rate strap?
I have been using both the nightly recharge function and the orthostatic test for comparision. I am only three weeks into this comparison thought, so an insignificant testing period to report the findings. If anyone is curious, ping me and I will make sure to review them at a suitable juncture.
I had a look at the orthostatic test but don’t think it’s available on the Ignite. One of the limitations of the Ignite system is the lack of time line graphs for the ANS components, notably the HRV function.
Aha, I see. I didn’t realise that but Polar are really good with their updates so perhaps soon! I have Polar Vantage V and we only received the nightly recharge function in the October round of updates.
1 Like
So I tried a few trainer workouts with my Oura ring on, and for sweet spot workouts it barely registers as ‘medium’ intensity. From the Oura site, this is likely due to it only measuring movement, and not any HR during the day. The graph is called ‘daily movement’. So it’s not fair to say it does ‘nothing’ during the day - it does what a $10 step tracker on your belt could tell you. Based on this, I see no reason to wear it during the day.
How does Oura measure activity?
Learn more about Oura’s activity tracking features.
Kaisa avatar
Written by Kaisa
Updated over a week ago
The Oura ring measures your physical activity using an extremely sensitive 3D accelerometer that can detect your hand movements. By combining the sensor signals with your personal information (height, age, weight and sex), the ring can monitor the total amount of your physical activity, your energy expenditure and number of steps you take.Oura captures most activities, such as walking and running, automatically but for non-step based workouts, and workouts that don’t require a lot of hand movement, you can use manual entry to further improve the accuracy of your activity score and daily calorie count.
On the Oura app for iOS, you also have the option to import your workouts from Health.
I have been using Whoop for a while now. I find that the sleep data was eye opening. It did make me more aware of how much sleep i was really getting per night. Me, I’m 46yrs, and 74kgs. husband and father of an 11 year old. On average, I have about one glass of wine per month.
With HRV as their main selling point, I found the data up to interpretation. There were many times I was very sore and beat down from doing workouts. Sometimes I had a Recovery score over 80% and I would not have the legs to pedal downhill. Then there were days I was vacation and relaxing on the beach, in Hawaii, and I would get recovery scores of 30%. I rode up Kaloko drive and had a blast. The next day, i did 72 miles on the Queen K. And there was no drinking involved. And consistently, I would get HRV spikes during the week. I’ve also had more than enough recovery scores and completely nailed my workouts.
I have been in the gym for the last three weeks and starting SSBMV1 this week. With weight training, i’m getting the same readings. No change in HRV, and various spikes during the week.
I have tried the arm band and that did not change any results. I know these are my results and everyone will be different on what they see.
My 6 month subscription will be ending in two weeks from now. My best take away from this product, is that it has made me aware of my sleep and sleep patterns. Everything else is up to how you feel physically and mentally.
Whoop is getting another influx of cash which should lead to some further development of their ecosystem. I still think they will be acquired at some point with Amazon or Apple two of the likely culprits.
1 Like
Thinking of getting one of these devices to optimize sleep and recovery. What are your thoughts friends?