4/21 Wellness Wednesday

Soon we won't have to wear masks when we spot each other and we will be able to share barbells. When we have 75% of our members vaccinated we will achieve herd immunity at the gym! The sooner we all get vaccinated, the sooner we can get back to normal.

As the rate of COVID-19 infection increases exponentially, again, in our county, it's a matter of time before someone close to you acquires the virus. As our COVID free circle shrinks around us, it's even more vital that we manage our risk and reduce our chance of infection. 
We continue to do all things at the gym to help reduce our risk. We monitor the carbon dioxide levels, we ensure adequate air circulation and ventilation, we  sanitize after every class, and we keep everyone more than 6 feet apart.
We also have a majority of our members and nearly all of our coaches who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. By the beginning of May we will reach herd immunity amongst our TSCF community. YAY! 
We know that healthy people have less severe symptoms. I have previously explored how high body-fat increases symptom severity and how adequate Vitamin D levels decrease symptom severity. 
​Now, there is a growing body of evidence that wearable technology such as Whoop, FitBits, Apple and Garmin watches can be important for early symptom detection. 
All of these wearable technology devices measure heart rate, respiratory rate, and sleep. These three biometrics are showing to be reliable early indicators of symptom onset. They do this by alerting you to abnormal rates compare to your baseline.  
A  scientific paper published in Nature last month explores how "consumer wearable devices are an accurate and widely deployed technology to establish individual baseline parameters of health, which may be used to detect substantial deviations from baseline physiology at the onset of infection."
The research team looked at thousands of folks who wear FitBits, Apple and Garmin watches and found that abnormally high resting heart rate is a reliable early indicator of COVID infection. They found that some folks showed an elevated resting heart rate as early as 14 days before symptom onset and some as few as 2 days before symptom onset. An elevated resting heart rate could be a great impetus for getting a COVID test. 
The research team found that sleep increased at symptom onset. This is no surprise as fatigue is one of the primary COVID symptoms. 
Whoop straps were not included in the study published in Nature. Whoop has its own research team and has participated in several independent studies. Their research indicates that elevated respiratory rates as early as 1 day prior to symptom onset provides reliable early indication of COVID infection. 
​This is a great year to tp start wearable technology. Not only will it provide an early indicator of COVID infection, it will help you make healthy lifestyle choices. 
I have been wearing my Whoop since July and have posted a bunch of blogs on how to use the data it provides. You can use my WHOOP affiliate link and get your first month free. Just click on the image below to sign up! 

Click on the image to join our Whoop group and start monitoring your health and fitness.

Click Here for The WOD