 Missey and Bethanie swing the kettlebells in the 5:30pm class. I started wearing a Whoop strap in 2020 and have blogged several times about my experience. The Whoop strap is a wearable performance monitor that measures your strain (workout intensity), recovery and sleep. Whoop's mission of science and research is one of they key reasons I stay committed to wearing my Whoop over other wearable biometric devices. In fact, Whoop is dedicated to women's specific research and has created a Whoop Women's Performance Collective. Whoop is leading the charge on performance research for women! How cool is that? Today, for Whoop & Wednesday, I'm sharing a podcast with Whoop VP of Performance Kristen Holmes and Dr. Hazel Wallace, Whoop Scientific Advisory Council member, nutritionist, and trainer. They discuss Dr. Wallace's new book on female health and the importance of nutrition for performance and longevity. Are you a woman? Do you want to dial in your nutrition and performance? This podcast is worth listening to. You can click on the mp3 player below or you can go here to listen: https://www.whoop.com/thelocker/episode-198-dr-hazel-wallace-on-nutrition-longevity-and-womens-health/ Here are the key points from the podcast.
If you are interested in joining the dozen TSCF members on our on a Whoop journey, use my link to get your first month free. If you're already a Whoop user, join our True Spirit Whoop Group with the team code: COMM-AD6416.
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 Charlene, in the middle, turned 60 yesterday. How many 60 year old women do you know who can climb a 15 foot rope, scale a 7 foot wall and walk a mile with 50 lbs on her back? Yep, we live in a TSCF bubble. Yesterday I blogged about how our actual body weight may not be a great indicator of our health. For many of us, as we build lean muscle mass through out training the scale may not change. Sometimes I see athletes in our gym get wrapped around the axle of the number on the scale and lose sight of the amazing things our bodies can DO! We lose sight of how incredibly fit we really are. That's because we live in a bubble. In our classes we are surrounded by folks who are managing our metabolic health through exercise, nutrition and lifestyle practices. Step outside the gym and into "mainstream America," like at an airport, and you realize just how incredible our TSCF bubble really is. Step outside our TSCF bubble and you'll find that 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. Some of us see this in our own friends and family circles. As much as we want to be the example of good health to our friends and family, we can't do the hard work for them. The old adage is true, "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make her drink." It is heart breaking to see our loved ones fall ill to chronic diseases that can be managed and completely reversed through exercise and a change in nutrition. Check out this Whoop podcast on how to help yourself and your loved ones take a sharp turn away from the fast track to chronic illness. As your Coach, I can use your Whoop data to help you customize the WOD so that you can get the optimal training intensity based on YOUR PERSONAL data. I want to help you use your Whoop to make the best choices for your training.
If you are interested in joining me on a Whoop journey, use my link to get your first month free. If you're already a Whoop user, join our True Spirit Whoop Group with the team code: COMM-AD6416  John C. does a hex-bar deadlift in the 9am class. He wears a continuous glucose monitor to measure his blood sugar and insulin. Biometric monitors like a CGM and Whoop can help you improve your health and fitness. I started wearing a Whoop strap in 2020 and have blogged several times about my experience. The Whoop strap is a wearable performance monitor that measures your strain (workout intensity), recovery and sleep. Since my Sleep Number bed monitors my sleep, I am most interested in Whoop's ability to measure my recovery and strain. WHOOP measures strain based on cardiovascular output and time spent in various heart rate zones. The longer you're above 70% of your max heart rate the higher your strain score. Whoop does best when workouts are 15 mins or longer. So for our classic short and intense workouts your strain may not get very high. That doesn't mean you're not working hard and gaining fitness. It just won't be reflected in the strain score, but it will be reflected in your recovery score. More on that later. What about lifting days? Here's how Whoop handles those training sessions: If you’re doing a strength-based workout with minimal reps and periods of rest (such as Olympic weightlifting), you will have a lower strain if your heart rate is not elevated for extended periods of time. Many WHOOP members have wondered how their data will reflect a strenuous strength session, so here’s the breakdown: Since all of our CrossFit workouts, both long and short, and our heavy days place some level of strain on our cardiovascular and neuroendocrine system our bodies must recover from the work. That is where Whoop really shines.
No matter your strain value for a specific workout, your recovery metrics are based on your personal biology (HRV, resting heart rate and respiratory rate) and those will absolutely be affected by the intensity of your workouts and the types of recovery practices you implement (hydration, nutrition, stress management, sleep, etc.). I have used my recovery values and the Strain Coach feature to guide the intensity of my training sessions. If my recovery value is low, then I will adjust the volume or load of my workout. If my recovery value is high then I know I can set my hair on fire and red line a workout. I have found that my body can recover from a weightlifting session if I'm in the Red recovery zone as long as I do not go for a one rep max lift. If you are interested in joining me on a Whoop journey, use my link to get your first month free. If you're already a Whoop user, join our True Spirit Whoop Group with the team code: COMM-AD6416.  Kathy, a regular in our noon class for the summer, makes sure her water bottle is near by post-WOD. This week temperatures are predicted to soar into the 90s. Being active in that kind of heat demands attention and discipline to stay hydrated. We've all heard the statistics that our bodies are 60% of water. The truth is that we are made of slightly salty water. That's why drinking electrolytes when we exercise or when it's really hot out is so important. We recommend adding LMNT to your daily water bottle. It can be a bit too salty for some folks and you can easily make a dilute solution to sip on throughout the day. One of the reasons we recommend a dilute electrolyte solution is that can be absorbed more easily into your system. Have you ever drunk a bunch of water and felt it just sit there and slosh around in your gut? It sloshes there as you hike or run because it's not at the right salinity to be absorbed. Our blood has a specific osmolality (concentration of certain electrolytes and chemicals) and just plain water will not pass through the gut. If you're already dehydrated, drinking plain water can actually make it worse by pulling salts OUT of your blood into your gut so that the water can be absorbed. That's why a dilute electrolyte solution is more readily absorbed into your blood, and is important when you're super active in the heat. Read this blog from Whoop if you want to really dive into the benefits of hydration. TIPS FROM WHOOP TO STAY HYDRATEDThe following hydration tips can help make it easier for you to reach your daily goal of water consumption:
WAKE-UP WATER Have a glass of water as the first thing you do when you get up each day. Make it part of your morning routine. SET A REMINDER Maybe it’s an app to track your fluid intake, or just an alarm on your phone that goes off once an hour (if you’re up and about for around 16 hours a day, that could be 16 glasses). Either way a regular reminder to drink water will go a long way towards keeping you hydrated. ALWAYS BRING A WATER BOTTLE Beyond when you’re exercising or working out, whether it’s a walk around the neighborhood, a drive to the store, or even just sitting at your desk, if you have water with you at all times you’re naturally going to drink more of it. INCORPORATE WATER INTO YOUR BREAKS Whenever you stop what you’re doing to stretch your legs, use the bathroom, clear your head, or rest from physical activity, drink some water too. CHOOSE WATER FIRST Whether it’s coffee at breakfast, other beverages at lunch and dinner, or maybe something recreational to drink with friends or at any social gathering, have some water before anything else you drink. DRINK WATER WHEN YOU’RE HUNGRY Oftentimes we feel as though we are hungry when in fact we are actually dehydrated. Rather than having a snack right away, drink water first before you eat. ADD FLAVOR Many people don’t drink as much water as they should for no other reason than they aren’t excited by the taste (or lack thereof). A slice of fruit, splash of juice, flavor tablets, or even frozen berries instead of ice cubes may do the trick. HYDRATE WITH FOOD Lots of fruits (like melons, peaches, strawberries, oranges and grapefruits) and vegetables (examples include cucumber, zucchini, lettuce, cauliflower and bell peppers) have a very high water content, as do cottage cheese and oatmeal as well. WATER WHEN AIR IS DRY In places where humidity levels are very low, the dry air dehydrates you. This includes airplanes, high altitude in general, and anywhere with air conditioning running regularly. If you feel that AC blasting, have a glass of water. And lastly, it’s worth adding that alcohol is a major contributor to dehydration. Per the data analysis discussed above, it’s no coincidence that alcohol consumption is the behavior most associated with a decrease in WHOOP recovery (-8% on average). Click on the audio link below to listen to Whoop's podcast on the importance of hydration and its importance in recovery. |
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