The WHOOP fitness tracker is an incredible fitness tracker. Maybe you’ve seen them, maybe not, but WHOOP is a top player in the wearable fitness space.
Compatible with any phone, your data syncs continuously and feeds into WHOOP’s algorithms to deliver interesting insights related to sleep, recovery, and strain.
After a 6-month minimum membership plus an additional 2 months (month-to-month), I canceled my subscription.
4 Reasons Why I Canceled My WHOOP
Reason 1: The data were no longer valuable
As a behavior analyst and health and fitness coach, data analysis is a key tenet of what I do. At the time I started my WHOOP journey (August 2021), the device had been out for a couple of years. I figured it was time for me to understand what the fuss was about…and stay savvy, up with the times.
I appreciate the effort, technology, and development that went into the device and phone app. The day-to-day monitoring was helpful, however, after reading the first few auto-generated weekly and monthly reports, my learning curve flattened.
Really within the first 6 weeks, I had a good handle on my sleep and recovery.
Reason #2: The technology produced a lot of wasted time & behavior
Not that graphs are bad things, but behaviorally, I found myself sifting through various screens, dazzled by the impressive graphing layouts, yet without any behavior change.
Doom scrolling through data.
A key to the WHOOPs daily interactions between you and the tech relies on constant syncing of the device to your phone, opening the app daily, and looking at your recovery scores. I wasted time on these activities more so in the last 3 months.
Plus, if your syncing gets behind, it may take 30+ minutes to catch up. In the event that I needed my recovery score prior to my workout, the app lagged in its delivery, thus missing the window in which the recovery score would be most valuable (i.e., before my workout)
Reason #3: My fitness behaviors were already in “maintenance mode”
I think of any fitness journey as either one of two phases:
- Acquisition – acquiring new skills, increasing frequency of workout days or total duration, working through different life transitions (e.g., moving, childcare, career change)
- Maintenance – you maintain what you are doing
When I slapped my WHOOP on, I was happy with my current workout style, frequency, overall performance, and recovery.
The WHOOP’s key feature when you open the app for the first time each day is logging any health-related behavior. Props to them there.
Again, I’m a hard sell. Most of my behaviors were locked in, meeting the natural contingencies that were important and effective for me.
Reason #4: The Cost/Benefit Analysis Ran Out
At $30/month, spending my time, energy, and behavior on the product was no longer valuable. The WHOOP requires a minimum 6-month commitment for their subscription-based model. Fair commitment as I expect a minimum commitment from my clients as well.
Had the WHOOP offered a month-to-month model, to begin with, I would have likely canceled after 2-3 months. Of course, this is not a great business model for WHOOP, but as a customer, I would have left a happier customer. That is, let me leave after I reaped all of the benefits instead of keeping me around for another $120 with little value in return.
Final Thoughts On The WHOOP
Overall, I am a better athlete and coach after using the WHOOP fitness tracker. I am encouraged by such innovative companies to push the fitness and recovery envelope to show others what is possible.
Data are crucial to making behavioral changes. Unless WHOOP changes the business model, or some other significant event transpires, I will stick with my Apple Watch for now.
(And yes…I did wear two devices for 8 months!)
