A Day in the Red
Whoop tells me I need rest
For more than three years I have worn a Whoop band. It tracks various metrics of my body to help optimize my routines around exercise, rest, nutrition and relaxation. It distills these metrics into a percentage of recovery. Today I’m at a 28% recovery which puts me in the red zone and urges me to rest up and recover.
Whoop Tells Me to Take It Easy
It’s good to know this on Monday because tomorrow, Tuesday, is a gym day. It will include weight lifting with a physical trainer, cardio on the elliptical, and squash with one of the club pros. For someone in his 70s, this will be an exhausting day. I’ve got to prepare.
Yesterday, Sunday, I had a 35% recovery, which is on the low end of the yellow zone. I ended up walking 17,000 steps including time giving squash instruction to a family member. I probably overdid it a bit. I also missed my usual afternoon nap. On the plus side, I did participate in a joyous Mother’s Day lunch.
The Whoop app recommends that today I should stick to just walking, no cardio. It also urges me to observe good sleep hygiene including:
stop eating at least two hours before bedtime,
wear a nasal strip to improve my blood oxygen saturation while I sleep.
It’s 11:30 AM, as I write, on a pleasant spring day so I’ve already logged 7,400 steps (2.8 miles walked). I’ll certainly go past 10,000 steps just to keep my streak going. Today should be day number 1,632 of walking more than 10,000 steps. I’ll try to keep my walking to fewer than the usual 14,000 steps to help me rest up.
Fitbit Does Not Agree - Which Do I Trust?
But my Fitbit thinks my body is ready for a day of heavy exertion. Sorry Fitbit, I’ll go with the Whoop and how I am feeling. I’m dragging my wagon a bit today. I feel that I need the rest. Besides the Whoop is probably more accurate. I have adjusted its placement on my arm so that it gives heart rate readings consistent with the Polar chest strap, considered the gold standard for measuring beats per minute.
Today I plan on a 23-minute afternoon nap. I’ll need it too because I’m taking a bunch of school kids to squash at 4:00 PM. Gotta go and start getting ready for that outing!
Aging Fit is about decoding keeping fit as we age.
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