Adam Thielen has become one of the most recognizable names in football, but his success in the NFL was far from guaranteed. He joins the WHOOP Podcast to detail his journey from an overlooked Division II athlete to a star wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings, and explains how his determination led him to the NFL after going undrafted. Adam discusses his lifelong dream to play sports (2:32), why he chose football (5:16), his "good delusion" and how it helped him pursue the NFL (6:36), the ment...
Mar 30, 2022•44 min•Season 1Ep. 166
Kristen Holmes, Emily Capodilupo, and Dr. Shon Rowan of West Virginia University detail a first-of-its-kind study with WHOOP on pregnancy and exercise. The research revealed that participants experienced an increase in resting heart rate and a decrease in heart rate variability for much of their pregnancies, but saw a bounce back in those metrics in the weeks before birth. The participants also reported higher HRV scores postpartum compared to their heart rate variability baseline before pregnan...
Mar 23, 2022•35 min•Season 1Ep. 165
This week's episode is a deep dive on sleep debt and how sleep deprivation affects your body. VP of Performance Kristen Holmes is joined by sleep expert Dr. Allison Brager, a neuroscientist and a Major with the United States Army. Dr. Brager's research has covered survival in extreme environments under sleep deprivation and stress, and serves on fatigue management and neuroenhancement working group for NATO, the Office of the Army Surgeon General, the Department of Defense, and NASA. She discuss...
Mar 16, 2022•46 min•Season 1Ep. 164
Robert Moeller, WHOOP Associate Vice President of Government and a former Navy SEAL, sits down with Coast Guard Commander Scott Austin for a discussion on leadership, performance, and how data can be used to help our servicemen and women. Commander Austin is a helicopter pilot who recently completed a study that evaluated how Coast Guard crew member perceptions of fatigue and alertness compared with WHOOP data on sleep and recovery. He discusses the treacherous conditions he and his crews often ...
Mar 09, 2022•49 min•Season 1Ep. 163
Olympic bobsledder Lauren Gibbs sits down with Mike Lombardi for a discussion on how it’s never too late to chart a new course for your life. Lauren started bobsledding at 30 years old, and less than 4 years later, she was representing the United States at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. She won a silver medal at those games with her teammate, Elana Meyers Taylor, and also won a gold medal at the 2020 World Championships. She discusses how she started bobsledding as "a joke" (2:35), fin...
Mar 02, 2022•45 min•Season 1Ep. 162
The CrossFit Open begins this week, and we’re excited to have one of the best CrossFitters on the planet join us on the podcast – Noah Ohlsen. Noah won the Open in 2016 and has been a perennial contender in the CrossFit Games for years, finishing 2nd at the Games in 2019. He sits down with our resident CrossFit expert Mike Lombardi for a discussion that covers everything from overcoming disappointment, the power of a positive mindset, and understanding what’s really important as you pursue your ...
Feb 23, 2022•42 min•Season 1Ep. 161
This week’s episode is all about sex. Our VP or Performance, Kristen Holmes, sits down with Dr. Michele Lastella, a researcher in sleep, sexual activity, and athletic performance, for an in-depth discussion on how sexual activity plays a role in your sleep quality, your physiology, and your emotional wellbeing. Plus, we also reveal the latest WHOOP insights on sexual activity and masturbation. Kristen and Dr. Lastella discuss how sex helps you be present (5:01), the hormonal response triggered i...
Feb 16, 2022•38 min•Season 1Ep. 160
Steve Weatherford, who won Super Bowl XLVI with the Giants in 2012, returns to the WHOOP Podcast for a discussion on mindset, fitness, and Super Bowl LVI. Steve spent 10 years as a punter in the NFL, and was twice voted the fittest man in the league. He had one of the best performances of his career in the Super Bowl, but explains why that didn’t fulfill him at the time and what he’s learned about mental health since that moment. Steve discusses his road to athletics and why he had an unhealthy ...
Feb 09, 2022•31 min•Season 1Ep. 159
Dr. Andy Walshe sits down with Kristen Holmes for an in-depth discussion on stress and strain and how it affects your body. Dr. Walshe has spent his career at the cutting edge of human performance. He is the co-founder of The Liminal Collective, a global community united by passion for human performance, and is the former Director of High Performance for Red Bull, where he helped Felix Baumgartner jump to earth from a helium balloon in the stratosphere. He discusses individual response to strain...
Feb 02, 2022•40 min•Season 1Ep. 158
Dr. Hazel Wallace, also known as The Food Medic, sits down with Kristen Holmes for an in-depth discussion on nutrition, exercise, and the keys to strong habit formation. Hazel explains her inspiration for going into medicine (2:20), why small improvements are critical to long-term success (6:30), the role sleep plays in metabolism (8:42), meal timing and sleep (10:52), why diet results are highly personal (13:53), gender differences in nutrition (17:00), training while fasting (20:10), behavior ...
Jan 26, 2022•39 min•Season 1Ep. 157
Since the beginning of the pandemic, WHOOP has been conducting research to better understand how COVID can affect sleep and recovery, what physiological response vaccines produce, and perhaps most importantly, how COVID affects respiratory rate. Our latest WHOOP research shows that with the Omicron variant, like previous strains of the virus, COVID-19 infections often coincide with an increase in respiratory rate. WHOOP VP of Data Science and Research Emily Capodilupo returns to the podcast to d...
Jan 19, 2022•28 min•Season 1Ep. 156
CrossFit great Rich Froning talks about the mindset that has propelled him to greatness, and explains why his drive to win and his disdain of losing has fueled him for the last decade. He joins Mike Lombardi to detail how he found CrossFit (5:29), dealing with failure and disappointment (9:21), how he hates to lose (11:01), addressing weaknesses as an athlete (16:09), why having training partners is critical (21:00), performing with red recoveries (22:24), why he values team success over individ...
Jan 12, 2022•42 min•Season 1Ep. 155
World-class athletic performance trainer and coach Bobby Stroupe, best known for his work with Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes, shares his philosophies on coaching, athletic training, and high performance. He sits down with Mike Lombardi to discuss how he became a trainer (2:50), his work with Mahomes (8:42), why the mental component of high performance is just as critical as the physical aspects (14:18), gamifying recovery with WHOOP (17:43), how to react to red recoveries (19:16), understa...
Jan 05, 2022•41 min•Season 1Ep. 154
It’s hard to believe, 2021 is almost over. It’s been a huge year – for WHOOP and for the WHOOP community. It goes without saying that so many of our guests have inspired us, have made us think, and have challenged us to be the best version of ourselves. This episode looks back at some of the standout moments from the podcast in 2021, including from Alex Honnold (2:04), Rich Roll (8:04), Steve-O (12:29), Dr. Jim Loehr on the performance mindset (15:13), Dr. Meeta Singh on the science of sleep (19...
Dec 22, 2021•39 min•Season 1Ep. 153
WHOOP members were busy in 2021--not only trying new things and getting out there, but also prioritizing their recoveries and sleep. Emily Capodilupo, our VP of Data Science and Research, returns to the podcast for an in-depth discussion on what data from 2021 tells us about the WHOOP community and the world as a whole. We saw our members had a “summer of fun,” with a significant increase in their recoveries and the number of times they reported having sex, as well as noticeable decreases in sle...
Dec 16, 2021•34 min•Season 1Ep. 152
Larry Fitzgerald is one of the greatest football players of all-time – and his journey truly started at the bottom. He was a ballboy for the Minnesota Vikings when he was a teenager before spending 17 seasons in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals, where he finished second all-time in league history in catches and receiving yards. Larry explains why his drive to be great in football extends to every other aspect of his life. He discusses what it was like to learn from the pros as a kid (4:05), ho...
Dec 08, 2021•51 min•Season 1Ep. 151
On this week’s podcast, we’re talking about how hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle produce highly individual physiological responses that affect training and sleep needs. We have launched a new feature in the WHOOP app – menstrual cycle coaching – which provides personalized sleep and strain recommendations to those who menstruate based on where they are in their monthly cycle. That feature – and this conversation – are based on groundbreaking research conducted by WHOOP and leading fem...
Dec 01, 2021•43 min•Season 1Ep. 150
Professional tennis player Shelby Rogers joins the WHOOP Podcast for an in-depth discussion on cultivating a winning mindset, persevering through injury and setbacks, and the inevitability of stress and how we can use it to our advantage. She talks about getting started in tennis at a young age (3:06), the importance of trusting your gut (6:02), overcoming injury (7:55), the role gratitude plays in success (11:18), her remarkable ability to stay out of the red (15:38), focusing on the right thin...
Nov 17, 2021•46 min•Season 1Ep. 149
Dr. Robin Thorpe sits down with WHOOP VP of Performance Kristen Holmes for an episode on The Science of Recovery – the second of a three-episode series which also includes The Science of Sleep with Dr. Meeta Singh and The Science of Strain (coming soon). Dr. Thorpe is one of the leading experts in the recovery space, and is perhaps best known for his work with Manchester United for nearly a decade, where he served as Senior Performance Scientist and Conditioning coach. He explains the two subcom...
Nov 10, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 148
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. WHOOP VP of Performance Kristen Holmes sits down with Dr. Casey Means, a Stanford-trained physician and Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder of the metabolic health company Levels, for an in-depth discussion on metabolic health. They discu...
Nov 03, 2021•54 min•Season 1Ep. 147
Podcaster and author Rich Roll joins the WHOOP Podcast for an in-depth discussion on the power of change, leaps of faith, and finding your path in life. Rich shares how he battled alcoholism and health challenges in his 20s and 30s, before transforming his life after turning 40. Through this transformation he has become an elite endurance athlete and a leading name in veganism. He discusses his battle with alcoholism (5:32), why it's critical to become teachable (9:15), how mood follows action (...
Oct 27, 2021•54 min•Season 1Ep. 146
Renowned sleep expert Dr. Meeta Singh joins the WHOOP Podcast for an in-depth discussion on the science behind sleep. Dr. Singh is a board-certified physician and psychiatrist with deep expertise in sleep, sleep disorder diagnosis, and treatment. She has worked as a consultant for multiple NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, Olympic, and college sports teams, as well as for large organizations. The Washington Nationals considered her work so vital to their championship in 2019 that they gave Meeta a World Serie...
Oct 20, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 145
Yale coronavirus expert Dr. Nicholas Christakis returns for a discussion on the COVID vaccines, booster shots, and where we are headed as a society with COVID now that we are a year and a half into the pandemic. He explains why we are at "the end of the beginning" of the pandemic (2:58), how many deaths we are likely to experience in America (5:30), why it's likely that the vast majority of unvaccinated people will be infected eventually (8:04), the spread of misinformation (12:20), booster shot...
Oct 13, 2021•59 min•Season 1Ep. 144
Chris Hinshaw is one of the world's leading experts on endurance and aerobic capacity. He has trained 30 CrossFit Games champions, along with a series of Olympians, professional surfers, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champions. Chris sits down with Mike Lombardi to detail everything you need to know about increasing your own aerobic capacity and what training missteps you should avoid along the way. They discuss Chris' coaching style (2:36), the role coaches should play in working with athletes ...
Oct 06, 2021•53 min•Season 1Ep. 143
World-class diver Tom Daley details his journey from child prodigy to Olympic champion, and explains what he’s learned along the way about mindset, visualization, and being the true version of yourself. Tom discusses how he found diving (2:57), becoming world champion at 15 (6:16), coming out (10:01), being your true self (14:01), visualization (15:02), how he uses WHOOP (17:48), mindfulness and meditation (21:29), peaking for the Olympic final (25:18), managing fear (30:03), winning gold (39:53...
Sep 29, 2021•53 min•Season 1Ep. 142
Gabby Thomas is one of the fastest women on earth and is a two-time Olympic medalist, but she’s so much more than just an athlete. Gabby graduated from Harvard, where she studied neurobiology and global health, and is currently studying for her Master’s degree in epidemiology at the University of Texas at Austin, all while maintaining her elite training schedule. Gabby joins the WHOOP Podcast to discuss her journey to running (2:12), how the difference between peak performance and poor performan...
Sep 22, 2021•51 min•Season 1Ep. 141
Eli Manning is one of the most durable players in NFL history. He started 210 straight games over a 13 year span, and led the New York Giants to two Super Bowl victories along the way. He details how visualization, mindset, and belief played a key role in his career. Eli sits down with Will Ahmed to discuss growing up in a football family (2:54), learning from his older brother Peyton (5:43), the 2004 draft (8:54) , the importance of teamwork (12:19), his keys to durability (14:30), the 2007 Gia...
Sep 15, 2021•50 min•Season 1Ep. 140
WHOOP 4.0 is here. Will Ahmed and WHOOP Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer John Capodilupo talk about everything you need to know about WHOOP 4.0, how it was made, and how it will help improve your performance. They dive deep on all the new features with the 4.0, including WHOOP Body featuring Any-Wear Technology, SpO2 and skin temperature measuring, the new Health Monitor, and the updated Sleep Coach with haptic alerts. Will and John discuss the new era of WHOOP (0:26), WHOOP Body (2:54), ...
Sep 08, 2021•36 min•Season 1Ep. 139
Hot cars, high speeds, and hours of deep focus are required to excel in racecar driving. NASCAR driver Aric Almirola shares firsthand what it’s like to be in the driver’s seat and manage the physical and mental strains that come with being a professional driver. Aric discusses how his grandfather inspired him to start racing (3:08), the injuries he's dealt with and the toll racing takes on your body (5:12), driving a car in a 140 degree cockpit (9:45), the G-Load of racing (11:11), how he focuse...
Sep 01, 2021•48 min•Season 1Ep. 138
Dr. Jim Loehr, one of the world’s leading experts on sports psychology, joins the WHOOP Podcast for an in-depth discussion on mental performance. Dr. Loehr joins VP of Performance Kristen Holmes to share what he’s learned in over 30 years of research. He dives deep on mental toughness, the connection between physical and mental strength, how to manage your energy levels and overcome stress, and the importance of finding your purpose in life. Dr. Loehr discusses mental toughness (2:38), performin...
Aug 25, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 137
