On this week’s episode, Dr. Maya Shankar – a cognitive neuroscientist and creator and host of the podcast, A Slight Change of Plans – sits down with VP of Performance Kristen to how to change our patterns of behavior when it comes to our health. Maya shares the secrets of staying motivated, what the fresh start effect is, and how we can handle setbacks when we're not making the progress we want towards our goals. Maya shares her story of studying violin under Itzhak Perlman (2:22), how a hand in...
Oct 05, 2022•39 min•Season 1Ep. 192
We’re back in the inbox answering questions from our listeners this week. Emily Capodilupo, SVP of Data Science & Research, joins the podcast to tackle everything from the best ways to improve recovery what it means to miss your period. Emily breaks down menstrual cycles and what they mean for your training (1:51), what missing your period is actually signaling (4:02), training on biweekly cycles (10:44), how working from how can affect your sleep (12:57), the difference between skin tempera...
Sep 28, 2022•38 min•Season 1Ep. 191
Scout Bassett, Paralympic track athlete, joins the podcast for a powerful conversation on resilience, what fear teaches us, and how things often get harder before they get better. Scout grew up in an orphanage in China, having lost her right leg in a chemical fire as a newborn. After being adopted, she was introduced to sports, and ultimately, made track and field her career. That journey has been nothing but linear, and she joins the podcast to discuss growing up in China (3:11), how she priori...
Sep 21, 2022•57 min•Season 1Ep. 190
This week, we're featuring an episode that originally aired on the Founder’s Field Guide podcast. Will Ahmed joins Patrick O’Shaugnessy to discuss the journey of founding and building WHOOP. They discuss how to quantify sleep, strain, and recovery (5:35), early lessons in building WHOOP (21:28), how WHOOP stays ahead of upcoming trends in the wearable space (18:45), what data beyond HRV will become more accessible and affordable to track (48:48), why WHOOP doesn’t have a screen and other key dif...
Sep 14, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 189
You asked, we answered. This week, Kristen Holmes, VP of Performance, joins the podcast to answer listener questions. From understanding the connection between mental health and Recovery, to discussing HRV, to understanding calorie calculations, Kristen covers HRV (1:44), the science behind menstrual cycle coaching (5:54), mental health and HRV (9:27), understanding recovery scores (22:30), and fasted cardio (26:43). Additional research: The research behind Menstrual Cycle Coaching Dr. Huberman'...
Sep 07, 2022•31 min•Season 1Ep. 188
Kristen Holmes, WHOOP VP of Performance, is joined on this week's podcast by Cedric Unholz, WHOOP Senior Performance Scientist and Strength & Conditioning Coach for Olympic Windsurfers, and Chris Chapman, WHOOP Sr. Sports Scientist and Lead Strength & Conditioning Coach for Freestyle Ski Canada’s Slopestyle and Big Air National Team to share the physiological benefits of a strength training regimen. They discuss the benefits of a strength training program (6:45), the difference between t...
Aug 31, 2022•41 min•Season 1Ep. 187
Emily Capodilupo, WHOOP SVP of Data Science & Research, and Kristen Holmes, WHOOP VP of Performance, join the podcast to discuss the perils of disregarding sex as a meaningful biological variable in research, which has implications in training, fueling, medication dosing, and so much more. Emily and Kristen discuss why there are disparities in research (3:48), how exclusion has been both systemic and practical (7:53), the role lack of research has in diagnostics and in medication dosage (13:...
Aug 24, 2022•40 min•Ep. 186
Emily Capodilupo, WHOOP SVP of Data Science & Research, joins Will Ahmed to share recently analyzed data on alcohol consumption patterns and what we see happen to the body physiologically with each and every drink. Emily shares what we're trying to achieve with recovery (2:28), the negative effects of alcohol on recovery (3:46), the effect of every incremental drink on recovery (5:32), the differences between men and women when it comes to alcohol consumption (7:48), holiday drinking (11:44)...
Aug 17, 2022•25 min•Ep. 185
Brian MacKenzie is a human performance and endurance expert, and the President and co-founder of The Health & Human Performance Foundation. He is on a mission to help everyone from top executives to the US military understand how breath can help optimize their health and performance. Brian joins the podcast to talk about what hypoxia is and why it matters (6:37), the downstream effects of improper breathing (10:42), the characteristics of optimal breathing (15:30), the physiological impact o...
Aug 10, 2022•38 min
Annie Thorisdottir has twice been named the Fittest Woman on Earth at the CrossFit Games. Since taking CrossFit by storm, she's gone on to multiple podium finishes, including becoming the first woman to win back-to-back CrossFit Games titles. She joins the podcast to talk about her long career in the sport, including getting started in the sport (3:25), her journey to motherhood, including struggles with postpartum depression (13:31), her athletic rebirth after having her daughter (18:00), compe...
Aug 03, 2022•37 min•Ep. 183
This week's episode features arguably the greatest female wheelchair racer of all time, Tatyana McFadden, who has won 20 Paralympic medals, 24 World Marathon majors, and 4 consecutive Grand Slams. She joins the podcast to share how she's overcome the many obstacles she has been faced with in her life, how sport saved her life, and how she advocates for others with disabilities. Tatyana and host Will Ahmed discuss her story of growing up in an orphanage in Russia (3:23), her transition to wheelch...
Jul 28, 2022•44 min•Ep. 182
WHOOP VP of Performance Kristen Holmes sits down with Andy Blow, a world-renowned expert in sweat, dehydration, and cramping to discuss how you can lock in your hydration. Andy draws on his experience as a triathlete and a Formula 1 sports scientist to help explain what you need to know about your own hydration -- and how to avoid common mistakes when it comes to hydration and fueling. Andy discusses the variability in sweat losses from person to person (8:56), what our bodies do while sweating ...
Jul 20, 2022•48 min•Season 1Ep. 181
The Tour de France is underway, and this week Jeremy Powers sits down with world class cyclist Lachlan Morton of the EF Education-EastPost team. Lachlan has raced in some of the biggest world tour events, but he’s perhaps best known for some of his achievements in ultra long distance and uphill events. He recently set the world record in “Everesting,” climbing the equivalent of Mount Everest in just 7 and a half hours. He also rode the Tour de France route last summer by himself, riding 12 hours...
Jul 13, 2022•46 min•Season 1Ep. 180
On this week’s episode we take an in-depth look at the science behind your circadian rhythm and how light exposure affects your body. WHOOP VP of Performance Kristen Holmes sits down with Dr. Samer Hattar, a world-renowned expert in the field of circadian health, who is credited with discovering neurons in the eye that set our circadian clocks and regulate mood and appetite. Dr. Hattar explains the light-dark cycle and the circadian clock (3:44), the consequences of viewing light at the wrong ti...
Jun 29, 2022•43 min•Season 1Ep. 179
This week’s episode is all about nutrition and how locking in your diet can help prevent chronic disease, fix health problems you might be dealing with, and help you live a longer life. Dr. Julie Foucher, family physician and four-time CrossFit Games athlete, talks about how food can often be used as the medicine for what ails you. She joins WHOOP VP of Performance Kristen Holmes to discuss food's medicinal capabilities (3:25), preventing chronic disease (7:20), inflammation (9:20), processed fo...
Jun 22, 2022•39 min•Season 1Ep. 178
Neurophysiologist Louisa Nicola joins the WHOOP Podcast to detail the intersection between brain health, physiology, and peak performance. Louisa sits down with WHOOP VP of Performance Kristen Holmes to explain the role sleep, nutrition, and exercise play in growing our brains, how the brain ages, and the steps we can take to keep our brains young. Louisa discusses training your brain (5:54), exercise and brain aging (12:28), brain health and resistance training (18:19), nutrition (20:57), hydra...
Jun 15, 2022•48 min•Season 1Ep. 177
To unlock your best ideas, creativity, and performance, it is essential to create a safe space – part of which can be done with the right interpersonal behaviors, and part of which is done at home with a good night’s sleep. To examine this, WHOOP VP of Performance Kristen Holmes sits down for a discussion with Harvard business school professor and behavioral science researcher Dr. Amy Edmondson on the concept of psychological safety. Dr. Jemma King from the University of Queensland in Australia ...
Jun 08, 2022•50 min•Season 1Ep. 176
Unlocking human performance isn’t just about tapping into the potential your body has – it’s about harnessing the power of the mind. We’re taking a look back at some of the learnings and insights we’ve covered on the WHOOP Podcast related to mental performance. In this episode, you’ll learn from some of the masters of mindset on how to improve your mindfulness, meditation, and visualization practices, including Headspace co-founder Andy Puddicombe (2:35), world-renowned sports psychologist Dr. J...
Jun 01, 2022•29 min•Season 1Ep. 175
Leading evolutionary psychologist Dr. Bill von Hippel sits down for a discussion on what makes us tick as humans and how that plays a role in our mental health. Dr. von Hippel is the author of the book The Social Leap, and explains how the experience of our ancestors shaped the way our minds and bodies react to stressful situations, positive and negative emotions, and social settings. He joins WHOOP VP of Performance Kristen Holmes to talk about the beginnings of humanity (2:30), the pursuit of ...
May 25, 2022•45 min•Season 1Ep. 174
2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens joins the WHOOP Podcast for an in-depth conversation on her career, high performance, and mental health. Sloane is one of the most recognizable American tennis players of the last decade. She became the youngest woman in the top 100 by the time she turned 18 and has reached as high as the third overall ranking in the world. Despite that, she explains how she has avoided placing unnecessary pressure on herself and talks about how obsessing over winning prov...
May 18, 2022•45 min•Season 1Ep. 173
Resilience expert Dr. Mollie Marti shares practical ways that you can go about building your mental resilience and improving your emotional wellbeing. She joins WHOOP VP of Performance Kristen Holmes to discuss what mental resilience is (6:32), the THRIVE model for building resilience (8:38), the importance of relationships (9:10), our core needs as humans (11:32), practicing realistic optimism (15:22), awareness (20:52), accepting what you can't control (21:44), negative thoughts and using sens...
May 11, 2022•47 min•Season 1Ep. 172
Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian in history, joins the WHOOP Podcast for an in-depth discussion on his career, high performance, and mental health. Michael talks about his journey to winning 28 Olympic medals, but also details his struggle with depression and anxiety. He explains his mission to help those battling mental health challenges and also talks about how WHOOP plays a critical role in his own health and well-being. He sits down with Will Ahmed to discuss his early days in swi...
May 04, 2022•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 171
Orla Walsh's journey to professional cycling was far from ordinary. She was a self-described party girl who was smoking up to 20 cigarettes a day, but that all changed when she started biking to work. She quickly transformed her life and is now one of Ireland's best athletes, winning three straight national championships in women's sprint. She sits down with Jeremy Powers to discuss her journey to sport (3:13), her competitive spirit (8:46), getting into racing (11:28), her vegan diet (15:31), b...
Apr 27, 2022•41 min•Season 1Ep. 170
Portland Trail Blazers guard Josh Hart is coming off the best season of his career, something he attributes to an increased focus on rest, recovery, and nutrition. He explains how WHOOP plays a critical role in his performance and tells us what he’s learned from his WHOOP insights both on the court and off. Josh details his dreams of being a professional athlete (1:55), nighttime practice sessions with his dad as a kid (3:15), his experience as a college athlete at Villanova (9:35), winning the ...
Apr 20, 2022•43 min•Season 1Ep. 169
This week’s guest is Malaika Mihambo, the reigning Olympic, European, and World champion in long jump. Malaika has been named the German Sportswoman of the Year for three consecutive years, the first person to accomplish that feat since tennis legend Steffi Graf. Malaika speaks openly about the self-doubt she experienced leading up to the Tokyo Olympics, and details how writing in her journal and using mindfulness practices helped her overcome the anxiety she felt approaching the Olympic competi...
Apr 13, 2022•35 min•Season 1Ep. 168
Brad Faxon is one of the best putters the PGA Tour has ever seen. He led the PGA Tour in putting average three times, and set the single season putting record in 2000, edging out Tiger Woods in what was Tiger’s best season on Tour. He sits down with Will Ahmed to discuss his beginnings in sport (2:24), how he overcame his early career struggles (8:41), the difference between playing scared and playing nervous (12:12), using WHOOP (14:18), the mental side of golf (17:24), becoming a great putter ...
Apr 06, 2022•42 min•Season 1Ep. 167
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
