Turn your Apple Watch into Whoop – apps for exercise, recovery and sleep

Whoop is one of our best wearables, but you can get most of its features through a select group of Apple Watch apps

The Whoop 4.0 is one of the best wearables out there. I should know, I’ve been using it for more than three years. The unique balance of insights provides insights into health and wellness and has allowed the Apple Watch to catch up in recent years.

But I also wear an Apple Watch. It’s an expensive compromise, and carrying two wrist devices is boring, but I love the workout tracking and the smart elements of Apple’s smartwatch.

And that led me to ask: what apps and services does the Apple Watch need to replicate Whoop’s insights? Thanks to the App Store, the possibilities of the Apple Watch are virtually limitless. The downside, of course, is that all these insights are spread across many apps.

But here are the top options to make your Apple Watch more Whoop-like.

Read the reviews: Apple Watch Series 10 tested | Two years of living with the Whoop 4.0

Deformation

Athlytic ($29.99/£29.99 per year) is pretty much a Whoop alternative in its own right, and also analyzes sleep, HRV recovery, trends and exercise performance. You can do most of the analysis below in one place, and for the most part the data is useful.

It focuses primarily on training analysis and recovery, and like Whoop, it offers effort scores based on your workouts. It’s not as holistic as Whoop, adding untracked workouts and general activity to the score.

Read the following: Best Apple Watch Apps You Should Download

Apple has moved to add training load data to the Apple Watch via watchOS 11, also replacing some of the utility of Whoop’s Strain core. The number of training sessions you do and how that compares to previous weeks are taken into account. It’s not a direct replica of the Strain core, but Whoop recommends a daily strain goal, so this fills some of the gap.

It also combines sleep and recovery data in one place, so if you’re looking for a one-stop shop for Whoop functionality, Athlytic does the job.

Recovery

Athlytic includes many of Whoop’s features and also offers a unique recovery score based on HRV. But there’s one app that does this specific analysis better: Training Today.

Workout Today (£2.95/month) works quietly in the background, collecting data from Apple Health and turning it into an analysis of your HRV. It’s a bit pricey considering what you get in Athlytic, but it has some unique features.

Unlike Whoop, it offers semi-real-time analysis of your HRV and training readiness. This means that you can not only see how recovered you are on a given day, but also throughout the day. So if your HRV rebounds later in the day after getting enough rest and eating right, or drops for other reasons, you can plan your session accordingly. By comparison, Whoop only measures your HRV while you sleep, your score remains static until the next morning.

Sleep

Apple Watch sleep tracking has improved slightly over the years and now offers sleep stages and key metrics for bedtime consistency.

But that lags behind Whoop, which offers insight into sleep latency, efficiency and the crucial need for sleep versus actual sleep.

The App Store has plenty of alternatives. We tested the best sleep tracking apps for apple watch and would be our best choice To get up. There’s a subscription (a steep $69.99 per year), but the visualizations and data are some of the best on Apple Watch. If you prefer a one-time purchase, try AutoSleep, which is simpler but packed with data.

Health statistics

Apple Watch Series 10 Vitals App | Credit: Wareable

This one is easy. The Health Monitor on Whoop provides a quick overview of your key vital signs and how they compare to your baseline values, including respiratory rate, resting heart rate, temperature, blood oxygen, and heart rate variability.

Apple has moved to add similar functionality, so an update for that watchOS 11 brings the Vitals app. It also tracks these metrics and alerts you if two or more are outside your normal range, which could be a significant sign of illness or fatigue.

Power Trainer

Hurrah Strength trainer can be improved, but it will help you with weight training and add the effects to your tension score.

The Strong app (Free) can fill this role on the Apple Watch, allowing you to track sets and build up a workout. It’s not exactly a rep counter, but you can easily keep track of the weights and sets you complete. This essentially covers the most important aspects of Strength Trainer.

Health statistics

Although the Apple Watch has Mindfulness apps, it doesn’t track stress like Whoop’s Stress Monitor. We tried it StressWatch from the App Store (Free), which provides guidance on stress levels and advice on how to manage them. It will also periodically reveal your stress using the color-coded scale shown above, and you can dive into an HRV history as well.