I can’t speak to Whoop, specifically – I am an Oura Ring user. However, I am on Day 8 since my positive test and can tell you that Oura has helped me get a sense of where my body is at in the recovery process, although I would say it was more valuable in the acute phase (probably days 1-3) than it is now.
Specifically, I monitored my temperature, Resting Heart Rate, and Respiratory Rate to determine how hard my body was working to battle the virus (I had substantial symptoms, including several days of fevers, vomiting and nausea, significant weakness/fatigue and joint pain). Below is a snapshot of some metrics:
(I was surprised that my Respiratory Rate did not go higher; when I had Valley Fever [another respiratory illness], I saw Resp Rates in the 17-19 range]).
Anyways, if you see the tags under the days on each chart, those are indicative of days I trained (they are tagged with workout types for those days). I did not do a darn thing on the days when my temperature was elevated, or when my RHR was still up. However, on Sunday, as things began to normalize, I went for a walk. Then a ramped things up gradually from there.
After my walks on Sunday and Monday, I still spiked low-grade fevers, which was the cue from my body that I took to mean, just a little too much just yet. So, I would repeat the next day, and once I responded better, I took it up a bit. As of today (Friday), I am back training closer to “normal” in a sense. At least, from a frequency and relative volume standpoint. No intensity though; I am going to give it time before I introduce much intensity just to be safe.
I guess the point that I hope to make by sharing my COVID experience so far is this…
The tech/data can help inform some decision-making. But, other factors to consider are what the literature and experts tell us (I am no doctor, and neither is my Oura Ring; and all tech has its limitations and validity/reliability limits), how we actually feel, how our body responds to the stress we impose upon it as we come back from illness, and also our tolerance for risk.
At the end of the day, a deliberately gradual and conservative return to training plan, when your body and mind are truly feeling up to it (and responding well with each incremental step) is probably the best course for the majority of us non-professional athletes.
… for whatever this is worth! I work as a Sports Scientist and spend my life around performance training data, rehabilitating athletes, and (unfortunately) have had to do that while navigating COVID times! Best of luck!
