Latest news with #fitnessCommunity
News24
02-06-2025
- General
- News24
Runner dies after being struck by a tree
A woman died after being hit by a tree during the Slave Route Challenge this weekend. The 13th annual challenge took place on Sunday in Cape Town. Brewer, one of the organisers, said they are supporting the family in every way possible while also cooperating fully with the relevant authorities. A woman runner has tragically died after a tree unexpectedly fell in the Company's Garden area during the 13th annual Slave Route Challenge on Sunday in Cape Town. The incident happened while the woman was participating in the popular road race with 8 000 runners. The race aims to promote health, fitness, community participation and heritage awareness. Slave Route Challenge organiser Zarina Meyer Brewer said: 'It's a celebration of diversity and unity while also honouring the city's complex history, particularly the legacy of slavery in Cape Town'. According to Brewer, the incident happened during the 10- kilometre race along Government Avenue in the Company's Garden area, a historic public precinct in the heart of Cape Town. A tree unexpectedly fell on the route, striking the participant. Brewer added that despite the swift response of emergency services and transferring the victim to the hospital, the runner sadly passed away. The Company's Garden and its surrounding public spaces fall under the jurisdiction of the City of Cape Town, which is responsible for the maintenance and safety of the area. Regarding the possibility of compensating the family of the deceased, Brewer said they are focusing on supporting the family in every way possible while also cooperating fully with relevant authorities. Any compensation discussions are private and sensitive and will be handled respectfully through the proper channels. Although 8000 people took part in the event across all race categories, Brewer said the completion numbers are still being consolidated, even though many registered participants completed their respective distances. According to Brewer, the Slave Route Challenge is more than a sports event; it is a cultural and commemorative annual road running and walking event that includes multiple distances, typically a 21.1km half marathon, a 10km run/big walk and a 5km fun run/walk to make it accessible to people of all fitness levels and ages. In this year's challenge, runners ran through landmarks that tied to the city's history of slavery and resilience, from the Slave Tree, District Six, Bo-Kaap, to Pentz Street, fondly dubbed 'Koesister Hill' in the Bo Kaap.
Digital Trends
28-05-2025
- Business
- Digital Trends
Whoop 5.0 Review: Distraction-free health tracking
Whoop 5.0 MSRP $199.00 Score Details 'The Whoop 5.0 is a lightweight fitness tracker with long battery life and a comprehensive, data packed app. However, the subscription-based purchase may make it an expensive option.' Pros Light and durable Data-packed app Long battery life Huge array of activities to track No distractions Cons Paywalled features Ongoing subscription to access data 'Why you can trust Digital Trends – We have a 20-year history of testing, reviewing, and rating products, services and apps to help you make a sound buying decision. Find out more about how we test and score products.' A dedicated, screen-less fitness band seems like a hard sell in the times of flashy smart rings and feature-packed smartwatches, but Whoop is back with the Whoop 5.0 anyway. Aimed at more performance orientated individuals, it minimizes distractions and concentrates on assisting you in improving your health through coaching, data, and helping to build strong habits. I've worn it for 21 days to find out if a fitness band is worth wearing in 2025. Recommended Videos Whoop 5.0: design The Whoop 5.0 is designed similarly to the Whoop 4.0, but this time there are two versions, the Whoop 5.0 and the Whoop MG. The central module contains all the technology and sensors, and it's attached to a fabric band which is available in different colors and materials. If you choose the Whoop MG, it unlocks the electrocardiogram, irregular heart rate alert, and blood pressure readings. Health monitoring is the Whoop's focus. There's no screen, it doesn't tell the time, and it doesn't alert you about notifications from your phone. You wear it only to track health stats, sleep, and activity. I've been wearing the Whoop MG and it's just 28 grams, which allows me to comfortably wear it 24 hours a day without a problem. It's never sweaty, feels durable, and has an IP68 dust and water resistance rating. If you're looking for tracker you don't have to worry, or even think about at all, the Whoop 5.0 is a great choice. However, it's not very subtle or pretty. The module is quite thick and attached to a wide band, and the Whoop MG has a polished clip holding it all together, so it's quite noticeable. It's not particularly stylish wrist band, so if you're looking to track health and activity using something which also looks great, the Whoop probably won't be at the top of your list. It's where I'm conflicted about the Whoop. It's comfortable because it's light and it doesn't interrupt my day at all, but I don't feel anything for it. I've worn it on my right wrist opposite a normal watch, which is a welcome benefit, but I look at it and wish it was slimmer, smaller, and far more incognito. There's a reason smart rings and smartwatches have taken over from traditional fitness bands, as they can make some kind of lifestyle or fashion statement, and wearing the Whoop MG reminded me why I generally prefer them. Whoop 5.0: app No-one will buy the Whoop for the hardware. It's the means to an end, with the end being all the data it collects shown in the Whoop app. It's quite different to Apple Health or Samsung Health, and at least for the beginning until you're used to it, it's less user friendly than both. The top of the main page shows the expected sleep metric as a percentage, and it's joined by Recovery and Strain, and understanding these is key to getting something from the Whoop band. Recovery is a bit like a daily Readiness score, while the Strain metric is more like a daily activity score. Tap each one to see deeper insights and more expected data points like heart rate variability (HRV), resting heart rate, and steps. Each section has a host of graphs showing how your current scores relate to the last week. It's by using the Recovery and Strain data points you'll understand how you're set for the day. Go beyond these stats and the Whoop app will overwhelm you with information, much of it repeated in different places throughout the app. The Health Monitor tool also shows HRV, resting heart rate, and other key stats. Scroll down the main screen and My Dashboard shows many of the same data points too. Keep navigating through the screens and there are a lot more graphs related to strain, stress, sleep, and activity. Whoop 5.0: advice and training What can you do with all this data? Check the Daily Outlook page and you get an AI-style summary from an assistant, with some basic recommendations on how to reach your Strain target. You can ask the assistant questions. For example, ask it how to lower stress and it recommends breath work, mindfulness, outdoor activities, and hydration. It's all very general, as you'd expect from a non-medical device. The app encourages you to fill in a daily journal, but I've yet to really see how it impacts the advice or app, plus you can set up individual plans to help boost fitness, feel better, or sleep better. There's little direct motivation to push though, something not helped by the lack of a screen. Elsewhere there's a Strength Trainer mode which unlocks a range of workouts. These are guided through the app, but it's not very well automated so you spend a lot of time tapping the screen to go through the plan, which is distracting. It's far from the excellent workouts in Apple Fitness Plus. You can also track a huge array of live activities, and I really like how they can be filtered by what you hope to achieve, whether that's boosting Strain or promoting recovery and sleep. Tracking happens instantly, the workout screen and map looks great and holds lots of information, and while it's a bit awkward to end a workout (the button is needlessly hidden), the Whoop does that fitness band basic — tracking activity — really well. Get more deeply into the activities and there's helpful additional information such as V02 Max and strength related metrics. The Whoop app doesn't hold back on data, but it doesn't present it in a particularly friendly way, which is where it loses points compared to the Oura Ring 4, the Apple Watch Series 10, and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7. It's also less highly motivated in its efforts to get you moving than I remember the Whoop 4.0 being, and the emphasis on high performance activity tracking appears to have been minimized. It indicates Whoop has shifted away slightly from its hardcore user base, yet hasn't fully adapted its app or data presentation to cater directly to casual users. Whoop 5.0: extra features and subscription plans The Whoop MG has more functionality than the Whoop 5.0, but to unlock the extras you have to pay a higher subscription. You don't technically buy the Whoop hardware, you pay an annual subscription, and your choice of plan dictates which features you get. The cheapest plan doesn't include the Stress Monitor, Health Monitor, Healthspan readout, ECG, irregular heart rate, or blood pressure reading. To get all these features you need the Whoop MG and the top annual plan, and there's an in-between option without the ECG, irregular heart rate, or blood pressure reading. What you really need to understand is to use the Whoop you'll have to pay for it every year. This isn't a one-and-done fitness tracker, it's an ongoing commitment. If you stop, there's no free option to get the very basics. Even the Oura Ring offers that. If you want all the features and data it's an expensive piece of equipment, which isn't bad provided it justifies the cost when you use it. See the table below for long-term costs, and note you can make a saving by signing up for 24 months when you buy the Whoop. Device One year cost of ownership Two years cost of ownership Three years cost of ownership Whoop 5.0 One $199 $398 (24 months $299) $597 Whoop 5.0 Peak $239 $478 (24 months $399) $717 Whoop MG Life $359 $718 (24 months $599) $1077 Oura Ring 4 From $349, plus $66 subscription $138 ($487 total after 2 years) $210 ($559 total after 3 years) RingConn Gen 2 Air $240 N/A N/A Apple Watch Series 10 From $399 N/A N/A Although it presents its data using different words to other activity trackers, the data when you drill down is basically the same as any other. I haven't found the Whoop actively pushes me forward, or provides a different level of insight into my health and wellbeing compared to other health wearables I use. I can also get the extra features, such as an ECG and blood pressure readings, from other non-subscription wearables. Even if you don't personally need this data now, it's nice to have it there, for free, should you eventually do so. There's a lot to think about with the Whoop, far more so than any buying decision required for a wearable which doesn't have an annual subscription attached. Because the device's focus has seemingly shifted away from athletes and fitness fanatics, it's less clear who should have it on their buying list in the first place. It certainly doesn't do anything badly, but it doesn't do anything dramatically better than other wearables. Whoop 5.0: battery and charging The upside to not having a screen and plenty of room in the module for a sensibly sized battery is long battery life. Whoop estimates about 14 days from a single charge, and this fits in with my use. I'm on day 21 and there's 40% battery remain from when I charged it after 15 days. It's impressive, especially as many wearables work harder during the getting to know you period. Charging takes at least 90 minutes, but the way you charge it also depends on which subscription plan you choose. The basic plan has a wired charger, but the other more expensive plans provide a wireless power pack, which can be used to charge the band without taking it off your wrist. It's a good idea, especially if you're absolutely obsessed with 24-hour a day tracking with no breaks, but if you're fine with missing out on a few hours worth of data, the regular charger will work just as well. Long battery life is one of the Whoop 5.0's biggest advantages, and being able to put it on your wrist and forget about it for two weeks sets it apart from most smartwatches. It's also at least twice the length of time you get from the Oura Ring 4, and about five days more than the RingConn Gen 2 Air. If regularly charging any wearable is something that puts you off, the Whoop should suit you. Whoop 5.0: price and availability Whoop has simplified its subscription model compared to the Whoop 4.0. There are three tiers starting out with the One plan for $199 per year, the Peak plan for $239 per year, and the Life plan for $359 per year. To see what each one provides, take a look at the table below. A O represents an included feature, while an X represents a feature missing from that plan. Feature Whoop One Whoop Peak Whoop Life Sleep, Strain, Recovery O O O Personalized Coaching O O O Vo2 Max/Heart Rate Zones O O O Cycle Tracking O O O Healthspan and Pace of Aging X O O Health Monitor/Health Alerts X O O Real-time Stress Monitor X O O Blood Pressure X X O ECG and Heart Scanner X X O Advanced Health Sensing X X O Strap CoreKnit SuperKnit SuperKnit Luxe Charger Wired charger Wireless Charger Pack Wireless Charger Pack While Whoop tells you clearly what it will cost you each year, it's better to think about how much it will cost you to own for a couple of years, as realistically most will keep a wearable they buy for longer than 12 months. This is where the Whoop gets expensive compared to the competition. An Apple Watch Series 10 costs $400 with no ongoing subscription, and the RingConn Gen 2 Air costs $240 without any subscription. The Apple Watch's feature set compares with the Whoop Life plan, while the RingConn Gen 2 Air easily takes on the basic Whoop One plan. The Oura Ring 4 is somewhere in-between the two. During my use the Whoop MG has not done anything over and above what I get from those devices. The blood pressure monitoring and ECG are not included in my test account, but the blood pressure feature is similar to the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7, in that it's essential to have a standard blood pressure monitoring cuff to get started. I've used the Withings BPM Connect for a while, and it costs $130 without any subscription. Should you buy the Whoop 5.0? The Whoop 5.0 is a lightweight activity tracker with long battery life and an app packed with data. Dig deep and its hardcore fitness tracking roots are still there, but they're not as heavily emphasized. While this may make the Whoop appeal to casual fitness fans, it doesn't offer anything substantial above and beyond what the casual user would get from any other wearable. Those seriously into fitness will appreciate the wide variety of activities available to track, and the sheer wealth of data. After my time with the Whoop 5.0, it has left me a bit confused. There's nothing wrong with it or its app, and if it cost around $240 all-in it would be a solid recommendation if you're really into fitness. The subscription model makes it less appealing, especially to someone only a bit interested in monitoring their health, as far better options exist. Why you'd wear a large, rather obvious fitness band like the Whoop over a smart ring, I'm also not sure. There's definitely still space in the crowded world of wearables for a screen-less, or minimal fitness band like the Whoop, but less so when it has an expensive, ongoing subscription plan tied to it, especially when it doesn't provide all that much reason for you to pay for it compared to the many other options available. The Whoop 5.0 is a decent health and activity tracker, but think very carefully about how much it's going to cost you to own long-term before signing up.
The Verge
09-05-2025
- The Verge
Whoop angers users over reneged free upgrade promises
Whoop just announced its new Whoop 5.0 fitness tracker yesterday, but some existing users are already calling foul. Previously, Whoop said people who had been members for at least six months would get free upgrades to next-generation hardware. Now, the company says that members hoping to upgrade from a Whoop 4.0 to 5.0 will have to pay up. Whoop is a bit different from other fitness trackers in that it runs entirely on a subscription membership model. Most wearable makers that have subscriptions will charge you for the hardware, and then customers have the option of subscribing to get extra data or features. A good example is the Oura Ring, where you buy the ring and then have the option of paying a monthly $6 subscription. Whoop, however, has until now said that you get the hardware for 'free' while paying a heftier annual subscription. Previously, Whoop promised users that whenever new hardware was released, existing members would be able to upgrade free of charge so long as they'd been a member for at least six months. However, that has since been scrubbed from Whoop's site — though it was there as recently as March 28th this year, according to the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. Screenshot: Whoop, Internet Archive On Whoop's current official 'How to upgrade' site, the company states that existing members have one of two options. They can either extend their membership by another 12 months and receive new Whoop 5.0 hardware 'at no extra cost,' or if they'd rather not extend, they can pay a one-time upgrade fee of either $49 for the regular Whoop 5.0 or $79 for the Whoop 5.0 MG, which includes EKG sensors. An official Reddit thread also notes that people who either joined or extended their membership in the past 30 days are eligible for a free upgrade. Understandably, Whoop fans are none too pleased. The r/Whoop subreddit is full of angry users who are accusing the company of misleading them. 'One of the main reasons I chose a Whoop over an Apple Watch was due to the free hardware upgrades,' writes one Redditor. 'Conveniently my 12 month subscription is up around the same time the Apple Watch is released. The cost isn't the issue, it's them changing what was promised.' 'I'm definitely cancelling mine now, over the Whoop hype. Was excited to see they had a nice update and deflated after I saw they went back on their word about not charging for future hardware,' writes another. The Verge reached out to Whoop for comment about why its changed its hardware upgrade policy, but didn't immediately receive a response. We'll update when we hear back. It's another example of how changes to subscriptions often results in customer backlash. Garmin recently angered its customer base by introducing a paid tier to the Garmin Connect app after years of touting its lack of a paywall. Oura also received hefty backlash when it introduced a subscription with its third-gen smart ring.
