Whoop Accuracy on the calf with ANY-WEAR Speed Tight

Must Read: Is Whoop Accurate – a detailed look and full review

I seem to have some full-length Whoop leggings, I’m not entirely sure what they’re called as they’re not on the website. Maybe they’re an old range…IDK.

Anyway, having tested HRbutt a couple of times, whilst swimming and whilst wearing shorts, it’s time to test HRcalf with a sneaky little pocket that Whoop has included in these leggings that puts the Whoop strap in contact with your calf.

My Background With Leggings

I run in leggings quite a lot over the winter. I typically use Compressport leggings just because I happen to have quite a few pairs that I used to ‘need’ in years gone by to aid recovery from very strenuous training. Now they just keep me warm.

The Compressport leggings shrunk a tad over time and they’re a very tight fit and one of the unintended consequences of wearing them to run is that they act like sandpaper on the parts of your body where you don’t want ANYTHING to act like sandpaper. Ouch. I mean, really…ouch. Yet I keep wearing them.

Whoop ANY-WEAR Leggings

Just like the Whoop shorts I wrote about yesterday, these sports gear items are of superb quality. They are exceptionally well-made, using good materials and apparently high-quality components, such as zips, drawstring hole protectors, and pocket linings.

The right-side pocket is quite long, measuring over 25cm. You can see in the picture above that I’ve stuffed a Garmin HRM in there, but you could easily fit a lightweight wind jacket inside it.

The left-side pocket is smaller and can be zipped up. I suppose you could use it for a key, or in my case, some dog poo bags. It’s over 10cm deep but fairly narrow, so I couldn’t get my hand into it.

The slightly elasticated waistband is 5cm thick and has a good-quality drawstring with protectors for the holes, as I already mentioned.

Finally, the Whoop pouch is the same size as every other Whoop pouch, which is kind of Whoop-sized, funnily enough. However, you insert the Whoop strap into it from the outside once you have the leggings on. This is nice, as with the shorts, swim shorts, and bicep band, you effectively have to insert the Whoop before wearing the apparel.

I got the medium size which is a comfortable fit for me and not as tight as my compression leggings. If it shrinks a bit I’ll be fine. The legs are tighter than the waist where there is much more slack – that’s fairly typical for clothing I buy..I tend to buy trousers a size bigger than I need in order to feel comfortable in the cycling-thigh area!

Do Whoop Leggings Measure HR accurately on the Calf?

A: Yes. Surprisingly so.

Here’s why

They’re good enough to warrant further investigation. On the basis of one VO2max interval run, Whoop HR was recorded on a Coros Pace 2 watch and the intervals were recorded with an apparently spot-on level of accuracy. I do have tanned calves and am averagely hairy…both those factors could make a difference, albeit a negative one.

The calf should be a good place to measure HR. Certainly a better place than on the wrist. As I mentioned earlier, these leggings are NOT super-tight on me and so some movement will probably happen and that will also increase the risk of inaccuracies. If you get a super-tight pair then you’ll likely get higher accuracy.

Why?

So, why would you buy these leggings? I suppose you might appreciate the branding and quality, plus the freedom of free wrist real estate. Despite these good results, if you want accurate HR data from Whoop, then my tried and trusted recommendation is to wear it on your bicep with an arm sleeve.

That being said, there are times when you might want the convenience of sticking the Whoop inside your gym or running leggings and keeping your wrist free for other things. Perhaps there is a rik that the whoop will bang into something on your wrist or just get in the way if, say, you are doing a pilates class.

For me, I’ve discovered a new way to wear a sensor away from my arms, freeing up some to put yet more sensors ON my arms.

Product: Speed TIGHT, Back Medium. 75% Nylon, 25% Spandex