WHOOP Podcast

On this episode of the WHOOP Podcast, WHOOP Founder and CEO Will Ahmed is joined by award-winning writer and director, Mike White, and his trainer Hallvar “Hoho” Sigmundstad, who helped him stay fit throughout the production of White’s hit show The White Lotus. 

Mike White is an American writer, director, actor and producer known for his award-winning show The White Lotus. Prior to The White Lotus, White wrote and produced Enlightened (2011) and Year of The Dog (2007). Some of his early works include Nacho Libre (2006), School of Rock (2003), Chuck and Buck (2000), Orange County (2002), The Good Girl (2002) and having written 2 episodes of Freaks and Geeks (1999). Mike White has also appeared on the 14th season of The Amazing Race, which he did with his father, Mel. Mike White was also a contestant on Survivor: David and Goliath where he made it to Day 39 and finished in second place. 

On this episode of the WHOOP Podcast, Will and Mike discuss how Mike came to create White Lotus (1:04), developing and casting the characters each season (3:32), building tension within the narrative (5:02), balancing being a writer and a director (8:24), and maintaining Mike's health during production (12:44). Mike introduces his trainer Hallvar “Hoho” Sigmundstad and his important role in keeping Mike healthy on set (18:14). Hoho explains the top training tactics and methods to combat intense production hours to help Mike maintain his fitness levels (19:20). Will, Mike, and Hoho discuss Mike’s WHOOP stats (21:56), Mike's ability to manage stress on set (25:51), and how Mike created a WHOOP community within the cast and crew (28:58). Mike walks Will through a day in the life of the set of White Lotus season 3 (34:51), assign each White Lotus character with their own WHOOP metric (40:31), and how Mike developed the narrative of White Lotus Season 3 (48:09).

Don’t miss the Season 3 finale of The White Lotus this Sunday (4/6) on HBO and streaming on Max. 

The White Lotus

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Hallvar Sigmundstad 

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On the third installment of our Longevity Series, WHOOP Global Head of Human Performance Principal Scientist, Dr. Kristen Holmes, sits down with Dr. Roger Seheult. Dr. Roger Seheult is an Associate Clinical Professor at University of California, Riverside School of Medicine and Assistant Clinical Professor at the School of Medicine and Allied Health at Loma Linda University. Dr. Seheult is a critical care physician, practicing in Beaumont, California and is a quadruple board-certified doctor of internal medicine, pulmonary disease, critical care medicine, and sleep medicine. He focuses on promoting healthy lifestyles and making medical concepts more understandable to everyone. He actively lectures at schools, hospitals, and across media outlets. 

Dr. Seheult is the co-founder of MedCram, founded early in the pandemic to educate people world-wide about the spread of viruses. MedCram is now an online educational company that aims to clear up misconceptions and provide understandable medical videos for all.

Dr. Holmes and Dr. Seheult discuss the effect of light on circadian rhythm (00:42), how light and timing affects brain circuitry and mood (02:42), melatonin’s important role in longevity (05:31), why we need to be outdoors more (09:58), the importance of sleep-wake timing (14:46), slow-wave sleep and growth hormones (16:31). Dr. Seheult illustrates the foods that may be impacting your circadian health (18:42) and practical sleep changes that will help improve your sleep quality (24:25), the 8 pillars of sleep (25:15) and the importance of living for purpose (30:32).

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Dr. Roger Seheult

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How can you improve your sleep this month? On this episode of our How To Series, WHOOP SVP Research, Algorithms, and Data, Emily Capodilupo sits down with Sleep Psychologist, Dr. Shelby Harris, PsyD DBSM. Dr. Shelby Harris is a clinical psychologist, specializing in behavioral sleep medicine. Dr. Harris provides expert insights on optimizing sleep through better bedtime routines, adjusting lifestyle factors like screen time and diet, and creating an ideal sleep environment. She discusses how sleep affects immune function, metabolism, mental health, and weight management while offering practical solutions for common disruptions like nighttime awakenings, stress, and irregular schedules.

On this episode, Dr. Shelby Harris is helping WHOOP Podcast listeners learn how to get the best sleep of their life. Emily and Dr. Harris discuss Dr. Harris’s background (00:29), why sleep is important (01:18), misconceptions about sleep hygiene (02:05), how sleep is active (03:20), what habits are bad for sleep (05:58), and the effects of sleep apnea (08:20) and perimenopause (10:05). Dr. Shelby Harris shares the best habits to improve your sleep (12:29), why sleep hygiene involves more than just blocking blue light (15:25), and presents a valuable mental model for measuring normal sleep versus when it's time to seek help from a professional (24:59). Emily and Dr. Harris break down insomnia and how it can be treated (26:26), the importance of sleep during marathon training (30:00), where to start with sleep (35:40), and how WHOOP can help track sleep performance (40:16).

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Are GLP-1 medications the future of weight loss? On this week’s episode, WHOOP Global Head of Human Performance Principal Scientist, Kristen Holmes, sits down with Dr. Greg Grosicki, WHOOP Senior Research Scientist, to discuss all things GLP-1 and GLP-1 Receptor Agonists (RAs). Dr. Greg Grosicki is a member of the Performance Science team at WHOOP, an accomplished IRONMAN athlete, and holds a PhD in Human Bioenergetics and a Masters Degree in Data Science. Dr. Grosicki’s background focusses on exercise physiology and aims to help people live longer and healthier in order to perform at their peak. Dr. Grosicki recently led a study at WHOOP that looked into the effects of GLP-1 RAs on heart health and responses in health behaviors. 

Kristen and Dr. Grosicki discuss Dr. Grosicki’s journey to WHOOP and his research background (1:32), using exercise physiology to help people live longer and healthier (02:52), and how research at WHOOP will help you live better (06:07). Dr. Grosicki dives into the WHOOP GLP-1 study (10:54), GLP-1 medications access (20:48), and what people should expect from a GLP-1RA (23:09). Kristen and Dr. Grosicki break down GLP-1 RAs, their relationships with food addiction (24:30), Hollywood (26:16), and the idea of microdosing drugs like ozempic (27:10). The episode continues, providing an understanding for the importance of studying GLP-1 and using WHOOP as a tool for data collection (28:20), the study’s results (32:56), and identifying research bias (35:55). Kristen and Dr. Grosicki discuss the relationship of GLP-1 and cardiovascular health (39:07), the impact of exercise on cardiovascular health (40:28) and maintaining muscle tissue when using GLP-1RAs (43:42). 

Read the study here: 

Heart and health behavior responses to GLP-1 receptor agonists: a 12-wk study using wearable technology and causal inference

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What does the road to a college football National Championship look like? On this week’s episode of the WHOOP Podcast, WHOOP Founder and CEO Will Ahmed sits down with former Notre Dame Quarterback Riley Leonard. Riley began his college career playing 7 games for Duke as a true freshman in 2021 and was named starting QB in his sophomore season in 2022. In 2023, Riley entered the transfer portal, ultimately transferring to Notre Dame. While Riley almost entered the 2024 NFL Draft, an injury pushed him toward the decision to play at Notre Dame for another season, where he led the Fighting Irish to the National Championship game against Ohio State. Riley will be entering the 2025 NFL Draft in April.

In this episode, Will and Riley discuss how Notre Dame approached the 2024/25 season (00:37), Riley’s unconventional preparation for every game (02:16), Riley’s journey through the transfer portal (03:58), injury, rehab, and recovery (04:32), and how Riley uses his beliefs to grow as an athlete (08:55). Riley breaks down Notre Dame’s road to the National Championship (11:16), playoff games against Indiana (16:03), Georgia (17:41) and Penn State (19:22), and the details of the National Championship against Ohio State (21:34). Will walks Riley through his WHOOP Data (23:31) and the importance of sleep consistency as an athlete (28:38). Riley closes out the episode by building the perfect NFL Quarterback (31:16) and giving WHOOP exclusive insight on his next steps in his career (34:01). 

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Riley Leonard - Instagram
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This week on the second installment of our How To Series, Kristen Holmes, WHOOP Global Head of Human Performance, Principal Scientist sits down with Dr. Laura Berman. Dr. Laura Berman is a sex, love, and relationship therapist with double Master’s degrees and a PhD from NYU. In her 30 years of practice, Laura has been on a mission to help people improve relationships and sex lives. Her perspective on therapy is one that focuses on mind-body connection as well as a spiritual perspective. Dr. Laura Berman is a columnist for USA Today, New York Times best-selling author, having written 9 books. She was a resident relationship expert on and has had multiple television shows on Oprah Winfrey's network, OWN. Dr. Laura Berman received her undergraduate degree from the University of Vermont, Master’s degree in clinical social work from NYU, and doctorate in health education with a specialty in human sexuality from NYU. She also completed a training fellowship in sexual therapy at NYU Medical Center Department of Psychiatry.

On today’s episode, Kristen and Dr. Laura Berman discuss the three layers of intimacy (00:33), cracking the code on identifying your authentic self (03:53), the important obstacles to overcome to have better sex (08:13), Emotional avoidance in atheltes (09:57), understanding self-worth versus self-esteem (12:38), how to remove shame from sex (12:38), how grief can have an effect on intimacy (16:28), and breaking down spiritual barriers to help your sex life (16:28). Dr. Laura Berman presents the importance of maintaining integrity in your energy (37:58), how to overcome your traumas and triggers to unlock this energy (47:56), how HRV and energy frequency are related (52:39), and how dating has changed in the digital age (54:43). Kristen and Dr. Laura Berman close out the episode with highlighting the 3 foundations to build a solid sex life (1:05:02) and Dr. Berman’s tools to help emotional intimacy (1:07:21).

Resources:

Dr. Laura Berman - Instagram

Dr. Laura Berman - X

Dr. Laura Berman - Website

Dr. Laura Berman - Language of Love Podcast

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What simple diet changes can help improve long-term health? This week, in the second installment of our Longevity Series, WHOOP SVP, Research Algorithms and Data, Emily Capodilupo sits down with Dr. Federica Amati, Head Nutritionist at ZOE, Nutrition Topic Lead at Imperial College London Faculty of Medicine, and Head of Nutrition Science at Wellfounded Health. Dr. Amati’s primary focus within the health and nutrition space focusses on maternal and early childhood health, women’s health, and the gut microbiome as a modifier for nutrition to improve overall health. ZOE runs the world's largest study in nutrition-science and provides its members with personalized nutrition plans to live healthier. At Zoe, Dr. Amati communicates and provides up-to-date evidence-based research, using food as a tool to transform member health.

In this episode, Emily and Dr. Federica Amati discuss Dr. Amati’s journey through medicine to nutrition (00:47), the percentage of health that begins and ends with nutrition (03:28), the surprising additives in today’s food (05:41), why nutrition shouldn’t be about convenience (10:15), why we need to start caring about our gut microbiome (13:57), the benefits of having plants in our diet (16:29), and Dr. Amati’s new “5-a-day” to prioritize in our diet (18:55). Dr. Amati amplifies the need to regain a positive relationship with food (20:57), reframing how we approach food (26:57), the importance of nutrition in the first 1000 days of life (28:32), and understanding food agency (29:24). Dr. Amati highlights the benefits of the Zoe Diet in helping to improve your overall health (31:56) and why it’s never too late to start taking control of your health (39:50).

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Dr. Federica Amati

Dr. Federica Amati - ZOE

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Looking to improve sex and intimacy with your partner this Valentine's Day? On this week’s episode, WHOOP Global Head of Human Performance, Principal Scientist, Kristen Holmes is joined by WHOOP SVP Research Algorithms, and Data Emily Capodilupo. Kristen and Emily discuss the impact of love on your neurobiology (00:34), intimacy as a spectrum (2:08), the role of technology in intimacy and the benefits of intimate moments on the body (5:35), the effects of toxic relationships on the body (9:18), and cultural and societal views on sex (13:40). Kristen and Emily answer questions on how working out builds intimacy (16:41), and the best time of day to have sex (21:35). Emily and Kristen finish the episode by discussing the importance of communication in relationships and sex and how WHOOP can positively impact your relationship with your partner (36:02).

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What does it take to make it to the Super Bowl? This week, Will Ahmed, Founder and CEO of WHOOP, sits down with Bobby Stroupe, Founder of the Athlete Performance Enhancement Center (APEC) and trainer for three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes. Ahead of Super Bowl LIX, Will and Bobby break down Patrick’s health this season versus last (1:11), coaching Patrick through injuries (3:13), and optimizing speed for in-game performance (6:46).

Bobby also shares his strategies for improving Patrick's rushing ability as a quarterback (10:20), leveraging WHOOP data for training (11:00), and preparing for the challenge of playing three games in 11 days (14:44). Will and Bobby discuss overcoming the late-season lull (20:40), harnessing Patrick’s “win-ergy,” managing playoff Strain (26:05), handling the hype of Super Bowl LIX (31:06), and the pursuit of a historic three-peat (34:08).

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Bobby Stroupe Instagram

Bobby Stroupe X

TeamAPEC.com

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What are the risks of heart disease as you age? Dr. Jeremy London is back this week with WHOOP Global Head of Human Performance and Principal Scientist Kristen Holmes to share more insights on the impact of cardiovascular health on longevity! Kristen and Dr. London define blood pressure (00:30) and its effects on cardiovascular events (02:49). Dr. London breaks down the best ways to train to optimize cardio health (05:30), how he prepares for surgery, his position on the responsibility of healthcare professionals to “practice what they preach” (18:13), and systemic issues within healthcare (21:27). Dr. London rounds out the episode by providing tips on the importance of personalizing your health and longevity journey (32:59).

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Dr. Jeremy London - Instagram
drjeremylondon.com

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