How I measure my health after cancelling my Whoop subscription
“Measure what matters” is underrated in a health context and many people would benefit from focusing on improving just 1-2 metrics at a time, filtering out noise and gaining consistency by being less overwhelmed in hed a VO2 Max of 55, body fat usually around 12% (+/- 2%) and HRV usually 100+ (with bigger fluctuations). Next metric I’ll focus on is FFMI (currently 22), basically just building muscle while staying lean - likely sacrificing some cardio to get there without training more than 5h / week.
I trust my habits and can feel when something is off.
I’m also mentally prepared to walk through hell after launching the new company in 4w (either due to growth or lack of growth!) and am consciously reducing the number of data points I measure.
So what’s worth measuring?
On a daily level, I just focus on my inputs.
Differentiating between established and new habits, I currently track my protein (only tracking for 2-4w when I change my plan) and my final caffeine intake. I don’t track my morning routine, my supplements, my steps, my dinner time etc. because it’s all fairly established.
On a weekly level, I check my body weight and progressive overload in the gym. (I know SO MANY people WASTING countless hours in the gym by not tracking progressive overload)
On a 6-12 month level, I do DEXA scans or skinfold caliper measurements for body composition, VO2 Max measurements and blood tests. We’re also designing our own set of biomarkers (e.g. for metabolic health) for lab testing now, with more ambitious optimal values than the standard medical reference range. Very excited to share more about that in the coming months.
Where to start?
If you’re like most of my clients (working 60h+, managing companies, funds and families, unsatisfied with your physical performance / looks / daily energy), you might want to start focusing just on body composition and sleep. Maybe nervous system regulation through HRV. For that, the Whoop subscription can be worth it.
“Measure what matters” is underrated in a health context and many people would benefit from focusing on improving just 1-2 metrics at a time, filtering out noise and gaining consistency by being less overwhelmed in hed a VO2 Max of 55, body fat usually around 12% (+/- 2%) and HRV usually 100+ (with bigger fluctuations). Next metric I’ll focus on is FFMI (currently 22), basically just building muscle while staying lean - likely sacrificing some cardio to get there without training more than 5h / week.
I trust my habits and can feel when something is off.
I’m also mentally prepared to walk through hell after launching the new company in 4w (either due to growth or lack of growth!) and am consciously reducing the number of data points I measure.
So what’s worth measuring?
On a daily level, I just focus on my inputs.
Differentiating between established and new habits, I currently track my protein (only tracking for 2-4w when I change my plan) and my final caffeine intake. I don’t track my morning routine, my supplements, my steps, my dinner time etc. because it’s all fairly established.
On a weekly level, I check my body weight and progressive overload in the gym. (I know SO MANY people WASTING countless hours in the gym by not tracking progressive overload)
On a 6-12 month level, I do DEXA scans or skinfold caliper measurements for body composition, VO2 Max measurements and blood tests. We’re also designing our own set of biomarkers (e.g. for metabolic health) for lab testing now, with more ambitious optimal values than the standard medical reference range. Very excited to share more about that in the coming months.
Where to start?
If you’re like most of my clients (working 60h+, managing companies, funds and families, unsatisfied with your physical performance / looks / daily energy), you might want to start focusing just on body composition and sleep. Maybe nervous system regulation through HRV. For that, the Whoop subscription can be worth it.
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Franz Purucker retweeted
twice this week I’ve been told my net worth would be 10x if I lived in the US.
meanwhile, every time I go there, people tell me my edge is being European. less VC competition, plenty of alpha, while every ex-FAANG employee in the US has a side fund.
everyone romanticizes the other side of the ocean.
meanwhile, every time I go there, people tell me my edge is being European. less VC competition, plenty of alpha, while every ex-FAANG employee in the US has a side fund.
everyone romanticizes the other side of the ocean.
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Instinct vs. Deutsche Bahn, and why many agent startup valuations will come down even if Anthropic pops above $2T
Booked my next train ride with Instinct yesterday. Solid experience but it took twice as long as doing it on the Deutsche Bahn Website (in parallel, on my Macbook).
Not just the processing, but also comparing multiple options was easier in a structured format with visualization instead of just a long text Whatsapp message.
6 months ago, OpenClaw instead of Instinct was all the hype. The performance was as bad for the use cases I tried (placing Amazon orders). Looking back, using it was mostly AI virtue signaling.
Who are we kidding that every commercial transaction will run through agents and that interfaces will disappear?
Conversational agents are amazing and personal agents on Whatsapp have some place for bookings, e-com orders etc. … so yes, it’s a big shift in the economy.
But not the entire economy. That’s what most agent businesses are priced like. I believe apps will stay. And if anyone has an edge to win conversational use cases, it might be Meta with Muse …or Anthropic just becomes our general economic overlord.
I spent the last 6 months building a consumer app for health and fitness. We’re now layering a conversational agent on top for specific use cases, in Whatsapp, after a fair share of failed agent attempts. Excited!
Booked my next train ride with Instinct yesterday. Solid experience but it took twice as long as doing it on the Deutsche Bahn Website (in parallel, on my Macbook).
Not just the processing, but also comparing multiple options was easier in a structured format with visualization instead of just a long text Whatsapp message.
6 months ago, OpenClaw instead of Instinct was all the hype. The performance was as bad for the use cases I tried (placing Amazon orders). Looking back, using it was mostly AI virtue signaling.
Who are we kidding that every commercial transaction will run through agents and that interfaces will disappear?
Conversational agents are amazing and personal agents on Whatsapp have some place for bookings, e-com orders etc. … so yes, it’s a big shift in the economy.
But not the entire economy. That’s what most agent businesses are priced like. I believe apps will stay. And if anyone has an edge to win conversational use cases, it might be Meta with Muse …or Anthropic just becomes our general economic overlord.
I spent the last 6 months building a consumer app for health and fitness. We’re now layering a conversational agent on top for specific use cases, in Whatsapp, after a fair share of failed agent attempts. Excited!
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Is retardmaxxing the right philosophy, or not?
Lots of Europeans have missed out on @pmarca praising himself for having zero introspection, and the great philosophy of retardmaxxing.
I found it very irritating, and some statements are certainly historically incorrect. Like "great men of history did not have introspection"... vs. Socrates "The unexamined life is not worth living".
However, after recently starting to read Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse before bed, I woke up the next morning and shockingly realized that the book reminded me of ... retardmaxxing. Grossly simplified, it's about more doing and lived experience rather than overthinking.
I briefly felt ashamed for not launching my new company 3 months earlier, almost became self-aware, then remembered @JensenHuang telling us Germans to "just get to work", and immediately started blasting through customer messages... zero introspection!
As a business philosophy, this might actually work.
Honestly, when I would reflect on all the things that I could worry about, from European health data compliance to an AI agent going rogue to my mum thinking I lost my mind chasing dreams... I'd get nothing done.
While I think a great life with happy relationships requires a lot of introspection, building a company might not.
Pick a problem you care about, start selling a solution, start building the solution.
The business world is getting re-assembled right now. If you are standing on the sideline wondering what it'll look look in 10 years...
Just get to work!
Lots of Europeans have missed out on @pmarca praising himself for having zero introspection, and the great philosophy of retardmaxxing.
I found it very irritating, and some statements are certainly historically incorrect. Like "great men of history did not have introspection"... vs. Socrates "The unexamined life is not worth living".
However, after recently starting to read Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse before bed, I woke up the next morning and shockingly realized that the book reminded me of ... retardmaxxing. Grossly simplified, it's about more doing and lived experience rather than overthinking.
I briefly felt ashamed for not launching my new company 3 months earlier, almost became self-aware, then remembered @JensenHuang telling us Germans to "just get to work", and immediately started blasting through customer messages... zero introspection!
As a business philosophy, this might actually work.
Honestly, when I would reflect on all the things that I could worry about, from European health data compliance to an AI agent going rogue to my mum thinking I lost my mind chasing dreams... I'd get nothing done.
While I think a great life with happy relationships requires a lot of introspection, building a company might not.
Pick a problem you care about, start selling a solution, start building the solution.
The business world is getting re-assembled right now. If you are standing on the sideline wondering what it'll look look in 10 years...
Just get to work!
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