Stop Being a Slave to your Fitness Trackers

A trend I am seeing now more than ever—and one that drives me absolutely insane—is men becoming slaves to their WHOOP bands, Oura Rings, Apple Watches, and every other shiny sleep tracker. These tools were built to support your training, not replace your brain. Yet here we are: guys skipping workouts because their recovery score is “yellow” or panicking because their sleep score dipped by 12 points. Meanwhile, guys everywhere are rolling out of bed on three sloppy hours of sleep and last night’s cold sodas, then hammering out a 12-hour manual labor day like it’s nothing. But you can’t train because your wearable said you’re “not optimal”?

Let me come correct with real-world experience and actual data.

Wearables are estimates, not medical devices. Their sleep-stage detection and strain metrics rely on algorithms that routinely drift from gold-standard measurements (de Zambotti et al., 2019; Miller et al., 2022). Even the best hardware can misclassify sleep, overestimate stress, and trigger unnecessary anxiety. If that causes you to avoid training, the wearable isn’t the problem—you are.

What Actually Matters

1. Your Resting Heart Rate

A consistently low resting heart rate is one of the strongest markers of cardiovascular health and lower all-cause mortality (Zhang et al., 2016). Trends over weeks, not one morning, are what matter.

2. The Amount of Sleep You Get

The total hours you sleep—not your REM percentage—is the major driver of performance, immune function, and hormone regulation (Watson et al., 2015; Leproult & Van Cauter, 2011).

If you slept 7–9 hours and feel fine, the “poor sleep” notification doesn’t mean anything.

3. Your Habits, Not Your Gadget

Sleep hygiene—cool room, consistent bedtime, morning light exposure, limiting alcohol—outperforms any wearable in improving sleep quality (Chattu et al., 2018).

4. Consistent Training Solves Most Problems

This is the part men need to hear:

You should be training 2–3 days of strength work per week and accumulating 90–120 minutes of cardio (moderate-to-vigorous intensity) per week. This isn’t my opinion—this is the gold standard in the research.

• The ACSM and WHO guidelines recommend at least 2 days/week of strength training for all major muscle groups due to its impact on muscle mass, bone density, metabolic health, and longevity (Garber et al., 2011; WHO, 2020).

• They also recommend 150 minutes of moderate-intensity OR 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic training per week—which is right in the 90–120 minute range for most men who prefer harder sessions (Garber et al., 2011).

Strength + conditioning done consistently improves HRV, lowers resting HR, improves sleep quality, and creates a more robust, antifragile physiology (Kraemer et al., 2002).

And yes—you still train even when you don’t feel “perfectly recovered.”

How I Coach My Men Through Fatigue

Here’s my rule with 95% of the guys I coach:

If you feel tired, go to the gym and do your warm-up.

• If you finish the warm-up and feel basically fine? You train.

• If you wake up the next day and still feel wiped-out? We take a couple days off.

Simple. Effective. Human.

The only time we rest completely off-schedule is when someone is actually sick—because illness increases systemic inflammation and alters training response (Walsh, 2018).

A yellow recovery score does not.

Stop Being So Damn Fragile

If a “34% recovery score” convinces you to skip your workout, you’re not improving your recovery—you’re becoming fragile.

Your ancestors built civilizations without knowing their HRV.

Train hard. Sleep enough. Build consistent habits.

Use the wearable as a tool, not a crutch.

If you want to start managing your health and training better, reach out to Dr. Taylor directly at jackson@drjacksontaylor.com.

The Dear Brothers Podcast — Weekly conversations on strength, faith, and the pursuit of better manhood. Available on all major platforms.

Proud Ambassador for The Vintage Gentlemen — Makers of timeless gear for the modern man. From handcrafted leather goods to whiskey decanters, they embody craftsmanship and character.

Use code DRJACKSON20 for 20% off your order at thevintagegentlemen.com.

Follow Along — Instagram: @drjacksontaylor

Books & Courses — For more ebooks & courses, please join The Brotherhood.

References:

• Chattu, V. K. et al. (2018). Sleep hygiene and health. Nat Sci Sleep.

• de Zambotti, M. et al. (2019). Wearable sleep tech accuracy. J Clin Sleep Med.

• Garber, C. E. et al. (2011). ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality. Med Sci Sports Exerc.

• Kraemer, W. J. et al. (2002). Resistance training adaptations. Sports Med.

• Leproult, R. & Van Cauter, E. (2011). Sleep loss and endocrine function. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol.

• Miller, D. J. et al. (2022). Accuracy of consumer sleep trackers. Sleep.

• Walsh, N. P. (2018). Exercise, immunity, and illness risk. Eur J Sport Sci.

• Watson, N. F. et al. (2015). Sleep duration recommendations. Sleep.

• WHO. (2020). Guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behavior.

• Zhang, D. et al. (2016). Resting HR and mortality. CMAJ.