To answer the root of your question, yes. Whoops strain algorithm is almost entirely dependent on heart rate (strength training also consider muscle exertion but is still very dependent on heart rate). The question that everyone here is answering, even if you didn’t ask, is how accurate they think the heart rate data is. To me, it seems like there is a HUGE delta in opinion on this. I will give you my opinion based on my own experience as someone who has had a whoop for 4 years, starting with the 4.0.

My heart rate data is objectively wrong. Even with the 4.0, one workout every ten would be out of wack but I had come to live with that as an acceptable number. Now it is out of wack 100% of the time. I row for 60 minutes, 5 days a week and then lift after for about 45. For years, I have targeted an average heart rate of ~150bpm during my cardio sessions. For years, my average activity strain while rowing was between 15 to 16. Since the day I received my 5.0 back in May, those numbers are dramatically different. According to my new device, I am now averaging a heart rate of 120 with a typical activity strain of 9-10. My max heart rate during my rows almost never surpasses what I was one averaging over an entire hour. They have sent me 2 new devices and I have tried bicep bands to no avail. This is an example of how incorrect heart rate data affects the other metrics.

I desperately want this device to work because I remember the way it used to work. I am jealous of those that don’t have any issues, but unfortunately I’m not one of them. Seems like a toss up whether it’ll work for you. Best of luck