Your ZONAL Score
The ZONAL Score is the big number in the orb at the top of Today. It answers one question: how ready are you to train hard this morning? It isn't a WHOOP number, but it's built from three that are.
What goes into it
| Part | Share | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Recovery | 50% | WHOOP's recovery score this morning |
| Sleep | 30% | WHOOP's sleep performance for last night's main sleep (naps don't count) |
| Load | 20% | Your strain over the last 7 finished days against your average over the last 28 |
The three boxes under the call show each part: Sleep, Recovery and Load. Tap one to see its trend.
How load works
Load is shown as a ratio, like 1.12×. 1.0× is a normal week for you. - At 1.0× or lighter, load counts in full. A lighter week never lowers your score, because it leaves you fresher. - Above 1.0×, the load part falls, and reaches zero at 1.5×. Sudden jumps in training are when illness and injury risk climb. - From 1.3× the bar turns orange. - While you're new, the Load box says Learning until there are enough finished days to compare with your usual.
Today's unfinished day is never counted. If a part is missing, the other two share its weight.
What the colors mean
The orb's color is the morning call, so the orb, the call and the chips always agree: - Green (Go) when your score is at or above your go line and HRV and resting heart rate are both normal. - Red (Swap) only when your body gives a reason: WHOOP recovery is red (under 34%), HRV is low and resting heart rate is high on the same morning, or you're marked sick and not back to baseline yet. - Yellow (Caution) for everything else. That includes a score under your swap line when none of those reasons apply. The chip then says Score under your swap line.
ZONAL works out your go and swap lines each morning from your last 120 healthy days: go is your typical morning and the swap line marks your bottom 10%. It needs 30 of those days first; until then it uses standard lines (go at 67, swap line at 34). Because load usually scores full marks, the ZONAL Score tends to sit above your recovery. That's why ZONAL doesn't use WHOOP's recovery colors for it.
Good to know. Tap the orb to see your ZONAL Score over time.
Questions
Why is my ZONAL Score higher than my WHOOP recovery?
Load scores 100 in a normal or lighter week, and sleep performance is often high too. Blended together, they usually lift the score above recovery alone.
My recovery is green. Why is the orb yellow?
Green recovery is only half the score. Sleep and training load count too, and HRV or resting heart rate can be off on a green morning. The chips under the call show the reason: an orange dot marks what's off, like HRV −15% or Score 66-78.
My score is under my swap line. Why isn't the orb red?
A low score alone means Caution. Red needs a reason in your body: red recovery, HRV low and resting heart rate high together, or being sick.
Can I change the weights?
Yes. Go to More, Settings, Advanced settings, Score weights. You can also turn off personal lines under Morning call to use fixed lines.
Does the score change during the day?
No. It's a morning score. It updates when WHOOP scores a new morning.