How To Use Garmin Watch: Get The Most Out Of Your Fitness Tracker 2023

If you’re looking for guidance on how to use Garmin watch, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll show you how to take full advantage of all the features and functions your Garmin watch offers.

Whether you’re a first-time user or a seasoned pro, we’ll ensure you get the most out of your device.

1. Set Up Your Sports Tracking

Although Garmin’s today have many extra features, the core of their Garmins is still sports trackers. This feature is simple to use right out of the box. Just hit start, select your sport and wait for GPS. You can improve your user experience by setting up data screens that show you the statistics you need.

Runners have many options, including distance, pace and heart rate. This can be done in the running menu. It would help if you also toggled auto lap on/off according to your preference.

2. Select A Training Plan

Did you receive a Christmas running watch to help you prepare for your first major event? You can create a training plan based on your current abilities and target distance.

Then, head to Garmin Coach in the Connect app. There are currently plans for half-marathon, 5K, and 10K races. All the workouts have been set up so that your watch can remind you when and what type of run to do.

Our complete guide to marathon training will help you plan your marathon. There are plans to suit all levels.

3. Mix It Up With Music

Garmin watches offer music playback in many cases, including the Forerunner 245 running watch, Vivoactive 4 smartwatches and Venu 2, and the Fenix 6 Pro Forerunner 945 multisport watches.

You can connect your watch to your computer to sync your music tracks or playlists. Or, you can link it up with a premium streaming account for wireless music sync. Garmin’s music watches are compatible with Spotify, iHeartRadio and Deezer.

4. Do A Workout

Garmin’s workout creator is simple to use. You can link your session to your watch to follow it from your wrist. The creator is mysteriously hidden at Garmin Connect. You can access it by clicking More, then Training.

There are many ways to create workouts that cater to different sports. You can run sessions based on distance, time or cadence. Some watches can even sync with pre-made Pilates, Yoga, and Strength workouts. On-screen animations will show you how to make each move.

You can create a simple interval training session by setting it up in the options menu. The best Garmin watches can now suggest workouts based on your fitness level and previous Training.

5. Map A Route

You will also find Courses in the Garmin Connect App’s Training section. Here you can create routes and sync them to your watch to guide you when running, cycling, or hiking. If you plan to do long activities, it is easier to create routes online at Garmin Connect.

Garmin watches in the mid-range will display a simple breadcrumb route track. This is a simple line and pointer that can be used to help you stay on track. You can also fire up a back-to-start pointer for outdoor activities if you have lost your way.

Forerunner 945, Fenix 6 Pro, and Fenix 6 Pro models offer full-color maps on the wrist. This makes it easy for users to plan routes and allows them to create new routes. You can use the watch to create three routes based on popular paths.

6. Give PacePro A Go

This feature is available on many watches, including the Forerunner 55 and the Fenix 6 Pro ranges, Forerunner 945, Forerunner 245 and Forerunner 245. It could be the key for runners who want to set a new PB.

You can set up a PacePro race plan and get split-by split (mile) time targets. These time targets are based on your overall goal and the elevation of each split. The plan can be set up to pace you for a negative break. This will allow you to run faster in the second part of the race.

It’s the best way to beat your personal best. This smart pace band is excellent for keeping your watch steady if you don’t want to go too fast during races.

First, you need to create the course for your event. This can be done by either mapping it in Garmin’s course designer or searching online for the route on Strava. Then, download a GPX file from Strava and upload it to Garmin. Once the course is synced, you can create your PacePro plan on the Connect website, Connect app, or on your watch.

7. Select A Watch face

Garmins may not offer as much customization of your watch faces as the Apple Watch, but they provide some options. You can adjust your watch face by going to the main menu.

This will allow you to display various fitness stats and the sunrise/sunset times and temperature. If Garmin’s presets don’t work for you, ConnectIQ has more options.

8. Choose Some Widgets

To access your widgets, scroll up and down on your watch. These include key information such as the weather, your activity for that day, and your training load. To add or remove widgets, use the main menu.

9. Get Emergency Assistance Just In Case

This is the one feature you should have ready for Christmas morning and never need to worry about. Garmin’s Incident Detection function can alert a contact if you fall while outdoors. These alerts can be sent manually by pressing the backlight button.

10. Link Garmin Connect To Your Strava Account

Garmin Connect will automatically sync your Garmin watch’s activities to the Garmin Connect app. This allows you to view all your stats in detail. Many cyclists and runners will have a Strava account, which will enable them to post their activities for others to comment on and share with them.

To automatically upload Garmin Connect activity to your Strava account, you can link it with the Garmin Connect app. You can link the Garmin Connect app to your Strava account by clicking More, then Connected Apps. Follow the easy instructions for linking the accounts.

11. How To Use LiveTrack

LiveTrack is an excellent feature for anyone who plans to do a solo ride or run and wants to have access to your location so that they can keep an eye on you. This feature allows others to see your real-time activity. This information could include your current location, distance, and heart rate. It can be viewed online and accessible through a link shared via email or Twitter.

LiveTrack can only work if the person performing the activity has a compatible Garmin device paired with Garmin Connect on the phone with a cellular connection.

You will need to search for Safety & Tracking in the Connect app and select ‘LiveTrack. You will need to choose the device you wish to connect, name the session and decide how to share the LiveTrack link. You can start LiveTrack by clicking on ‘Start LiveTrack.

To ensure that you share accurate location information with others, it is good to wait until your device has a strong GPS signal.

12. How To View Garmin Badges

People love virtual badges. It’s fun to reflect on milestones and achievements and then go after more. These badges can also be earned through running, steps, and even sleeping.

Tap your profile picture in Connect and then go to the activity. You can view badges earned and those that are still available for unlocking. We have compiled a list of the top Garmin Connect Badges that you can buy.

13. Connect IQ Allows You To Upgrade Your Garmin

Garmin Connect IQ allows developers to create custom apps and watch faces to add more functionality to a range of compatible Garmin devices like the Fenix and Forerunner 945.

Connect IQ’s app store offers a variety of Garmin-made apps and developer-uploaded applications. These include smarter stopwatches and watch faces that show more run stats.

13. Find Out Your Sleep Score

Do you want to take a holistic approach to your fitness and health? Garmin watches now offer advanced sleep-tracking and a new way to track your sleep score. This new feature can be found on:

Advanced sleep tracking can detect when you fall asleep and when you wake up. It also shows you your sleep stages during the night. This includes light, deep and REM sleep stages.

The key inputs used to identify sleep and stages include heart rate variability, respiration rate and body movement. To better picture your night, you can add oxygen saturation overlays, body movement, and respiration rate to your Garmin Connect sleep charts.

Your sleep score is a number between 0 and 100 that summarises the data to indicate how well you slept. High sleep scores suggest that you are well-prepared to face the next day’s challenges. Your score is also instantly analyzed to determine the factors that have influenced it.

14. Women’s Health Tracking

Garmin Connect allows you to monitor and track your cycles, including irregular periods, menopause transitions, and pregnancy. This app will help you feel more in control over your health. This information can be found under Health Stats, Menstrual Cycle/Pregnancy.

As you track, you’ll notice patterns and trends and can easily share your findings with your doctor if you wish.

After you have set up Garmin Connect, you can view your cycle information on your wrist using the Garmin Connect IQ Store app.

15. Monitoring Of Menstrual Cycles

To determine if your cycle is irregular or regular, you can log your periods and other symptoms, such as mood and physical symptoms.

You’ll also receive guidance on nutrition, fitness, health, and general well-being throughout your menstrual cycles. Garmin Connect will also allow you to view your period and fertility window forecasts.

16. Reminder And Logging Options

As your pregnancy progresses, your symptoms and log needs might change. This is where the variety in logging options can be helpful. This feature provides the following:

There are many categories of logs, such as mood, discharge, pregnancy-specific symptoms, and others.

You can manually track your baby’s movements, including kicks or hiccups.

Ability to manually enter blood glucose levels throughout the day (if diagnosed as gestational diabetes).

You can also create customized reminders that help you remember to hydrate or remind you to do your Kegels.

Weight Gain Goals

To track your weight gain during pregnancy, turn on the Weight Gain Goal option in Women’s Health settings. This will give you a weekly weight range that changes as your pregnancy progresses. These recommendations are based on U.S. national guidelines.

17. Broadcast Your Heart Rate

You can send your heart rate directly from your Garmin watch to your favorite app. This eliminates the need for an additional heart rate sensor. Garmin is one of few companies that allows you to do this.

Garmin has two ways to broadcast heart rate:

• 1) More than ANT+ (for almost all Garmin watches).
• 2) Over Bluetooth Smart (for all newer 2019/2020 Garmin watches).

Bluetooth Smart will make it easier to use a smartphone/tablet/Apple TV/Mac to connect to Bluetooth Smart. However, if you have a computer, it will be much easier to use ANT+. You can also use this on almost all exercise equipment, such as a Peloton bicycle (which accepts Bluetooth Smart HR and ANT+ connections).

18. Spoken Audio Prompts Can Be Enabled

PlayBetter was contacted recently by someone who needed a running watch with audio stats. They couldn’t see their watch face and wanted to know if it could be recommended. We were thrilled to learn that certain Garmin watches allow audio prompts via the Connect mobile app.

Garmin Connect will pair an audio prompt-capable device with the Garmin Connect App to provide audio alerts via the smartphone’s speaker, Bluetooth speaker, or headset.

You can configure alerts for Lap Alerts and Power Alerts (for compatible power meter devices), Navigation Alerts to Edge devices, Pace/Speed Alerts and Heart Rate Alerts.

19. Explore Garmin Explore App

No cell service, No Wi-Fi(r). No problem. Both outdoor enthusiasts and off-the-grid adventurers can use this app. You can download this app to your compatible smartphone and plan, map, and review your next adventure.

Download maps and creates routes to plan your next trip. You can also access Garmin Explore on your computer. Once you have synchronized the data, you can go.

You can review and edit all of your waypoints and tracks in the app’s library. You can select and organize items on this page to create organized collections for future reference.

When you are within the Wi-Fi or cellular range of Garmin Explore, your routes will sync automatically to your Garmin Explore account. This preserves your activity data and cloud storage.

Garmin can track hunting dogs in real-time, saving hunt data and allowing hunters to customize their tracking lines.

If you are curious about how long does Garmin last, read our article to know more.

FAQ

How can you swim with a Garmin Watch?

• Swimming in a pool
• Select START > Pool Swimming from the watch face.
• You can choose your pool size or enter a custom one.
• Choose START.
• Get started swimming. …
• Select LAP if you are resting to create a rest period. …
• After resting, choose LAP to start swimming again and begin a new interval.

How do I get my Garmin watch to start?

Hold the power button down until the watch turns off. To turn the watch off, click on the icon. To turn it on again, press the same button. To repeat the pairing process, return to Garmin Connect.

Can Garmin watch work from a phone?

Garmin watches come with a GPS receiver built-in and doesn’t require you to have your phone record GPS activities.

What functions does a Garmin watch perform?

Garmin watches are tiny computers that attach to your arm and store biometric data. The watch tracks your daily activity and notifies you of any messages sent to your phone.

Is it possible to track someone wearing a Garmin Watch?

How to use LiveTrack for Garmin Connect or Garmin Outdoor Handhelds. The LiveTrack feature is available in the Garmin Connect App for some handhelds. LiveTrack allows Garmin users to share their activity live so that others can follow.

Conclusion

The Garmin watch is that it’s a versatile and intelligent device. It’s great for anyone who spends time outdoors. It’s also easy to use. If you are looking for something that can help you keep track of your activities and offers valuable features, we think you’ll find the Garmin watch an excellent buy. HereOfamily thinks that you’ll like the style and features of this device.

This article is intended to provide helpful information on how to use your Garmin watch and give you an in-depth understanding of its features and functions.