Garmin update could point the way for better strength training with the Apple Watch
A few weeks ago, Garmin upgraded the "Strength" activity on its Fenix 5 and Forerunner 935 watches with support for counting reps and weights -- something Apple would do well to mimic, if just partly, in a future update to the Apple Watch.
Last month's watchOS 4 upgrade included a "Strength Training" icon and label, but didn't make any fundamental improvements to the barebones tracking we complained about in a recent opinion piece.
Under the new Garmin system, users start a "Strength" activity as normal, but are immediately greeted by a rep and set time counter. Hitting a particular button starts and stops sets instead of the entire activity, with a rest counter in between. Users can still flip through multiple screens to see information like heart rate zones.
Much like the Atlas Wristband, Garmin's technology attempts to detect the exercise you're doing and count the number of reps automatically. If you want, you can both edit reps and add weight to an exercise, whether on-device immediately after a set, or later on using the Garmin Connect iPhone app.
The technology is definitely flawed. It regularly miscounts reps and misidentifies exercises -- not everything is a bench press or lateral raise, Garmin -- which means you'll be doing a lot of editing post-workout if you want to maintain accuracy. There also seems to be no long-term trend analysis that isn't cardio-focused, and for obvious reasons there are some exercises it just won't track automatically, like a leg press.
Still, simply counting sets and rest times would be an improvement in watchOS, and not terribly difficult to implement. The linear start/stop flow of Garmin's on-device interface makes things simple to process, too.
Apple might want to hold off on automatic rep tracking, but it's not inconceivable that the Activity app for the iPhone could be upgraded with options for manually adding names, reps, and weights -- or, in an ideal scenario, graphs for trends and individual workouts. Any of this would be useful for weightlifters, since it's easy to lose track of progress without writing stats down.
Last month's watchOS 4 upgrade included a "Strength Training" icon and label, but didn't make any fundamental improvements to the barebones tracking we complained about in a recent opinion piece.
Under the new Garmin system, users start a "Strength" activity as normal, but are immediately greeted by a rep and set time counter. Hitting a particular button starts and stops sets instead of the entire activity, with a rest counter in between. Users can still flip through multiple screens to see information like heart rate zones.
Much like the Atlas Wristband, Garmin's technology attempts to detect the exercise you're doing and count the number of reps automatically. If you want, you can both edit reps and add weight to an exercise, whether on-device immediately after a set, or later on using the Garmin Connect iPhone app.
The technology is definitely flawed. It regularly miscounts reps and misidentifies exercises -- not everything is a bench press or lateral raise, Garmin -- which means you'll be doing a lot of editing post-workout if you want to maintain accuracy. There also seems to be no long-term trend analysis that isn't cardio-focused, and for obvious reasons there are some exercises it just won't track automatically, like a leg press.
Still, simply counting sets and rest times would be an improvement in watchOS, and not terribly difficult to implement. The linear start/stop flow of Garmin's on-device interface makes things simple to process, too.
Apple might want to hold off on automatic rep tracking, but it's not inconceivable that the Activity app for the iPhone could be upgraded with options for manually adding names, reps, and weights -- or, in an ideal scenario, graphs for trends and individual workouts. Any of this would be useful for weightlifters, since it's easy to lose track of progress without writing stats down.
Comments
1) Option for App to announce/display first exercise ("Bench Press-5 reps 180lbs")
2) User announces exercise "Bench press 150 lbs," and then counts aloud or announces at end how many reps completed.
3) App or user announces next exercise- and so on.
This way you have the app letting you know what is next exercises you should be doing, and then recording what you actually complete, and in the end recording everything in the app for you.
I have this feature on the Vivoactive 3 and all of the criticisms in the article are accurate.
But it is a handy little app and if you use it in conjunction with a "workout" you built on Garmin Connect (web or mobile) then a lot of the problems mentioned so far in the comments are solved. If you build a workout the proper exercise names will already be in place along with the weights and you can manually edit any incorrect rep counts during your rest periods.
I don't know how practical that would be in a gym setting. A bunch of people talking to themselves would be more annoying and distracting than the awful DBM blasting through the speakers.
Its a gimmick. And garmin is wise to find one because no one wants a 600$ Fitness watch the size of a clock. The Fenix is great but no one wants one.
1) Download “Strong”
2) pay the premium for its features
3) do your cardio.
4) Stop worrying about your steps,
5) program ur reps BEFORE u get to the gym - it’s quick and smarter than a sensor
6) while at the gym let the program u wrote in ur phone run the show vis a vie the watch and it’s simple UI
7) leave the Phone in your locker and lift with the watch signed into the same WiFi as the phone to negate the need for Series 3 LTE andbu get all texts and data flow the same freed from the phone
8) lift hands free
9) play Legend of Zelda on the switch while running because you can