How to log a gym workout on a Garmin watch

There are two ways to track sets, reps and weight from a Garmin watch. One is built in. The other is a watch app from the Connect IQ store. They suit different lifters.

Option 1: the built-in Strength activity

1. On the watch, open the activity list and choose Strength.
2. Start the timer and begin your first set.
3. Press the lap button when the set ends. The watch shows the reps it counted.
4. Correct the reps if needed and enter the weight.
5. Rest, then press the lap button again to start the next set.
6. Save the activity when you finish. It appears in Garmin Connect.

Good for:

• Heart rate and calories for the session.
• A record in Garmin Connect next to your runs and rides.
• No extra app.

Less good for:

• Lifts the wrist does not take part in. The rep counter cannot see them. See Why your Garmin miscounts reps.
• Knowing what to lift. The watch records the set after the fact.
• Entering the weight. You scroll to it after every set.

Option 2: a Connect IQ app that logs each set

A Connect IQ app replaces counting with confirming. The app already knows your routine, so the watch shows the set you are about to do and you confirm what you did.

This is how it works in BulkForged, which is our app:

1. Build or pick a routine on your Android phone.
2. Install the BulkForged watch app from the Connect IQ store and pair it with a code.
3. At the gym, start the routine from the watch.
4. The watch shows the exercise, the target weight and the target reps.
5. After the set, confirm the weight and the reps. That is three presses.
6. The rest timer starts on its own and vibrates when it ends.
7. Finish on the watch. The session syncs to the phone when it is back in range.

Good for:

• Seeing the target before the set, so there is nothing to remember.
• Leg days and machines. Nothing depends on wrist movement.
• Training with the phone in the locker. The watch app runs the whole workout offline.
• Next time. The app raises your targets from the sets you logged.

Less good for:

• Heart rate. A BulkForged lifting session is not a Garmin Connect activity and records none.
• iPhone users. BulkForged is Android only today, with an iPhone waitlist.
• Older or monochrome watches. It needs a colour screen: fēnix 6 and later, epix 2, Enduro, MARQ, tactix, quatix, D2 Mach 1 Pro, and Forerunner 255, 265, 955, 965 and 970.

Other apps take this route too. We compare them in Best strength training apps for Garmin watches.

Which one should you use?

• Pick the built-in activity if heart rate and Garmin Connect matter most to you.
• Pick a Connect IQ app if you want your sets, weights and progress tracked for you.

Related: Using your Garmin watch, Pairing your watch to your account, Starting a workout from your watch, The rest timer on your watch.