00:04Garmin watches are really easy to use for people who just want to set them up and go. But I
00:08don't
00:08think many people are using the full power of their watches. It's no secret to regular viewers
00:13on this channel that I love my Garmin watches and they're my daily driver. As somebody that reviews
00:18smartwatches in general and Garmin watches in particular for a living, I've been digging into
00:22the settings of my smartwatches for many years. These are my top five Garmin Connect features
00:27that Garmin users should be using, whether you've got a little Garmin Vivoactive 6 or a full throttle
00:33Garmin Fenix 8 Pro. And check out the links below to find my guide to the best Garmin watches along
00:39with where to buy every watch mentioned in this video. If you're running, hiking or cycling,
00:47unless you're doing an out and back route, it's helpful to know exactly how far you're going and
00:52how to create a circular route that's the exact distance you need. This is where course creation
00:57comes in. By creating a course in the Garmin Connect app and exporting it to your watch,
01:02you can follow the breadcrumb trail right in Garmin's workout app on watch,
01:06and it'll even reroute you if you go off course. I used this feature a lot during marathon training,
01:11when I was planning long runs around London ahead of time. On my Garmin Epix Pro, I had full colour
01:17maps to show my route on, but even on this Garmin Venue 4, I can see the route as a
01:21breadcrumb trail
01:22triangulated with my location, so I can still follow it despite the fact it doesn't have full colour maps.
01:27To create a course, here's what you do. In the training and planning section, go to courses,
01:33create a course, select your discipline, then choose whether you want a custom route,
01:37or you want to let Garmin create one for you. Let's choose automatic for now. Pick a distance
01:43and a direction, and Garmin Connect will create your route automatically.
01:49Gear tracking is not a feature I see talked about often in Garmin's marketing materials,
01:53or even among fellow Garmin users online. The gear tab shows subcategories for running shoes,
01:59bikes, and other items. It allows you to input a brand and a model, a maximum distance before you
02:04get a notification about the gear needing to be retired, and the categories of exercise the gear
02:09will automatically be added too. For runners, the foam in running shoes wears down after around 300
02:14to 500 miles depending on your shoe, and that doesn't just mean a loss of speed and comfort.
02:19Old, worn out running shoes affect your gait, putting you at risk of Achilles tendonitis
02:24after miles and miles of microtraumas. I've been running with my old Altras for a while now,
02:29and I haven't been tracking the total mileage. To be honest, I wouldn't even be able to give you a
02:34proper estimation. The gear tracking feature is both a cool way to see how far your trusty
02:39shoes or bike has come, and a way to let you know when it's time to retire your gear.
02:43Under the More tab in Garmin Connect, tap Gear, and then Add. You'll be able to choose the type of
02:49gear, give it a name, date it from first use, and set a max distance. You can also switch between
02:54multiple pieces of gear before starting a workout. Got your course? Got your gear? Now it's time to set
03:03yourself a target speed, whether that's to slow yourself down for some Zone 2 training, or push yourself to
03:08pick up the pace. Garmin's PacePro is its virtual pacing software. Virtual pacers are tools that can
03:14keep you on track during a run or cycle. If you're aiming to run each kilometer in five minutes,
03:20virtual pacer tools can send you an alert if you slow down or run too fast. However, Garmin Connect's
03:25PacePro can also create strategies to help you train for specific distances, and it takes course factors
03:31like elevation into account. This is ideal if you've got a Garmin 4Runner watch and you're pushing for
03:36marathon pace. Simply create the course in Garmin Connect and access PacePro through the Training
03:40and Planning tab, then PacePro Racing Strategies. Choose a course or a distance, but the course is
03:46better because it also takes elevation into account by delineating when you should go slow and when to
03:51go fast. And the app will create a PacePro strategy, which you can then use in the running
03:55workout mode when that course is selected. I reached out to Garmin about virtual paces, and they said,
04:00it knows that when you're hitting that 5% gradient on a steep hill, you don't want to be doing
04:05430
04:05per kilometer. You want to rein it into 530 and keep your heart rate down. The device can plan all
04:11of
04:11this out for you. Of course, it's not all about big distances. Sometimes it's all about the gains.
04:20Building a plan in Garmin Connect means being prepared for when you hit a gym. I've been finding
04:25strength training modes increasingly useful as I've been getting back into the gym. With rest timers in
04:29particular, useful for helping me lock in between sets and keeping my workouts brisk and completed
04:35all in around 45 minutes. To get started with this, go to workouts and then either find a workout,
04:41choosing from Garmin's extensive library, or create a workout. You can choose to warm up with cardio for
04:46a specific time period, as I have, then schedule exercises and rest periods. You can create loops by
04:51using the sets button, as you can see here, and supersets by dragging and dropping different exercises. It
04:57does have its limitations. I've never used any smartwatch that's a totally reliable rep counter,
05:03because you're moving so many different parts of your body, not just your arm. Also, the public gyms
05:07that most of us will be using often has somebody on a machine or station that we want, so it's
05:12not
05:12always available to use. I always end my sets on a lap button press, not a rep count, and adjust
05:18my reps
05:19manually after the set is finished. I also always follow the same format in my strength workouts. One big
05:25compound move, followed by four other exercises working the same basic muscle group. So even if,
05:30once I've done my deadlifts, the lat pulldown machine isn't available, I can go do the bent over
05:35row instead, and come back to the pulldown when it's free. While it will read incorrectly on the
05:40watch in the moment, I've still got my rest timer, and I can adjust the weights and sets and things
05:45after the fact in the Garmin Connect app, if I can ever be bothered to do so.
05:51Who doesn't love a nap? I know I definitely made it my 2026 resolution to do more napping whenever I
05:58can. Garmin's neat nap detection feature, once downloaded onto your watch by adding it onto your
06:03widget stack, offers you guidance on how your nap affected your recovery and body battery, and allows
06:08you to manually start a nap. This will not only set the watch to sleep mode, but also set a
06:13nap timer
06:14and wake you up at a time of your choosing. It's a great little feature, and as putting your phone
06:19in another room is so conducive to better sleep, having a dedicated nap functionality on the Garmin
06:25watch is a fun little feature we should probably all be using a little bit more. In fact, I should
06:30probably end the video here, as if I don't nap soon, I'll probably get cranky. What Garmin features do
06:35you use on a regular basis? Let us know in the comments below. Remember to check out my Garmin
06:40watch guide in the links, and we'll see you next time on techradar.com
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