How does Garmin coach work?
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In this guide, we will talk about How does Garmin coach work, how you can load a plan to your Garmin watch, the watches compatible with Garmin Coach, what happens if you miss or skip a workout, what is the Garmin Coach confident score and some additional things to consider about Garmin Coach.
How does Garmin coach work?
If you are wondering how Garmin Coachworks, here we have an answer for you. The Garmin Coach is a free feature included within the Garmin Connect. It can help you train for a run or race if you have locked the dates into your calendar. Once you have picked a plan, you will see workouts based on your abilities to make sure you can complete your run or race.
As indicated by Garmin Support, “Garmin Coach allows you to send an adaptive training plan to a compatible Garmin watch. With Garmin Coach, you get to choose your expert running coach and your race goal, then receive guidance with a free training plan that includes dynamic workouts selected for you”.
Moreover, the workouts will sync to your watch and will adjust to get their difficulty to change from harder to easier based on your performance in the plan. Additionally, you can choose from one of many plans, the one that best fits your race goal and you will receive dynamic workouts based on your abilities. If a goal is met early on the training plan or if you skip several workouts, you will see that the training plan repeats, as no adjustment is needed.
Finally, it is also normal to see fewer ‘Long Run’ workouts in the final weeks of a training plan as the Coach’s plan tapers down in order to keep you fresh for your race.
How can I load a plan for my watch?
If you would like to load a plan for your Garmin Watch, remember that Garmin Coach plans can be synced to compatible devices through the Garmin Connect web and the Connect app.
Here are the steps through the Garmin Connect app so you can load a plan:
- Open the Garmin Connect App
- Access the Menu
iOS: Select More in the lower right corner
Android: Select Menu icon (3 lines)in the upper left corner
- Select Training
- Select Training Plans
- Selecta Garmin Coach plan
- Select Set Up Plan and follow the on-screen prompts
- Once the plan is set up, Sync your device with Garmin Connect App
For the steps on how to do it through the website, click here.
Watches that are compatible with Garmin Coach
Here is a list from Garmin Support compatible devices with Garmin Coach:
- D2 Air
- Descent MK1
- Fenix 5 series
- Fenix 5 Plus series
- Fenix 6 series
- Fenix Chronos
- Forerunner 45 / 45S
- Forerunner 245 series
- Forerunner 645 series
- Forerunner 745
- Forerunner 935
- Forerunner 945
- Instinct series
- Legacy Hero series (Captain Marvel, First Avenger)
- Legacy Saga series (Darth Vader, Rey)
- MARQ series
- Quatix 6
- Tactix Delta
- Venu
- vívoactive 3 series
- vivoactive 4 / 4S
What happens if I miss or skip a workout?
We get it, sometimes it is just not motivating to get up and finish the workout because you may not be feeling well or you may be sick. Whatever the reason may be, you decide to skip or miss a workout in your training plan, future workouts in the plan will automatically adjust to keep you on track for your goal.
However, if you do skip several workouts, you may receive a message or notification asking if you want to pause the training plan and pick it up again later on. But consider that once you have missed or skipped a workout, it can’t be rescheduled since training plans are meant to adapt automatically.
If you know you won’t be able to complete your next scheduled training or workout, you are able to reschedule it in Garmin Connect by selecting the next workout scheduled on the training plan and then select the three dots to reschedule. You will be prompted to confirm that you want to reschedule and then select the phone icon to send this change to your device.
Who are the Garmin Coches?
The Garmin Coach experts are Jeff Galloway, who is an Olympian and best-selling author, Amy Parkerson-Mitchell, who is a physical therapist and running expert and Greg McMillan, a physiologist and online running coach.
Moreover, the Garmin Coach supports Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Eglish, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese and several other languages.
Garmin Coach Confidence Score
This score is based on your plan performance to date as it relates to your goals. Confidence will be expressed as a percentage that will represent how confident you will be meeting your race goal based on your current performance. The best scores are located between purple and green.
- Purple means extremely confident (90% and above). This means you are exceeding the plan expectations and maybe needing a more challenging goal.
- Green means confident (51-89%). This means you are right on track for meeting your goal. Keep the good work.
- Orange means somewhat confident (11-50%). This means you are close to falling behind pace.
- Red means you are not confident (10% and below). This means you are struggling with your current plan.
Garmin Coach Plans
You can choose one of the following plans:
- 5K: this will be the shortest distance available on Garmin Coach. Just like the other plans, the way this presents will depend on how many days you are able to train. This means you could be working out 3-4 times a week across 12 weeks, as an example.
- 10K: you could have completed the 5K plan and you may think it is time to step up. This plan starts to mix things up with the training and looks to add elements to improve endurance and speed.
- Half Marathon: this plan can range between 12-16 weeks depending on the plan you choose to go with and how much free time you have to train each week. Once you complete that benchmark run, you can expect to see a lot of similar runs that you would get on the 5k plan.
Why is this blog about How does Garmin coach work important?
As we have discussed how Garmin coach works, we must say that is a free feature included within the Garmin Connect. It can help you train for a run or race if you have locked the dates into your calendar. Once you have picked a plan, you will see workouts based on your abilities to make sure you can complete your run or race. It can be quite motivating as you reach your race goals.
Moreover, you can see your confidence level reflected in categories as we have mentioned. For instance, purple means extremely confident, green means confident and so on. You can choose one of the Garmin coaches available and also choose one of the Garmin plans according to your needs.
Please feel free to leave any comments or thoughts about the content of this article!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about How does Garmin coach work
Is Garmin coach any good?
The Garmin coach can be very good and motivating at times and ruthless when you don’t perform well or skip a workout. It is meant to get you out of your bed and moving, so every time you perform well during a workout, the confidence level increases and when you don’t the confidence level drops.
How do I use the Garmin coach?
To use the Garmin coach through the Garmin Connect Web, you need to sign in to Garmin Connect. Select Training from the Menu Panel, select Training plans and then Garmin Coach plan. Finally, select ‘Set Up Plan’ and follow the on-screen prompts. Once the plan is set up, Sync your device using Garmin Express.
How does Garmin truly work?
TrueUp lets you switch between compatible devices* and keeps your data in sync. Garmin Connect acts as a messenger between your devices, making sure you get the most up-to-date readings.
Do you have to pay for Garmin coach?
You don’t have to pay for Garmin Coach since it is a free feature that is included in the Garmin Connect app. It helps you train for a run or a race you’ve got locked into the calendar. Once you pick a plan, you will be delivered with workouts depending on your running ability to make sure you can complete that run or race.
Which Garmin should I buy?
The Garmin you should buy depends on what you are looking for but here is a list of the best Garmin Smartwatches of 2020:
Best Overall: Garmin Vivoactive 4.
Best Value: Garmin Vivoactive 3.
Best Hybrid: Garmin Vivomove HR.
Best Lifestyle Watch: Garmin Venu Sq.
Best for Beginners: Garmin Forerunner 45.
Best for Runners: Garmin Forerunner 945.
Best for Adventurers: Garmin Fenix 6.
Best Upgrade Pick: Garmin Forerunner 745.
References
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