LIVE 2-way sync workouts (Hevy style)

mavproductions said:

Is there still no plans on integrating such features?

I think there are, since Garmin recently acquired Training Peaks, which already integrated the 2 ways syncing before that, so we can expect it will be integrated even tighter in future.

Seems like a stretch and not definitive. 

Kind of a lame use of ammo here but Hevy has been asked by the community for quite some time.

It really is the best option at the moment, and to be honest, going between watch/phone during sets isn't as much of a cyborg experience as you get use to using it.

I hope you're right though trux and Garmin is at least not oblivious to the fact of how much this would bring to their platform. Would be nice to see some official messaging on this kind of feature and a roadmap on when they plan to add it in.

Since Garmin acquired Training Peaks, I do not think they will integrate a two way sync with any other 3rd party service of a competitor, such as Hevy. They would be shooting themselves into the leg.

 trux of course! I mean more so it would be great to see the gym routine flow live on both watch and smartphone with Training Peaks, since people at the gym tend to have their phone/tablet and watch on them at times, especially since the real-estate of a watch screen is generally(?) not enough for modifying the routine - for the gym go-ers such as myself that don't always have their workout planned and may do spontaneous workouts during their gym visit. :)

I do not quite understand what prevents you from doing so already now. Can't you simply start and follow the workout with Hevy on the phone or tablet, while recording a Free Strength activity on the watch?

I'm failing to properly explain this. I'm also not finding any good reviews online of gym vloggers reviewing it with live sync on the go (probably because with most watches it's hard to screen capture/save the video for later): 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3XrvFnjtV4
3:24 - Mobile UI
9:23 - Watch UI



Not only does Hevy allow you to sync routines, but basically when I used it, the flow went like this:
> Enter the main gym
> Open up Hevy on watch and phone in no order (or open it on either device later when a moment comes that one device doesn't feel convenient - such as add/removing sets or bulk exercises)
          > Provided you did your Initial setup of Hevy when you first got it on watchOS(Apple) or wearOS(Android), it will auto-pair the phone+watch hassle-free and you will instantly snap to where you are in the workout as the UI animates a scroll to the exercise the the device already active is at.
> Keep working out with both devices now active.
> End workout on either device and the other device will instantly end workout as well with the same elapsed time and sync to Strava and use Strava's Strength workout UI

Watch excels at:
- Quickly viewing rest times
- Hitting the checkmark on sets - which then shows the rest timer on both devices (live in notifications on phone if you are scrolling through emails, changing music, etc)
- Quickly scroll adjusting minor changes in your repetitions of sets
- Reviewing the rest of the workout before those exercises come/etc

Phone excels at:
- Re-ordering exercises in the active routine if you need to switch something (say if the bench press area, stairmaster,etc is occupied by another gym go-er)
- Going to settings and adjusting things like "default rest timer duration"
- Incorporating Super-sets, Drop-sets, and Failure-sets
- Quickly having the math done inside the app for weights/distances that are in a unit of measurement you aren't familiar with, while Hevy would default to units of your choice by default, allowing quick conversions for social posts and your own data analysis for reviewing how far you come from previous exercises
- Not only seeing the workout technique GIF animation, but having a clear step-by-step write-up in the app on achieving best-effort technique on a non-familiar exercise where there might be nuance in body positioning
- Don't know the name of a machine/exercise, but you want to spontaneously try since it aligns with the rest of your workout? Scroll through your phone, filtering by muscle groups much quicker than on the watch - find the workout, then it instantly appears in your active workout on the watch to continue checking off and put the phone away
- Bulk adjusting times of treadmill(interval-reps)/cycling/ski-erg/rowing) when you forget to hit pause/play (heaven forbid you want accurate times/reps but you socialize!)


Kicking myself in the butt for not doing a Hevy review before my wearOS watch died recently, but I can say from 2 years of usage, I loved it, and could see many users finding it to be the most intuitive fitness tech available for long-term fitness tracking, goals, and motivating you when the app suddenly flashes that you just achieved a goal, without having to think to hard of your past workouts and their milestones.

I love strength training in my gym with the HEVY WearOS app on my Pixel Watch 3. It is way better than the app on my Garmin.  Nonetheless Garmin works, it is clunky and finicky.  Building a structured workouts on Garmin Connect is not as easy to do either.  I use both.

However, I'd pay good money, to not support making it easier for dudes to be using their phones during their sets.  My gym is about 80/20 men to women.  The men are all ages from high schoolers up to us old dudes.  If there is a man, under 50, in the gym, he is sitting on a machine scrolling for five minutes, then doing one minute of lifting. 

Some good rules might by 'no phones' or 'if you look at your phone you must be standing up' or 'if you want to sit and scroll for five minutes you have to walk 20' over to the soft comfy seats up by the front entrance.' I realize I am 100% fighting a losing battle, but I don't want to make using the phone while lifting easier or better.

Set up your workout on your Garmin (or watch)  leave your phone in your bag, and get busy.   Both Garmin and HEVY let you adjust your workout on your watch, just HEVY is a lot more polished and easier to use.

I 100% agree with you with phone use in gym + the distractions it may carry.

That said - what's the difference between using your phone's music player (which might be also tracking your music plays to something like Last.FM) during your workout, checking your emails between rest (and keeping productive in your busy life), vs people hanging around the bench press socializing, taking up the workout machine, and then me having to reorder my hevy workout for that reason :P

Hevy never held me up or others up at the gym. It's the same as the grocery store checkout. Some people without the tech muscle memory, just need more repetitions with the app, and then you look less like a cyborg, and it actually becomes meaningful/accurate longterm exercise tracking.

Edit: Some people also don't go to the gym with direction, and need other sources of inspiration. Hevy assists with that with it's large workout library + explanations. Some people also don't do "gym" as their main activity, and may use it as a source of cross-training, or just their winter season activity vs skiing or something else. Having the phone + watchOS tethered makes this experience feel MUCH more intuitive.

We could have a beer and talk about this for hours. But let me respond.

The shoulder press machine is a piece of equipment for developing strength and health, usually within a private place whose whole mission is to promote well-being, strength, health, etc.  In the middle of gym hours, a 35 year old dude sitting on the shoulder press machine looking at his phone for five minutes is going against the mission of that piece of equipment and that facility. 

The rest of the world is public and people are people doing their people things.

I understand that there are people with intentions that contradict the meaning of places/venues. "They ruin it for everyone else"

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There are also some tech-savvy 25-45-some year olds that hevy is a quick check box app, where it requires minor tweaks where the watchface/tactile buttons/touchscreen is more friction than it's worth - whereas the phone screen is just simply applying UI finesse in-parity to the watch's screen.

Hevy is a platform that can be social (or private), and I actually have 1 WHOLE non-tech savvy family member(lol) following to see how I'm doing and to keep up with my gym routines, and offer advice.

I could be bias, but I believe watch-only interfaces have too many barriers for otherwise inquisitive gym goers that appreciate a positive nudge for motivation and/or appreciate the long term data of their journey - whatever their main goal is.