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Custom Strength workout: Warm Up requires a specific choice of strength exercise

I am no expert on strength training, but when I warm up for a strength workout, I do not expect that the warm up should consist of strength exercises. I would do gymnastics, stretching, rowing, biking or something else.

However, the custom workout builder in Garmin Connect requires me to pick a strength exercise for the warm up. If I don't pick one, I can't save the activity. The same goes for all other phases in the workout, with the exception of Rest.

So as a workaround, I have to disguise all my warm ups and cool downs as Rest. Which is kind of annoying and can't really be the intention behind the workout builder.

  • You could record the warm up as a separate activity using the Cardio activity, or rowing, indoor cycling, etc. That would be my suggestion for handling this. If you have a multisport capable device you can also create a custom multisport workout joining a cardio activity and a strength training activity, or change sports on the fly, if you have a device that supports that.
  • I think I need to clarify:
    When you create a custom strength workout, the default is a warm-up step, a workout step and a cool down step. Which clearly signals that Garmin's intention is that warm-up and cool down can be part of a strength workout.

    If that is the intention, then it doesn't make sense that you can't really use the warm-up step for warm-up because of the limited choices.

    And yes, you can of course work around that by removing the warm-up step from the default workout. But should that really be needed? Why not make it work as intended instead?
  • It's not glaringly obvious, but if you want a free form Warm-up step then you can actually choose Warm-up as your exercise choice and use Lap Button Press to delimit that step. Not so with Cool down however. I think that's probably because newer generation devices will continue to run the timer after a workout is completed and so essentially you get a mandatory cool down without declaring that as a specific step. Think of the basic workout template that is presented as a guide that is used for all workout types and that you might not want all of those steps included. It's like creating an interval workout on your watch - there is going to be a Warm-up and Cool down phase included and you have to decide whether to turn it On/Off. Same here. If you're setting up a strength training workout on a newer device then I'd probably delete the Cool down step and pause the timer when your actual cool down is complete. On an older device, you'd have to disguise that cool down period as rest if you want to keep recording that portion of the activity.

    I don't use a cool down step in my strength training workouts as I depend on the audible indication that my workout has ended since I seemingly have the inability to count steps in my head!
  • Late to the party as usual by I agree with the original OP. I have a strength program for three times a week with different warm-up and cool-down exercises - rowing one day, cycling another day, walking another day eg. Of course the strength exercises differ as well and with some faffing about I can enter these in an array of three workouts, but I can't list the warm-ups and cool-downs, I have to remember which one I'm on and not have it count towards the workout. ??? Come on Garmin, does it need to be so fiddly? It seems I can't add Barbell Deadlift with Bicep Curl either - not on the list, not allowed to add it. The workout recordings are for us, not for Garmin, so why not let us configure it how we want?