“Skip last recovery” issue in Repeat blocks – Garmin Swim 2

Hello,
I’m experiencing a technical issue when programming structured swim workouts using Garmin Connect Web and syncing them to my Garmin Swim 2.

When using Repeat blocks with alternating “swim + rest” steps, the “Skip last recovery” checkbox appears.
Even if I uncheck this option on Garmin Connect Web, the device still skips the last recovery when executing the workout.

Also, this checkbox cannot be modified from the mobile app, and no warning is shown during workout creation.

I kindly ask:

  • confirmation whether this is a known device limitation

  • if a firmware update is planned to support the final rest in Repeat blocks

Thank you for your support.

  • TL;DR Unfortunately I think this behaviour is by design and won't be changed. I don't think a watch as old as Garmin Swim 2 will respect the "skip last recovery/rest" checkbox, as it's a fairly new feature. 

    As a workaround, I guess you could add an extra Rest block after the repeat.

    --

    I don't work for Garmin, but I think I can offer some context:

    - For running workouts, the situation is the opposite. On older watches, the last rest/recovery is never skipped. (The "skip last recovery" checkbox is still ignored in this case)

    - According this reddit post, a Forerunner 745 user sees the same behaviour as you: the last recovery is always skipped for swim workouts. The same user said this doesn't happen anymore after upgrading to FR955. It's worth noting that FR745 was released in 2020 (and Garmin Swim 2 was released in 2019), which means they're of a similar or same "generation" of Garmin devices, and it's not surprising they would work the same way. (And if the situation can't be resolved for 745, it probably can't be resolved for Swim 2)

    - the "skip last recovery/rest" checkbox on programmed workouts of any kind is a fairly new feature which was added in the last couple of years and only works with newer devices (e.g FR955). Iirc, in the past if I checked this box and tried to sync the workout to an old device like FR935, the Connect website would display a warning that some features of the workout are not supported by the device. Tbf this warning isn't displayed anymore, but I'm 100% sure the "skip last recovery" checkbox would be ignored for old devices anyway

    - For me, the Connect website does show a "Skip Last Recover" / "Skip Last Rest" checkbox for all workouts, including pool swim workouts. 

    - For me, the Connect mobile app (on iOS) shows something a bit different: "Skip Last Recovery/Rest: On/Off" (where "On" or "Off" is styled as a link). If I tap on On (or Off), it opens a popover which allows me to change the repeat times, and it shows a toggle for Skip Last Recovery with a long explanation: "This will skip the last recovery/rest in the repeat when performing the workout on the device". 

    It's interesting that the checkbox cannot be modified on the mobile app for you - it could be that the app is being "smart" and noticing that you don't have any devices registered to your account / app which support this feature.

    My conclusion:

    - (educated guess) skipping the last rest for swim workouts on older watches is a deliberate design decision and won't be changed

    - (this is almost certain) the "skip last rest/recovery" option is a new feature and won't ever be supported on older devices, so checking or unchecking this box will never change the default behaviour of an interval workout of any kind

  • Thanks a lot for the detailed explanation — this is extremely helpful and clears up several doubts I had.

    You're right: I’m using a Garmin Swim 2, and based on your explanation and what I experienced during training, it seems clear that the device was simply not designed to handle the “Skip Last Recovery” toggle.

    I did suspect it was ignored, since even after unchecking the option on Garmin Connect Web, the last recovery was always skipped. Now I understand it’s due to hardware/firmware limitations, not a bug.

    Your suggestion to add an extra repeat step as a workaround is exactly what I’ve implemented, and it works reliably.

    I really appreciate the background on how newer watches (like the FR955) handle this properly. Hopefully this thread will help others running into the same issue with older models.

    Thanks again for taking the time to explain it so clearly!