How to use the Fenix 5 with gym equipment

Hi - apologies as this may sound rather basic but I've googled and YouTubed and can't find the answer. I'm very familiar with my Fenix 5 but have used it exclusively for outdoor activities. Having recently joined a gym I am completely flummoxed as to how I can connect my fenix 5 to say a treadmill or a rowing machine. Is that where AnT+ comes in? or is it bluetooth? I can see I have an indoor treadmill activity that I can select on my watch but surely to goodness I can do a deeper connection/integration than that can't I?

I would have assumed I could press a button on the gym machine and pair my fenix 5 in the a similar way to how I pair my phone to my car, but how do I do that if that is indeed the way to do it? The manual really isn't helpful so any help would be very much appreciated.

Thank you.

0 chatlow over 7 years ago

Unless the treadmill or rower have Ant+/BT available (the ones in my gym don't), then you don't connect to them. For treadmills I use a runpod which is pretty accurate and for the rower the F5 does a very good job of recording the stroke rate but no distance will be recorded.

0 AllanOlesen67 over 7 years ago

The problem as I have understood it, is that normal Ant+ is only for communication between a sensor and a main device. For example between a heart rate monitor (sensor) and a watch (main device). Or between a heart rate monitor and a rowing ergometer (also a main device).

When you want to have two main devices communicating with each other, you need a special version of Ant+, called Ant+ FE. Some old Garmin watches (310 XT) supported this protocol. The newer Garmin watches don't.

There is an app which is supposed to enable Ant+ FE communication with a Concept 2 rowing ergometer. I have not installed it, because it sounds very fragile and finicky. But you could try it, if your rowing ergometer is a Concept2:
https://apps.garmin.com/en-US/apps/2...e-8d3bde99f693

Before you install it, you should probably read the accompanying forum thread, especially post #4:
https://forums.garmin.com/forum/deve.../147449-erg-iq

As I wrote, I have not dared install it. Instead I have installed the ErgData app on my phone. This app will connect to a Concept 2 rowing ergometer (at least if it has a PM5 computer) and upload my workout to my account at Concept2. From there, I can download a .fit file which I can upload to my Garmin Connect account. The result looks like this:
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/ac...ve3L8b200.link

0 AIRTyke over 7 years ago

Thanks guys - useful advice. It's obviously not as easier as I thought, but good to know.

0 1-Ghost over 7 years ago

For Treadmill, I have a footpod attached to my shoes and use a BT/Ant+ chest strap. That way, if the treadmill supports BT, you can see your HR without looking at the wrist but your watch is getting the most accurate info from the Ant+. Unfortunately, I haven't found many treadmills that support the 'broadcast HR' function from the watch. For rowing, I just use the rowing app and then add the distance in GC later. You'll get HR and Calories burned through the watch. For weights, use Strength app.