Learning How to Use the Fenix 7X Strength App Properly - A Learning Curve

This is my first smart watch ever, and wow, did I pick one with a fairly big learning curve, but each day, I am learning how to leverage this watch.

I wanted this watch to log my weight lifting sets (along with a host of other things in life) but was initially very confused about how to properly develop a workout on Garmin Connect and actually execute it in the unpredictable environment that is the gym.

Issues we all encounter:

  1. Equipment not being available at the time that it is needed. A lift must be skipped until later and another lift executed instead. Maybe the lift is skipped altogether.
  2. Reps need to be adjusted since the watch is not perfect.,
  3. Weight sometimes changes between sets.
  4. Number of sets may be shorter than predicted.

At first it seemed the Strength App was just woefully underpowered, until I played with it enough to understand the logic of the app and the structure of a workout:

  1. Create a workout in the Garmin Connect web interface.
  2. For each exercise, or superset, create a "Round"
    1. Start the "Round" with the Exercise (Bench Press)
      1. Target reps is mandatory, weight target is optional, but if you know it, then enter it.
    2. Have a "Rest" period programmed in with the lap timer after each exercise, this is important. DO NOT USE "Recovery"
    3. Set the "Rounds" to the number of target sets.
  3. If you have a superset, then add a "Step" and move the Step with the mouse click into the "Round" after the "Rest" period and create another "Rest" period after, this will become important later.
  4. Add further "Rounds" in the same format.
  5. Save your Workout as something besides the "Strength Workout" and sync.

Executing  "Your Strength" Workout

  1. Go to Strength -> "Your Workout"
  2. Your workout will be displayed, but not started until you "Start Workout"
  3. IF the equipment is not available for this workout that is listed first, you can "Skip" it here from the menu.
  4. Press "Start Workout" otherwise.
  5. This will take you right to the first exercise/warm-up that has not been skipped in the order you saved it earlier.
  6. Complete as set, press the LAP button and a brief period will come up to edit the "Reps" and "Weight" by pressing up or down, etc.
  7. If you still need to edit, during the rest period, you can hold the "menu/up" button and a menu option to edit the "Last Set" will come up.
  8. Press lap key to execute next exercise set.
  9. It is best to "Skip" during the rest periods if you cannot complete the pre-planned set count, this will ensure the app enters some reps and weights and not just body weight, random reps and maybe a random exercise.
  10. If you need to go back to a "Skipped" exercise, you can do this with the "Start" button and add it to the workout, it will  pick up where it left off if it was partially completed.
  11. You can make last edits with the online app, but these tips have mostly saved me the trouble and kept things within a single workout.

I hope this saves some people the time, I saw some frustration with this app on prior forums, but I think a lot of people know this stuff, but a small nudge was needed to realize the app actually had this flexibility, even on the watch.

  • Hello fellow Weight Lifter,

    I, like you, have discovered the same powers within Fenix to create functional work-outs.

    My thoughts so far: If you make a "Round" to include a super set of 2 exercises, but you are not able to do one of the exercises, then skipping the round skips both exercises. It would be cool to, within a Round, chose the option of "skip this set", because as you mention, just skipping by pushing the lap button, might save some random registrations which should instead not have been.

    Another workaround for a current issue, is that in the 8.21 update it is not possible to update the "permanent" workouts on the app - I have 5 which the watch said was maximum (older version). But by saving the workouts in the phoneapp/connect I found that adding it to my calendar of the day of workout, pushes the training to the watch. it is extra steps, but it works for now. 

    I also praise the "free" for its guessing game, it is quite often spot on, and the auto-set feature works much better now than in the beginning. 

    /David, Fenix 7XSS 

       

  • Thanks for commenting on the number of workouts allowed, it will make it a lot easier to design future workouts outside my routine ones. I was able to remove the default workouts supplied by Garmin by going into Garmin/Workouts/ folder on my PC and deleting them. 

  • Thanks felix,

    dont you miss the option to see the 1 rep max or last weight/sets for that exercise? I feel like it's a crucial feature missing for strength... is there any way you go around that?

  • Hi, I know it is old topic, but can you send the screen shot, how does it looks in your settings? I have another language of my watch and it will be easier :) thanks :)