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Insights about Copying Garmin Activities to Use for Non-Default Activities with a Focus on Nordic Walking

JazzRunnerDP
5 days ago

I've been using Garmin Forerunners to track my running activities since the Forerunner 305 model, so many years and multiple generations. I know the watches and their capabilities very well. 

Recently, I've been affected by vertigo and not been able to run due to instability that accompanies the vertigo. As soon as I no longer required a cane to walk around, I started looking for an aerobic activity that I could do that would provide enough stability to prevent me from falling. I came across Nordic Walking and decided to try it.

I was hoping that I could track my Nordic Walking activities on my Garmin with a similar level of detail that I use to track my running. On checking my watch's available activities, I found that there was no Nordic Walking activity. Big disappointment. I mean, the watch has Cross Country Skate Skiing! On checking the Garmin forum, I saw that many others have faced this situation with mixed results. I was determined to look into the situation deeper than others who have posted about options for adding Nordic Walking to their Garmins. Here are some of the things I found out along the way toward setting up Nordic Walking on my Garmin 965. Much of this applies to any copying of a default activity to use as a non-default Garmin activity I hope that this information is helpful to you if you wish to do the same.

  • There is no Nordic Walking activity option on the Garmin 965, or on any other Garmin that I've heard about.
  • This means that you have a couple of options if you want to record your Nordic Walking activities on your Garmin.
    • Record your Nordic Walking activities under an activity that is not Nordic Walking.
    • Copy a default activity and rename it Nordic Walk so that your Nordic Walking activities will have a home. This option gives you the possibility to edit the activity’s existing data screens and add additional data screens so that you can record the data you want to record about each Nordic Walking activity. But be aware, there are limitations which will be cited below.
  • I ended up trying six different activities as the base for my Nordic Walk activity. The six activities I copied and tried to adapt as Nordic Walking were:
    • Run
    • Cross Country Skate Skiing
    • Cross Country Classic Skiing
    • Snowshoe
    • Walk
    • Hike
  • My experimentation with copying these six activities and trying to adapt them to be Nordic Walk taught me that all Garmin activities are not created equal. Here are the biggest differences and my thoughts on their importance.
    • If you value seeing your weekly mileage displayed on your Garmin’s Last Week (aka: History) glance and also in the widget that can be displayed on the watch’s face that displays this week's mileage, you will have to copy the Run activity and make it your new activity. Only Run, of the six activities, will display your weekly mileage in those two locations. This means that you will not be able to easily track weekly mileage if you choose any of the other options.
      • The good side of this is that you can keep track of how many miles of Nordic Walking or other activity you do in a week. For me, this is a very big plus.
      • The bad side is that, if you also run, your mileage displays will be the sum of your running and Nordic Walking for the week. This may or may not bother you.
    • If you plan to interval training using the Interval option under Training, only Run, Cross Country Classic Skiing, Cross Country Skate Skiing, and Snowshoe offer this option.
      • You can do intervals in Walk and Hike, but you have to do them as laps. This means you have to press the lap button manually at the end of each interval. Also, you won’t be able to sort the intervals in Connect. This was too much of a negative for me to consider using either Walk or Hike as the basis for my Nordic Walk activity.
    • Each of the six activities has different data screens that display while the activity is in progress. The default data screens for each activity can be customized and new data screens can be added. My experimentation showed me that not all of the data fields listed in my 965 owner’s manual can be added to every activity. There are too many exceptions to list here.
    • After an activity is saved and you open the activity in Connect, the Stats section you will see dozens of pieces of data. Although most of the data is displayed for all six activities, there are some important exceptions. It doesn’t appear that a user can do much to alter what displays. Here’s a summary of what is displayed for activity. It is easier to list what data doesn’t display for a particular activity.
  • Distance (Distance)
    • Displays for all six activities.
  • Nutrition and Hydration (Resting Calories, Active Calories, Total Calories Burned)
    • Displays for all six activities.
  • Stamina (Beginning Potential, Ending Potential, Minimum Stamina)
    • Only displays for Run.
  • Training Effect (Primary Benefit, Aerobic, Anaerobic, Exercise Load)
    • Displays for all six activities.
    • The two Cross Country activities display much higher values for Aerobic, Anaerobic, and Exercise Load than the others. They also display a more intense Training Effect than the others.
  • Heart Rate (Average Heart Rate, Max Heart Rate, Recovery Heart Rate)
    • Displays for all six activities, except for Recovery Heart Rate, which only displays for the two Cross Country activities.
  • Timing (Time, Moving Time, Elapsed Time)
    • Displays for all six activities.
  • Power (Average Power, Maximum Power)
    • Only displays for Run.
    • I regard this as a very important piece of data. So, it makes me look more favorably toward using Run.
  • Elevation (Total Ascent, Total Descent, Minimum Elevation, Maximum Elevation)
    • Displays for all six activities.
  • Run/Walk Detection (Run Time, Walk Time, Idle Time)
    • Only displays for Run.
  • Pace/Speed (Average Pace, Average Moving Pace, Best Pace, Avg Grade Adjusted Pace)
    • Displays for all six activities, except for Grade Adjusted Pace, which only displays for Run.
  • Workout Intervals (Run Time, Run Distance, Run Pace)
    • Displays for Run as one would expect.
    • For the three winter sports, Pace displays as speed.
    • Does not display for Walk or Hike, because they don’t offer interval training.
  • Running Dynamics (Cadence, Maximum Cadence, Avg Stride Length, Avg Vertical Ratio, Avg Vertical Oscillation, Avg Ground Contact Time, Steps, Intensity Minutes Moderate, Intensity Minutes Vigorous)
    • All but Steps is available for Run.
    • Only Intensity Minutes is available for the winter sports.
    • Only Candence, Steps, and Intensity Minutes are available for Walk and Hike.

Final thoughts:

  • For me, copying Run and making it the Nordic Walk activity is the best option because I want to track my miles and I like having all the data. (Though I must admit, it is kind of cool to have the activity icon have the poles. However, it does not appear that one can change the activity icon after copying and renaming the activity.)
  • If you don’t want your Nordic Walking data to get mixed with your running data, I suggest copying and using Cross Country Skate Skiing as a basis for your Nordic Walk activity.

Hey Garmin: After all this, isn't it time to add Nordic Walking as a default activity?

  • 0 5 days ago
    JazzRunnerDP said:
    Power (Average Power, Maximum Power)
    • Only displays for Run.
    • I regard this as a very important piece of data. So, it makes me look more favorably toward using Run.

    It won't work properly for nordic walking. I mean, you will see a number, but the watch has no way of knowing how much power you deliver with your upper body, and that is significant in nordic walking, and very different than in running.

    The point is: There is a reason why some metrics are available for all activities and some for running only. Trying to cheat the watch by copying an existing activity profile and using it for a different sport might not be a good solution, if you care about accuracy.

  • 0 4 days ago in reply to kochmans

    Hi kochmans,

    Thanks for your comment. I'm uncertain how you conclude that the watch would not be able to measure exertion done by the upper body. Do you evidence to support that? If yes, please cite. On the other hand, per Garmin's explanation of how the Power number is derived (https://www.garmin.com/en-US/garmin-technology/running-science/running-dynamics/running-power/ and https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=QRiQOEq5d09foNiH1DzUt5) it would certainly seem like the algorithm that drives the power number would account for exertion done by the upper body. I can tell you that I feel like I'm putting out the same level of effort when my Power number equals 200 whether I'm doing hard uphill Nordic walk or a moderate run. This makes me think that the Power number is accurate whether it's for Nordic Walk or Run.

    Copying a default activity and adapting it to a new activity is what Garmin recommends. Since you seem to suggest that copying and adapting an activity is not the way to go for this situation, how would you track an activity that's not a default activity on your Garmin?

  • 0 4 days ago in reply to JazzRunnerDP
    JazzRunnerDP said:
    how you conclude that the watch would not be able to measure exertion done by the upper body.

    Because it actually doesn't measure power directly. The articles you refer to say specifically that the number you see is a result of a computation based on something called "running power model", and in many points throughout the text it says that it applies to running, which means that this model does not apply to other types of activites.

    JazzRunnerDP said:
    it would certainly seem like the algorithm that drives the power number would account for exertion done by the upper body.

    Yes. During running, but not during other types of activities. And even that is just a guesstimate.

    JazzRunnerDP said:
    This makes me think that the Power number is accurate whether it's for Nordic Walk or Run.

    Well, if it works for you, then all the better.

    JazzRunnerDP said:
    Copying a default activity and adapting it to a new activity is what Garmin recommends.

    In the context of getting accurate metrics, like running power? Where does garmin recommend something like this?

    JazzRunnerDP said:
    Since you seem to suggest that copying and adapting an activity is not the way to go for this situation, how would you track an activity that's not a default activity on your Garmin?

    I wasn't trying to suggest anything. Just pointed out that you won't get accurate running metrics (or at least some of them) if you do something different than running. If this method works for you nonetheless, then there is no need to take a different approach. And if you still ask me if I know a better way of tracking nordic walking specifically, then the answer is no, although it might depend on what you want to do with the data collected by the watch.

  • 0 4 days ago in reply to kochmans

    Hi kochmans,

    Thanks for your thoughts. 

    You are correct, the Garmin page I cited does refer to running as the prime focus of running power. Although you didn't point it out, it also states that cycling power is lower than running power. However, when it comes to the variables that make up running power (Power required to change your pace, Power required to run up or down a hill, Power required for vertical oscillation on each step, Power required for horizontal oscillation on each step, and Power to overcome air resistance), all of them have direct correlations to the actions that a person doing Nordic Walking performs. Therefore, I stand by my opinion that Run is the best activity on which to base Nordic Walking. Also that the Power measurement provided by Run is, if not entirely accurate, is at least close to being accurate when used for Nordic Walking.

    You are correct, Garmin does not actually recommend copying an activity to use for another activity. However, they offer the action. And if not to create another non-default activity, what is the use of the copying action?

  • 0 4 days ago in reply to kochmans

    Additional thoughts:

    • If you don't run and only do Nordic Walking, then there will be no interference in the mileage numbers posted.
    • After some additional experimentation, if you don't want to use the Run activity as the basis for Nordic Walking, I believe that Snowshoe is a better option than Cross Country Skate Skiing. This is because, in my experiments, Snowshoe displays data that is closer to the effort exerted during Nordic Walking than Cross Country Skate Skiing. Cross Country Skate Skiing seems to provide data that indicates a significantly higher level of effort than I actually exert. For instance, for a Nordic Walk interval of 0.10 mile uphill with a 3:10 minute rest, Snowshoe shows an Exercise Load of 63 and a Primary Benefit of Base, while, for the same workout, Cross Country Skate Skiing shows an Exercise Load of 97 and a Primary Benefit of Sprint. For the same workout, Run shows an Exercise Load of 55 and a Primary Benefit of Base