There's a reason we all wear Garmin watches
You don't necessarily need a lot of gear to go for a run. Some might say you just need a pair of shoes. My list is a little more extensive than that, but not much. I can get by without the perfect pair of socks (assuming it's a shorter run) and I've worn both my mother's, husband's and brother's shorts and shirts before. Hat, headband, sunglasses, hair tie, bodyglide - all things I can improvise on. But if my bag is without my shoes, my Fiona bra and if my Garmin is missing (or I've let the battery run down), the run normally does not happen.
Using a Garmin smartwatch can make a huge difference in your training. The lineup of Garmin’s GPS smartwatches offers a ridiculous amount of features and functionality at different pricepoints, so there’s a product to meet every budget and use case. Bottom line, pretty much everyone can benefit from wearing one of these GPS-enabled fitness trackers.
Basically, there’s a reason if you look on the wrist of pretty much every Gazelle Sports employee, you’ll find a Garmin resting there.
During a run:
The more obvious benefit of wearing a Garmin is the immediate info you get right on your wrist during a run. Depending on the unit you have and the accessories it’s paired with, you have access to a huge number of running metrics. There are two ways to really train for a distance race - each training run you’re either running for a certain amount of time at a certain heartrate or you’re running a goal distance probably at a target pace. Either way, a Garmin will give you the data you need to complete your run: distance, heartrate (either wrist base or via a chest strap), instantaneous and average pace, run time, lap distance, lap pace, lap time, plus things like cadence, stride length and vertical oscillation depending on the Garmin unit. There are also Music versions that can pair with Spotify and wireless headphones, and you can sync with your phone for smart notifications.
If you’re running for heartrate, you can set the Garmin to alert you if you’re outside your target heartrate. You can also program runs so it can alert you to different intervals. The options are really endlessly customizable. And your Garmin isn’t limited to tracking just runs - you can differentiate trail running, or add rowing, cycling, walking, hiking, swimming, golf and various other activities to your watch to track.
During the day:
Your Garmin also has some interesting features that can be used day-to-day. It can act as a pedometer and fitness tracker, sending out a move alert if you’ve been sedentary for too long. It will also set daily step and stairs goals and celebrates when you’ve achieved them. This can be something small that actually has a big impact on your overall health.
Most Garmins will also be able to receive smart alerts from your cell phone, so you can see texts and calls. Many also feature Garmin Pay so you can make payments with your watch. If you wear your watch at night, you can also jump into their sleep tracking information, which can be interesting to analyze.
In the app:
The Garmin app, both on desktop and your mobile device, enables you to get the most out of your smartwatch. You can utilize Garmin’s training programs or build your own workouts and push them to your watch so it can walk you through your workout - you can build in warmups, different intervals, and cooldowns. You can also look at your running progression in the app - Are you going further faster? Is your heartrate now lower at a faster pace? Beyond that, your Garmin can also help with any weight loss goals you might have by tracking calories burned both in the day as a whole but also during any workouts your might be doing.
Basically, there’s a reason if you look on the wrist of pretty much every Gazelle Sports employee, you’ll find a Garmin resting there. Ask us why, and I can guarantee you there will be a different use case for everyone but we’ll all sing its praises