Advanced features of Garmin Edge devices.

Garmin Connect is an online workout library. It offers training diary features similar to TrainingPeaks. It also has features similar to Strava, allowing you to share your training with friends. Garmin Connect falls short of the competition on most things but they got something really right. They offer great tools to get the most out of training with your Garmin device.

Some of my interval workouts can be a challenge to manage, or even remember, while riding. I smile as some of you bring cheat sheets along with you for your rides. Some intervals may require you to keep close eye on the clock. I'd much rather see you with your eyes up the road. You can create Garmin Workouts to help you manage intervals during your training rides. (That link may not work if you do not have a Garmin Connect account.)

A Garmin Workout can be used to make your Garmin device beep as your intervals begin and end. Instead of staring at the small screen, you get a series of chimes indicating that it is time to begin or end an interval. This is a huge benefit when doing a series of short intervals or when I ask that you repeatedly change what you are doing in the workout.

Garmin has changed and improved this feature over the years. It has always been possible to create the workout on the Garmin devices but is painfully tedious. Garmin used to provide a stand-alone software allowing you to create workouts and then upload to the device. It was full of bugs and I gave up on it. They eventually added it to Garmin Connect although it had early limitation. Finally, they have progressed to a point that this is now a powerful feature AND relatively user-friendly to create.

Here is the description of a MicroBurst workout that I often prescribe:

Warm Up: 15 minutes within Zone 2-Endurance. Include 2 Spin-Ups of one minute each with one minute of rest between.

Main Set: MicroBursts help build leg strength and boost your FTP! Complete 3 x 10 Min SEATED MicroBurst intervals with 5 minutes of rest between sets. A 'Burst' is 15 seconds ON followed by 15 seconds OFF. During the ON segment, pedal seated as hard as you can. Aim for 150% of FTP. The OFF segment is 15 seconds of easy pedaling. Repeat continuously for 10 minutes.

Cool Down: 10 minutes of easy pedaling before getting off the bike.

A continuous 10-minute interval of 15-second segments can make your head spin. I understand as I find this one challenging myself. Here is the same workout as it will look on Garmin Connect:

You can upload this Workout to your Garmin and then select it form the menu as you begin your ride. As you begin, you will notice nothing at first. In the image above, the Warm Up will continue until you hit the Lap button. This allows you to vary your warm up length or get to an area that is suitable to begin your intervals.

As you are ready to begin the first MicroBurst interval, hit the Lap button and the device will provide a series of chimes as you approach the end of each 15-second segment. You will also see a message on your screen indicating the new segment. After 10 minutes, the device will stop and rest until you hit the Lap button again. That will start the next MicroBurst interval.

As you create these Workouts, the Garmin Connect interface is very intuitive. It may be confusing at first but once you create a couple steps and see the result, it begins to make sense. We were once limited to 20 steps and you couldn't repeat steps. With the addition of the Repeat step, I can now create very intricate workouts. The 20-step limit may still exist but I haven't gotten to it.

There are a few things that may trip you up along the way. Creating a Workout may not be intuitive to everyone. Finding the Workout on your device and getting started may be strange at first. I could see it causing frustration. Be patient. Reach out to me for help. As you can see in the image above. I have created only a few Workouts. I can send these to you as files that you can copy to your Garmin device.

Here are a couple advanced tips:

• You will see a couple extra screen pages on your Garmin while doing a Workout. Some fields may indicate what segment you are in. Others show your progress in the current segment or provide a countdown to the start of the next segment. Don't get caught up in these additional fields. The most important thing is the beeps. Use the beeps to guild you through the intervals.
• Do NOT provide a "Target" for each step of the Workout.  A Target is a range that you can set for HR or power. Although it sounds like a great idea, the Garmin will beep if you are above or below the target. I used Targets once and was ready to shoot myself within minutes of beginning. Imagine a nag beep and screen message constantly reminding you that you are at the wrong power. In the image above, all of the Targets are set to None. Trust me, keep it simple and let the timer and beeps guide you.
• Lastly, most of us have our Garmins set to Auto-Pause. As we stop on the road, the timer Pauses on the Garmin. As we continue, the timer Resumes. When doing a Garmin Workout, the Auto-Pause feature is disabled. The clock does not stop. If you are doing a timed interval, look for a route where you can ride without interruption.

I suspect I will hear from a few of you. "Wow, this is awesome thanks!" Then a few days later, "Dude! This is really confusing!!! Be patient. I've been dealing with this stuff for years and have gotten used to it. As always, I'm here to help.

Thanks for reading.