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Using the Treadmill Activity Profile on My Garmin Watch
Many Garmin® watches include a treadmill activity profile. The Treadmill activity records many of the same metrics as an outdoor run but uses the internal accelerometer (or in some cases a paired compatible sensor) to calculate distance instead of using GPS.
Select one of the frequently asked questions below to learn more about using the Treadmill activity on a Garmin watch.
How Does the Treadmill Calibration Feature Work?
Your watch calculates distance for indoor activities based on the internal accelerometer data combined with physiological data and historical training data. To give the watch the best data, make sure that you are swinging your arms naturally while running or walking on a treadmill. It is important to not hold the handrails in order for the watch to record arm motion. The watch accelerometer is automatically calibrated by doing outdoor runs with GPS recording, but there can still be differences in what your watch records versus the distance reported by the treadmill.
These differences may be a result of one of the factors listed below.
Curved or self-propelled treadmills.
Differences in pace or running form between indoor and outdoor running.
Setting an incline on the treadmill.
Holding the handrails on the treadmill or anything that impedes your arm swing motion.
Using multiple different makes or models of treadmills.
Treadmill Calibration
Many watches allow you to manually calibrate the Treadmill profile after completing an activity. To determine if your watch offers this feature and the criteria you must meet for calibrating, search your owner's manual for “Calibrating the Treadmill Distance.” For watches with manual calibration, you will be prompted to enter the distance recorded by the treadmill after saving your first treadmill activity, which will calibrate the accelerometer in the watch.
For subsequent treadmill activities a Save and a Calibrate & Save option will both be present, provided you have met the criteria for calibration. Selecting Save allows you to save the activity as it is. The Calibrate & Save option will prompt you to enter the treadmill recorded distance.
Once completed, the watch will be calibrated to improve the distance accuracy for future runs at a similar pace. Calibrating the distance will not correct or adjust any lap data that was recorded during the activity prior to calibrating (pace/speed per lap, average heart rate per lap, calories per lap, etc.).
You can improve the automatic calibration of your watch accelerometer by doing the following:
Regularly recording outdoor runs using GPS.
Not holding onto a railing and keeping your arms moving naturally while running on a treadmill.
For interval training on a treadmill, it is recommended to also perform interval workouts outdoors using a GPS profile to record your workout.
- Try to use the same treadmill for each activity to keep calibration uniform.
Why Am I Missing the Treadmill Calibration Option?
The treadmill calibration option allows you to enter the distance after completing a treadmill activity for more accurate distance recording. Not all watches are compatible with the treadmill calibration feature; check your owner's manual for compatibility and the specific requirements for your watch. If the Calibrate & Save option is not appearing at the end of your activity, check the following:
If it is your first treadmill activity, select Save at the end of your activity. Saving will trigger the treadmill calibration option to appear as long as the other requirements have been met.
The watch must record a distance of at least 1 mile (for older models) or 1.5 miles (for newer models) to offer calibration. For example, if the treadmill shows that you traveled 1.5 miles, but the watch only shows 1.4 miles, you will not get the treadmill calibration option. To see which minimum distance is required for your watch, search your owner's manual for "Calibrating the Treadmill Distance".
Treadmill calibration will only appear at the end of a treadmill activity. Make sure that you record a treadmill activity on the watch.
When wearing a foot pod or HRM strap compatible with reporting pace and distance information, the watch will default to the data provided by the sensor and will not offer treadmill calibration. For information on how to calibrate a foot pod sensor, consult the owner's manual from the manufacturer. For information about the Garmin HRM straps that can report distance data and pace data, see the FAQs linked in the Related section below.
Do not hold the rails while moving on the treadmill. Holding the rail keeps your arm from moving, preventing steps from recording, causing less distance for the activity.
Why Are My Steps Not Tracking?
Your watch uses the internal accelerometer to record steps. When using a treadmill, stair climber, or other similar pieces of equipment, holding the handrails or not moving your arms will prevent step data from being recorded. Arm motion is also used to calculate distance and pace in treadmill activities. Some external sensors, such as a foot pod or several Garmin heart rate sensors, can provide pace and distance data to a watch if you are not moving your arms, but they will not effect the total number of steps for the day.
For more information about using a Garmin heart rate monitor (HRM) to report pace and distance information, see Related below.
Can I Get a VO2 Max Estimate From a Treadmill Activity?
No. In order to get a running VO2 max estimate, runs must be completed outside with GPS recording for distance, in addition to meeting heart rate requirements. Search your owner's manual to see if your watch is able to calculate a VO2 max estimate and also see What Is VO2 Max Estimate and How Does It Work? for more information about VO2 max estimates.
Can I Record Running Power on a Treadmill?
Yes, you can record running power on a treadmill. Running power will be about 3-4% lower on a treadmill than running outdoors at the same pace, because there is no need to overcome air resistance, also known as drag. Wind conditions will be disregarded for indoor running automatically. Note that if you have the treadmill set to an incline, this is not detectable by the watch, so power data will be underestimated. See Garmin Running Power Device Requirements for more information about which devices can record running power.
What Is the Virtual Run Activity?
Some watches can pair with compatible third-party apps, such as Zwift, to report metrics about your activity from the watch to the app via Bluetooth. See Using the Virtual Run Feature for more information.
Why Am I Getting No Distance or Extremely Incorrect Distance Recorded?
If you are following the best practices for treadmill running but are seeing no distance or vastly incorrect distance for your Treadmill or Virtual Run activities, you may be getting interference from a previously paired indoor smart trainer which is causing the watch to incorrectly report your run distance.
When recording an activity, the watch will attempt to connect to any previously paired sensors. If the watch pairs to a piece of equipment that is not the one you are using, the data being recorded by the watch will be inaccurate. To resolve this, we recommend disconnecting the trainer in the Sensors & Accessories menu on the watch before starting a Treadmill or Virtual Run activity.
Disconnecting the Smart Trainer
For specific instructions for your watch, refer to your owner's manual.
Hold UP/MENU.
Select Sensors & Accessories.
Select the smart trainer from the list of sensors.
Select Status to set the status of the trainer to Off.
The next time you want to use the smart trainer for an indoor bike activity, you will need to turn the connection status to On again from that same menu.