How Does the Rep Counting Feature Work on My Garmin Watch?

Rep counting provides statistics related to the number of reps performed during an exercise recorded in the strength profile. The watch detects exercises designed to target single muscle groups/body parts. The exercises recognized typically consist of a basic motion and include a start, repeat, and end with a rest period in-between sets. To see if your device is compatible with the strength training profile, see your owner's manual.

Traditional weight training exercises that consist of distinct and consistent motions, such as bench press, can also be tracked. The watch can count the number of reps done and automatically identify the exercise in an activity that is uploaded to your Garmin Connect™ account.

Are There Certain Exercises That Are Difficult to Accurately Track?

You may experience difficulty tracking the following exercise types due to the motion of the exercise:

• Stationary wrist exercises: dips, pullups, pushups, planks

• Leg isolated exercises: extensions, seated presses, calf raises, hamstring curls

• Complex/hybrid motions: box jumps, “CrossFit” type exercises, burpees

• Short-range exercises: shoulder shrugs

• Battle ropes and jump rope

Are There Tips to Improve the Accuracy of This Feature?

Maintaining good form and steady cadence throughout the exercise will allow the watch to most accurately count the reps. See the following FAQ for additional tips: Improving the Accuracy of the Rep Counting Feature on a Garmin Watch.

Tracking a Leg Workout

When doing exercises that do not involve arm motion, such as leg presses, the rep counter will not be able to track the exercise accurately. For these situations, the reps and weight can be manually entered after completion of the set during a rest period. The exercise type can be added by editing the activity in Garmin Connect. For instructions on how to manually enter reps and weight, see Editing Rep Count below.

Editing Rep Count

These instructions should work for most watches. For specific instructions for your watch, see your owner's manual.

1. Start a Strength activity.

2. Complete a set of reps.

3. Press BACK.

4. Press DOWN to access Edit. Some watches skip this step and show the edit screen immediately after starting a Rest.

   • Press and hold MENU during the Rest if you missed the Edit option. You will then have the option to Edit Last Set.

5. Press UP or DOWN to add or remove reps.

6. Press START/STOP.

7. Press UP or DOWN to add or remove weight.

8. Press START/STOP to resume your rest period.

9. Press BACK to end your rest and begin your next set.

10. Repeat steps for each set as needed.

These steps will ensure that the correct number of reps are displayed on the device and are synced to Garmin Connect. The number of reps per set can also be edited in Garmin Connect after the activity is synced.

NOTE: While tracking a Strength Training exercise, it is common for the device to not display any reps counted until the device tracks up to 5 reps. In this situation, the watch will display “—“ until the device recognizes between 3-5 reps.

I Am Not Seeing the Targeted Muscle Groups in the Activity Details

If your Strength exercises show zero reps in the activity details page of Garmin Connect™, the targeted muscle groups graph will not be visible. To fix this see, How Do I Edit an Activity in Garmin Connect?