Runner's Dilemma #39 — What Is Garmin's Suggested Workout for Today, Anyway?
Runner's Log | Runner's Dilemma #39
What Is Garmin's Suggested Workout for Today, Anyway?
Before a run, I turn on my Garmin and a suggested workout for today pops up.
Today: a base run. Some days: a tempo run. Other days: intervals.
But I barely looked at it.
I just started running and checked what pace I was hitting.
Then, about two weeks ago, I started paying attention to the suggestions, and suddenly I got curious.
If I ran a lot yesterday, does it tell me to rest today?
If I’ve only been running slowly lately, does it push a hard workout?
And if I keep following the suggestions, will my running actually get better?
Will my 10km time drop, and could I someday shave my full marathon time too?
Since I was curious, I decided to find out.
I. How Well Does Garmin Know My Body Today?
Garmin’s suggested workout isn’t chosen at random.
According to Garmin’s manual and blog, it recommends workouts based on things like training status and training load, estimated VO₂ max, recovery time, sleep data, and recent workout history. The data used can vary by device and feature.
The suggested workouts come in several types.
| Workout | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Base run | Build the foundation of aerobic fitness |
| Recovery run | Help the body recover at low intensity |
| Tempo run · Threshold | Build the ability to hold a relatively high intensity |
| Intervals | Stimulate the ability to work at high intensity |
Each workout has a different purpose.
So does Garmin know the time I’m aiming for?
The standard daily suggestion focuses on building fitness based on your recent training and recovery.
There are, of course, ways to use race-targeted training plans, but today’s suggested workout isn’t a custom plan built to get me to the time I want.
or training to build running fitness?
II. Will Following the Suggestions Make Me Faster?
What I wanted to know most while looking into this was whether it actually improves race times.
I searched, but I couldn’t find a study that directly compared people who followed Garmin’s daily suggestions with people who didn’t, and showed an improvement in times.
That doesn’t mean the suggestions don’t help.
Generally, to get better at running, it’s important to build aerobic fitness with base runs, do hard training at the right times, and recover well after hard sessions. As your fitness improves, the foundation for faster times gets built too.
Still, Garmin’s suggestions are different from an individual training plan for hitting a specific time.
If you’re aiming for a sub-4 full marathon, for example, you need to plan pace work matched to the goal, long runs, weekly mileage, and so on. It’s hard for general suggested workouts to replace all of that.
In the end, Garmin’s suggested workout is less a training plan that produces a specific time and more a tool that helps you build running fitness and balance your training based on your current fitness and training state.
III. So How Should I Use the Suggestions?
That said, there’s no reason to ignore the suggestions completely.
If you’re returning after some time off, building base fitness matters more than pushing the pace too hard.
On the other hand, if you always run the same distance at the same pace, a different kind of workout can give your body a new stimulus.
Of course, a watch doesn’t know your body perfectly.
A T3 journalist who followed Garmin’s suggestions for about six weeks said that running slower than usual made 10km much easier, and that he cut about 20 seconds off his parkrun time, a weekly 5km running event. But he also changed his diet at the same time, so it’s hard to credit the suggestions alone.
He also reported that on a day when he’d barely slept and his Body Battery was 5, the watch still suggested a 30-minute recovery run. So the watch’s judgment doesn’t always match how your body really feels.
Suggested workouts aren’t an answer that judges your body for you. They’re more of a reference that makes you think about what to do today.
.png)
Lately I’m training to hit 10km in 45 minutes by the end of December.
I used to ignore the suggestions, but for about two weeks now, whenever intervals are suggested, I make sure to do them.
On days I don’t feel like running, I think about skipping, but if an easy workout like a base run shows up, I find myself thinking, ‘Okay, at least I’ll do this.’
At first I thought that if I just kept following the suggestions, I’d naturally get better.
But after looking into it, I don’t think Garmin builds a training plan around my target time.
but when I’m unsure what to do today,
I’ll consider Garmin’s suggestion too.
What about you?
Do you follow Garmin’s suggested workout of the day? I’d also love to hear whether anything changed after you followed it consistently.
References: Garmin Manual: Following a Daily Suggested Workout · Garmin Korea Blog · Daily Workout Suggestions for Runners (Garmin) · Types of Daily Suggested Workouts (Garmin) · Garmin Daily Suggested Workouts (the5krunner) · Garmin Workout Suggestions for a Month (T3)
