Guide

How to create a structured workout in Garmin Connect

Building interval sessions in Garmin Connect is powerful but slow — every step and repeat is buried in menus. Here's how to do it properly by hand, and a faster way to create the same workout from plain text in one click.

Building a workout by hand (step by step)

You can build workouts in the Garmin Connect web app or the phone app. On the web it's a bit faster because you have a mouse and keyboard. The flow is the same:

1. Open the builder. Go to Training & Planning → Workouts → Create a Workout and pick your sport (running, cycling, or pool swim).
2. Add a warm-up. Add a step, set its type to "Warm Up", and choose a duration — by time, by distance, or "lap button press" so you decide on the road.
3. Add the work interval. Add another step, set the duration (e.g. 1 km or 4 minutes), then turn on a target and pick the type: pace, heart rate, cadence, or power.
4. Add the recovery. Add a step for the rest — same idea, often a time or a lap-button recovery.
5. Wrap them in a repeat. Select the interval and recovery, add a "Repeat", and set how many times it loops (e.g. ×5).
6. Add a cool-down and any extra blocks.
7. Save and sync. Save the workout, then hit Send to Device and pick your watch. It syncs the next time your watch connects.

That's fine for a simple session. The pain shows up with real training: a workout like "warm up, 5×1 km with 90 s jog, then 6×400 m, cool down" can be 30+ clicks through nested menus, and you'll redo it every week your coach changes the numbers.

The fast way: paste it as text

If you already have the workout written down — from a coach, a training plan, a PDF, or just in your head — you shouldn't have to retype it click by click. Workout to Garmin is a free Chrome extension that reads a plain-text workout and builds the structured version directly inside Garmin Connect.

You type or paste something like:

15 min warm up
5x1km @ 4:00/km with 90s jog recovery
6x400m @ 5k pace, 60s rest
10 min cool down

…click once, and the full workout appears in Garmin Connect — warm-up, both repeat blocks with pace targets and recoveries, and the cool-down — ready to save and sync to your watch. It works for running, cycling and swimming, understands ranges, RPE, and lap-button recoveries, and it's available in English and Spanish.

Tips for cleaner Garmin workouts

Use lap-button press for warm-ups and recoveries

Fixed-time warm-ups force you to start the hard part whether you're ready or not. Setting warm-up and recovery to "lap button press" lets you control the transition on the road or in the pool.

Use pace and HR ranges, not single values

A target of exactly 4:00/km will beep constantly. Use a range (e.g. 3:55–4:05) so the watch guides instead of nags. When you write the workout as text, "@ 4:00/km" is automatically turned into a sensible range.

Check your watch supports the workout type

Older or entry models don't support every structured type (some don't do HIIT or pool swims). If a workout won't sync, your device may not support that activity.

Frequently asked questions