How to Track Strength Training on Garmin and Apps

The simplest way to track strength training is to write down four things every session: the exercise, the weight, the reps, and the sets. A Garmin watch or an app can do some of that for you, but a paper log works just as well. What matters is that next week you know exactly what to beat.

After more than 20 years of coaching, including performance enhancement work through NASM, I can tell you the women who track their lifts are the ones who keep improving. Here’s how to set it up without turning it into a chore.

Why You Should Track Strength Training

Strength gains come from progressive overload: doing a little more than last time. More weight, one more rep, or one more set. Without a record, you’re guessing, and most people guess low.

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A log also shows progress you can’t see in the mirror yet. The early weeks of lifting are mostly your nervous system getting better at the moves, which I explain in how long until strength training results show up. Watching your numbers climb during that stretch keeps you going.

And on days you feel flat, your log tells you what a reasonable target is. No pressure to set a record, just a clear place to start.

What to Put in a Strength Training Log

Keep it short. Here is what I suggest you record for every exercise.

1. The exercise. Name it the same way every time, such as goblet squat or one-arm row.
2. The weight. Write the dumbbell, kettlebell, or machine setting you used.
3. Reps for each set. For example, 10, 10, 8. That tells you where you started to tire.
4. How hard it felt. A quick note like easy, solid, or tough works fine.
5. Anything to change. A seat height, a grip, or a cue that helped.

If you want a deeper look at picking weights and rep ranges, see how heavy you should lift. And if tracking ever starts to feel stressful, read my take on how to track workouts without obsessing.

How to Use a Garmin Watch for Strength Training

Many Garmin watches include a Strength activity that counts reps, times your rest, and lets you add the weight for each set. I checked Garmin’s own owner’s manuals for several models, including the vívoactive 5, Venu 3, and Forerunner 255. The basic steps are similar, but button names and menus vary by model, so keep your device manual handy.

How to Record Strength Training on Garmin

Here is the general process on models with a Strength activity.

1. Press the start or action button and choose Strength from your activity list. On some models you’ll be asked which wrist you wear the watch on the first time.
2. Choose a saved strength workout if you have one, or start a free session.
3. Start the timer and do your first set. The watch counts reps and usually shows the count once you’ve done at least four.
4. Press the lap or back button to end the set. The watch shows your rep count, then a rest timer.
5. During the rest, edit the rep count if it’s off and add the weight you used.
6. Press the same button to start the next set. Repeat until you’re done.
7. Stop the timer and save the activity so it syncs to Garmin Connect.

Tips for Accurate Rep Counts

Garmin notes that the watch can only count reps of one move per set, so end the set before you switch exercises. Reps are counted from the movement of the arm wearing the watch, so full, steady reps count best. Leg exercises may not count well, because your wrist barely moves.

Some models offer automatic set detection, which starts and stops sets for you. Try it, but check the results before you save.

Garmin Strength Training Without Sets

If editing every set feels like too much, you have options. You can turn off rep counting in the activity settings, or simply record the session as one block for time and heart rate, then log your lifts in a notebook. That’s a perfectly good approach.

How to Set Up Strength Training Workouts on Garmin

In the Garmin Connect app you can build a strength workout ahead of time. In the manuals I checked, the path is Training, then Workouts, then Create a Workout, and then you pick the activity type. Add your exercises, sets, reps, and rest, save it, and send it to your watch. The watch then guides you through each step.

Forerunner 55 and Other Entry-Level Models

Not every Garmin has a full Strength activity. The Forerunner 55 manual, for example, covers HIIT and custom workouts but has no section on recording strength activities.

On models like that, check your activity list for an option to add activities, and if Strength isn’t there, record the session under a general activity for time and heart rate and log sets by hand.

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How Good Is Garmin Strength Training Tracking?

It’s good for structure and history. You get sets, reps, rest times, heart rate, and a record in Garmin Connect you can edit later.

It’s less reliable for rep counts on slow or leg-heavy moves, and heart-rate based calorie estimates during lifting are rough. I explain why in how many calories strength training burns. Treat the watch as a convenient logbook, and trust the weight and reps you enter.

Zepp App Strength Training and Other Watches

Other brands have their own versions. The Zepp app, which pairs with Amazfit watches, includes strength workout modes, and Apple Watch lists Traditional and Functional Strength Training as separate workout types. Features differ by model and change with updates, so check your device’s support pages for the exact steps.

If you’re unsure which workout type to choose on your watch, my guide to the types of strength training explains the difference between traditional and functional sessions.

Free Strength Training Apps and What to Look For

A phone app can be the easiest middle ground between a watch and a notebook. Many good ones have a free version. Rather than point you to a brand, here is what to look for.

• Fast logging. You should be able to enter a set in a few taps.
• Your last session on screen. Seeing your previous numbers while you lift is the whole point.
• Custom exercises. You need to add the moves you actually do.
• Easy export. Your data should be yours to download.

The best strength training app is the one you’ll open every session. For a broader look at paid options, see home workout apps worth paying for.

Strength Training Journal: the Low-Tech Option

A paper strength training journal is still my favorite tool for beginners. It’s free, fast, and there are no settings to fight with.

Use one line per exercise. Write the weight, then the reps for each set. Circle any exercise where you hit the top of your rep range, so you know to add weight next time.

Here’s how the main tracking methods compare.

How to Use Your Numbers

A log is only useful if it changes what you do next. Once a week, look back and ask one question: did anything go up?

If you hit the top of your rep range on every set, add a little weight next time. If your reps dropped for two sessions in a row, check your sleep, food, and stress before adding more work. For the full method, see my guide to progressive overload.

Every few weeks, plug a recent set into my free one-rep max calculator to see your estimated max climb and update your training weights.

Quick Questions

Your This-Week Plan

• Choose your method: notebook, app, or watch plus notebook.
• Log every exercise, weight, and rep in your next two sessions.
• If you use a Garmin, try the Strength activity and edit any rep counts that look off.
• Circle any exercise where you hit the top of your rep range.
• At the end of the week, pick one lift to add a little weight to next time.

More from this series: how often to strength train, how long until results show up, how heavy to lift, types of strength training, how many calories lifting burns, and the full strength training guide for women.

The Bottom Line

When you track strength training, you stop guessing and start progressing. Four numbers per exercise are enough, whether you write them in a notebook, tap them into an app, or let a Garmin watch do part of the work.

Use your watch as a helper, check its counts, and look at your log before every session. Small, steady increases are how real strength gets built.

I’m a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach, not a physician, and this article is educational only. Device features and menus change with models and updates, so check your watch’s official manual for exact steps. If you have a health condition, talk with your doctor before starting a new strength training program.