The Garmin Fenix line of watches have been my go-to for rucking since 2016. I started off with the Fenix 3HR, moved onto the Fenix 5X (there was no Fenix 4 released), moved back to the Fenix 3HR, and am now on the Fenix 5X Plus.
Everything considered I’ve been using Garmin Fenix watches for rucking for over two years. This includes a handful of GORUCK events, hundreds of runs, hundreds of rucks, and hundreds of workouts. With my training schedule I’ve probably logged nearly 1,000 exercises on Garmin Fenix watches since I started using them.
There are a few things I do when I’m setting up a Garmin Fenix watch to get the most out of it for rucking. This guide follows the Garmin Fenix series of watches however it may also be applicable to the Forerunner and Vivoactive series as well. I really don’t know because I don’t own any of those watches. Side note: I purchase all of my GPS watches from Clever Training because their VIP program gives 10% back. I’ve never found a better discount on new Garmin products so that plus free shipping gets them my business.
Whenever I end up with a new Garmin Fenix watch (currently the 5X Plus) I create three custom activities: Ruck, GORUCK, BW/SB/Ruck WO.
Garmin Data Fields to Download
There are three third-party data fields that I always install on the watch when setting it up:
- Dozen Walk: Features changeable data fields designed for walking. They fit a lot of data on one screen which makes it one of the top contenders for rucking.
- Beers Earned Plus: Tracks how many beers you earned during a workout (and logs it to the activity) so that you can track the most important metric while training.
With these two apps downloaded we’ll be able to set up our three new activities.
Note on Dozen Walk: From the comments it sounds like this app might have caused one user to have their watch restart. Although this has never happened to me it’s definitely worth noting. If you want the most stable experience stick to what Garmin has built into the watch.
Garmin Fenix Ruck Activity
The first activity I set up is simply called Ruck.
When you’re adding a new activity you can either find Walk in the list (if it’s there) or you can choose Copy Activity and then select Walk.
You can name this new activity anything you want but I usually stick with Ruck.
For data screens I’ll set the first screen to a 1 field layout….
…and that one field will be set to Dozen Walk.
The second screen will be set to a 4 field layout. Those fields will be Distance, Timer, Lap Pace, and BeersEarnedPlus. With those two screens set up you’re good for rucking.
If you want you can optionally add some additional fields to give you more info. If I’m trying to beat a certain pace I’ll add a Virtual Runner with the pace you’re trying to beat.
If you use the route tools on the Garmin website then it can be nice to create a “Navigation” screen that has details about your next stop. Not a bad plan if you’re barhopping!
Garmin Fenix GORUCK Activity
For GORUCK events I’ll add a new activity called GORUCK. Since we already created Ruck I’ll just make a copy of that.
I’ll call this new activity GORUCK in all caps because that’s how it should be.
We all know you can’t wear a watch to a traditional GORUCK (Light/Tough/Heavy) event so we’ll make some modifications around that. First, we’ll disable the “Lap Key” because it won’t be available to press.
Then we’ll head into Data Screens. If you copied Ruck from above then leave the first screen as Dozen Walk.
Set the second screen to a three screen set-up with Distance, Timer, and Beers Earned.
Remove all of the other screens… there’s always the chance the watch will switch to one of them and they tend to burn more battery (especially that map screen) than the rest.
If that set your GORUCK activity is good to go. If you have a watch that has a OHRM (optical heart-rate monitor aka wrist heart rate monitor) then before your event make sure to turn that off. It won’t be on your wrist so that will just burn battery.
In addition, if you have Bluetooth or Wifi turned on the watch make sure to turn those off as well. We want this watch to last as long as possible at the GORUCK event so all those bells and whistles can go.
Garmin Fenix BW/SB/Ruck WO Activity
The final activity I’ll create is called “BW/SB/Ruck WO” and set it to the “Other” activity. Garmin is far behind Suunto when it comes to activity types which is rather unfortunate. Usually after a workout I’ll go into the Garmin app and give it a nice name then change the activity to Fitness Equipment.
Usually after a workout I’ll switch the activity on the Garmin website or App to Fitness Equipment. I never set the activity up as “Strength” because, on the new watches at least, that means when you press the Lap button you’re prompted with a screen to edit your reps.
If you’re lifting weights in the gym then this is awesome. You get to track how many reps you completed and you can even change the amount of weight logged. Not only that but the newer Fenix watches will be able to tell what workout you’re doing. Very cool for weight training… horrible for AMRAP style workouts. I don’t want to have to pause to edit these values I just want to push through and continue working out.
This is the activity I’ll use when I’m going after Brute Force Sandbag WODs, the Crush Your Soul Workout Generator, or Heavy Drop Training workouts. Basically, anytime I’m training in a place with a sandbag, ruck, or just body weight and am not trying to track distance.
I’ll set up the first screen with a four column layout. That will include Time of Day, Timer, Heart Rate, and Beers Earned. This is the screen I hangout on the most.
The second screen is a Last Lap Time, Lap Time, and Laps. I keep this one going if I’m doing a workout where you cycle through the same set of movements over and over. It helps me keep track of where I’m in during the whole workout because my brain will try and play tricks on me once I get deep into a solid workout.
I remove the rest of the screens so we’re sitting here with just those two. Next up I add an Alert so that I don’t get too lost in the workout.
My alert is set to Time Every 5:00. What this means is every five minutes my watch will beep at me reminding me I’ve been working out for five minutes.
I chose five minutes because the majority of the workouts I do that are timed are in increments of 5 minutes (either 20, 25, or 30 minutes) so this helps me measure where I’m at for those.
If I’m doing a workout that requires holds for example plank for 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off, for 4 minutes then I’ll set up a metronome. Although this is an amazing feature Garmin makes it a little tricky to implement. For a 20 second on, 10 second off I’d set the metronome to beep every 10 seconds. That way I’d know to hold for two beeps and rest for one. The problem here is that you can see above that you can’t have less than 10 beats per minute. For a beep every 10 seconds we’re trying to achieve 6 beats per minute.
To accomplish this Garmin forces us to do some math. We’ll start out with 12 beats per minute which is one beat every five seconds.
We’ll then head on over to the frequency screen and change the frequency to every other beat. What this means is that we’ll have a metronome set to go off every five seconds but we only want to be notified every other beat. That’s how we get a metronome that beeps every 10 seconds. Not exactly fun but it works!
When it comes to the notification setting when I’m at the gym I’ll have it on vibrate only and when I’m at home I’ll have it on vibrate and tone. It’s easier to notice when you have the tone as well but that’s not always ideal for a gym setting.
Garmin Connect Changes
Making these changes to your Garmin Connect account will make your default activity names better. One issue people had with the previous steps was that by default the events were named walk.
When logged in to Garmin Connect head over to Account Settings. If Display Preferences is not selected by default then select that. Finally change the Activity Name to Location & Device Activity Name. With these settings if you use your “Ruck” activity in Seattle the default activity name will be Seattle Ruck!
Ideas & Suggestions?
That’s how I set up my Garmin Fenix watchces for rucking! Do you have a Garmin watch as well? I’d love to hear how you set it up for rucking and sandbag/body weight/ruck workouts. These things allow for so much customization and this post is only one way you can use them to hit your goals! Although the watch featured here is the Fenix 5X Plus this setup should work on the Fenix 3, Fenix 3HR, Fenix 5 (5S, 5, 5X) series, and Fenix 5 Plus (5S Plus, 5 Plus, 5X Plus) series of watches as well.
The MET data field has an option to enter ruck weight to be saved along with the activity summary for viewing in Garmin Connect app. See: https://apps.garmin.com/en-US/apps/d487afae-e747-4cbc-ab3b-87f447a21234
Adjusting your weight in the user profile is not recommended. Garmin’s calories burned is based on heart rate and weight, height & gender. The ruck weight does not contribute to the resting calories burned during the activity, and if you increase your weight setting, this value would increase (incorrectly). Also it does not contribute to your muscle mass, which I believe is factored into Garmin’s calculation of active calories consumed.
An interesting experiment would be to perform a walk activity on level ground at a given pace without a ruck and measure calories consumed (reported by Garmin). Then repeat the walk with a ruck for the same distance, at the same pace and measure calories consumed (reported by Garmin). Then take the results and compare to estimates of calories consumed as calculated by accepted rucking calculators.
Hi, another option is to change YOUR weight before rucking and then change it back to your real weight after you finish the activity.
I’m guessing this would be to better track calories burned? I’d be curious to know how much that would change the values Garmin comes up with. Still waiting for Garmin to create an actual Rucking activity type where we can add the weight at the end like with Strength Training. Maybe one of these years 😅
I think one should not tinker with the weight setting in your user profile. Changing that wil change your base metabolic rate estimation that Garmin uses in the calories calculation. Your backpack weight also doesn’t contribute to the muscle/bone mass used for walking, so I suspect this too will mess up the active calorie calculation. Garmin bases calorie consumption calculation on height, weight, gender, and heart rate so it may be that this will be well estimated without tinkering with any user profile settings.
To test this I developed a Garmin data field app that uses a validated rucking calorie calculation formula that can be used to compare results to Garmin’s calorie estimation. You enter your ruck weight separately in the settings.
See here: https://apps.garmin.com/en-US/apps/3bf3d9aa-8493-4ace-91c8-d63e1f4cf7ca
I also modifed one of my other apps to allow for entry and saving of the ruck weight along with the Garmin activity record. See: https://apps.garmin.com/en-US/apps/d487afae-e747-4cbc-ab3b-87f447a21234#0
What I’d really like to figure out is how to get the correct calorie count. I believe the Fenix is only using heart attack to calculate calories which doesn’t accurately factor in the extra burn you get from rucking with different weight on your back. Any recommendation on how to fix that?
Wouldn’t the extra weight result in a higher heart rate which would equal more calories burned? Just like increasing elevation will raise heart rate (rucking up hill at the same pace as rucking on flat ground) increasing weight should also increase HR assuming you’re moving at the same pace. When I compare calories burned rucking vs walking (at comparable paces) I see higher numbers rucking since my HR is higher. Same as when I compare ruck running vs running assuming similar paces since the difference there is only the weight.
I thought the same thing, but the honest answer is that I’m not sure. I found lots of articles out there about the challenge of calculating VO2Max while trail running. I definitely think heart rate captures some of the increased effort but not all of it. The really good news though is that I contacted the Garmin folks with this question and apparently rucking has become so popular that they are getting lots of folks asking the same thing. Consequently, they plan to add a Rucking activity in one of the next two updates! We will be able to add the weight we’re carrying and get accurate metrics output. I think they said we could expect it by the end of February.
From what I’ve read when it comes to VO2Max it seems like there’s challenges calculating it anywhere outside of a true controlled environment. The Garmin watches calculate VO2Max but people who have done actual VO2Max tests have gotten different numbers compared to their Garmin watches. It feels like the same is there for calories… HR appears to be a great way to get an accurate estimate for it but from what I’ve read the only way to scientifically measure how many calories are burned is through a respirometer while doing an exercise. I think with this type of technology (especially with it all in a watch) we’re ~90% of the way there and it’s going to be increasingly difficult to get that last 10%.
When it comes to a “Rucking” app on the Garmin watch I’m glad they’re finally considering it! I’ve been emailing both Garmin and Strava for what feels like years and I’m glad someone is finally getting to it. It will be SO NICE to finally track rucks and add weight to them. I also hope they improve their reports to give us weight based ruck info in that section too. That would be excellent and a great way to start the year!!
Brian, this is by far the most useful Garmin fenix how-to guide that I have used. I’m all set up for the Rucking activity exactly like you laid it out, and because of your instructions, I was also able to figure out how to create a “Workout” activity that works exactly as I want it to. Thanks so much for this!
This is awesome. Had to email Beers earned to add it the Vader/Rey Series. It is pretty much a Vivoactive 4. Still need to figure out how to edit activity names though.
Brian, great article! I was excited to use this suggested setup for the Atlanta Star Course 50mi. I went through the directions and setup installation went as described. 10 miles into the Star course my Garmin Fenix 3HR went into a perpetual loading screen and then stopped working correctly. It ended the workout without letting me restart where I left off. I tried to start a new one but the Dozen Walk screen was gone and replaced with a single field timer for page one. I left it running for the rest of the 40ish miles and it never crashed again. Just wanted to provide some feedback in case it happens to other. Thanks for the great website.
Man I am so bummed to hear that! Did you end up with two different activity files for the event? If so there’s programs to stitch them together so you’ll have all of the information together in one file. I’m definitely adding a note to the Dozen Walk portion of this!
How do you get that kitchen fire cartoon on your watch?
It’s this watch face :)
Great post, Brian – thank you. I’ve been looking at a Fenix, but have been hesitant to plunk down the cash. Do you see a major difference between the 3HR and the 5X Plus that you have now?
Dave
There’s definitely some major differences if you’re holding them both in your hands and flipping through the menus. That being said the 3HR is an incredibly capable GPS watch and if I had it (and never had the 5X or 5X Plus) I would be completely happy with it. The only difference that *might* be worth the price increase is the increased battery life. It was really cool to finish up the Star Course and still having something like 20% battery left on the watch.
Right on – that’s super helpful. Thanks!
Hey Brian!!! Great article, and thanks for doing this. I was thinking of using Cardio for the SB/BW/Ruck workouts. If you haven’t done or tried that, I can set this up and let you know what I think.
Keep being your awesome self!!!
Nice post. Just set my 3HR up with Dozen Walk and fine tuned the other screens. Perfect !! I am not sure why it took me so long as I have been rucking for over a year in just the default “Hike” mode. Keep up the great work with the blog and podcast !!
Thanks so much Mike! I eventually decided to use “Walk” to track my rucks because I never use the watch when I’m out walking but I do use it for hiking. That way I can differentiate my rucks (coded as walks) and the actual hikes I go on. The 3HR is an AWESOME watch!
Awesome, Brian! I’ve been using the Garmin Vivoactive HR since November with walk, hike, & strength. These apps say they are compatible. Looking forward to seeing how this goes. Thanks for the detailed outline! And your Green Country Ruckers club patch is in the mail!