Hi, and welcome to The Running Channel. I'm Anna,
and we've teamed up with our friends at Garmin to bring you the ultimate guide
for what to look out for when buying a GPS running watch,
and while you might want to consider having a dedicated running watch in the
first place. We asked you, The Running Channel viewers,
what the most important features of a running watch are to you.
So I'll be taking you through each of those as well as a top running watch hack
right at the end. So stay tuned for that. Before we get started, though,
make sure you hit subscribe and tap the bell icon,
so you get notified when we upload new videos to help you with your running to
The Running Channel, which we do every week.
Before you can decide what features of a GPS watch will suit your running goals,
ask yourself the following questions:
What data is most important to me?
Do you want to know your distance and pace or is heart rate,
something that you want to measure? Do I want to track more than just running?
So do you regularly take part in other activities like cycling or swimming and
you want to be able to track those too. And what's my budget?
There are lots of GPS watch options out there suitable for all budgets,
but you'll obviously pay more for the extra features.
And then this one might be the most important to you from a convenience point of
view. Do I want to be able to run without taking my phone?
A GPS watch offers you information at a glance.
It's not as fiddly to check on the run, their water and sweat proof.
And some smartphones are so big these days that they're actually not that
practical to carry out on your run with you.
Not to mention that GPS watches are more accurate and we'll come onto that
in a bit. So once you've got the answers to those questions,
you'll then be able to narrow down your search.
So now let's look at the features in a bit more depth,
starting with what you told us is the most important.
For this video will use Garmin's
entry level watch the Forerunner 45 to illustrate the features that we're
talking about.
So you told us the key feature that matters the most to you when considering a
running watch is the ability to track your pace and distance,
probably a bit of an obvious one.
So you can set up your running watch to show different stats on the screen at
any one time. And in this case up to three,
now you might already know which ones matter the most to you, but if you don't,
I recommend setting up what you think works and then going out and testing it on a run.
You'll soon realise if one of the data fields isn't as useful to you as you
first thought that it could be. So whether you're training for a race,
be it virtual at the moment or real life, a faster parkrun time,
or maybe you just want to improve with your running,
knowing what pace you're running at is really important.
So knowing your pace that you're aiming for on your run and checking your watch
to make sure that you're running at the right pace can be the difference between
a good run and a bad one,
and can totally change the training benefit that you get from what you're doing.
It also takes the guesswork out of your running.
So being able to see the data at a glance on your wrist,
rather than fumbling around, trying to get your phone out,
which could then ultimately slow you down,
is something that's super handy about having it on your wrist. So top tip,
think about whether you want to look at your current pace,
which is the pace that you're running at that exact moment based on the previous
few seconds or your lap pace.
So if you've got auto lap set up to record each mile or kilometre,
then this will show you the pace that you're running on average for that
particular mile or kilometre.
So while smartphone GPS sensors vary from phone to phone,
they're usually not as good at GPS and can be less
accurate compared to watches when it comes to recording your speed and distance.
So GPS watches are made specifically to accurately measure these things.
Whereas it's a bit of an added bonus for a smartphone.
So with a GPS running watch,
you're able to record more accurate distances for your runs,
and you can also use the auto lap feature that I mentioned before to alert you
when you've hit a certain distance like every one mile or every one kilometre,
or you can manually lep at the press of a button on your wrist as well. Great
if you're doing interval workouts, for example.
Another metric that you might want to consider adding to your data screens at a
glance is cadence.
So how many steps per minute you're taking whilst you're running.
You can check out our video, all about the ins and outs of cadence,
if you want to find out more about why this number is useful to you as a runner.
After pace and distance, you told us the next important feature on a running
watch is heart rate data.
And this can be particularly useful if you were using heart rate to dictate to
the paces of your runs.
So the Forerunner 45 has an optical heart rate monitor on your wrist.
Now there's a lot of debate about how accurate risk-based data is compared to
that of a chest strap,
but you can fit the strap securely on your wrist to give a more accurate reading.
You can also link an external heart rate monitor like a chest strap via ANT+
not Bluetooth with this watch, but the heart rate readings from this one,
give you a good enough indication of your heart rate for basing workouts on
them. From the heart rate data on the watch,
it will then be able to give you a VO2 max estimate.
You'll quite often hear about VO2 max,
so we do have a video all about what it is
if you do want to know more, in more detail. So for the most accurate estimate,
make sure you set your maximum heart rate when setting up the watch,
the estimate may seem inaccurate at first because the watch needs a few runs to
learn about your running performance. And to do this,
you need to be out running for at least 10 minutes outdoors to get that data.
GPS and navigation came a really close third place when it comes to the features
that you want most on a GPS watch.
So we talked about GPS already when we mentioned distance.
And the biggest thing to look out for between general fitness trackers and
specific sport watches is GPS functionality. So fitness trackers,
will usually track your steps and your time spent moving throughout the day and
then estimate a distance covered during an activity based on steps.
Some might even claim something called connected GPS,
which just means they can connect to your phone, to make use of the phones,
GPS sensor.
But GPS specific devices are able to more accurately record your distance and
pace on a run and show you this in real time on the screen.
So this watch has GPS, which is the American satellite system, GLONASS
which is a Russian one and GALILEO, which is the European one.
Basically, it gives you multiple satellite options for tracking your position.
Garmin recommends using a combination of GPS and GLONASS,
which is the default. When you get your watch,
the data recording is set to smart as a default.
If you change it to every second,
it will make your pace and distance much more accurate,
but you use more battery. Some watches that are a little more expensive
will also let you upload a route and use the inbuilt GPS to follow it
from your wrist.
We know that there are runners who do more sports than just running. Shocker, I know.
And that's why you told us that multi-sport options on a GPS watch were a big
priority for many of you. So in this case,
there are 12 different sports modes in the Garmin Connect app that you can then
pick up to six to have on the watch itself.
So alongside running and cycling, both indoors and outdoors,
there are dedicated modes for things like yoga and general cardio
workouts. So one thing to note is that for this watch,
there is no swimming mode on it, even though it is waterproof,
but other watches do have swimming functions on them.
So a multi-sport option means that you can track all of your activities and see
the bigger picture when it comes to how much you're training in a week.
So if you have a bike commute, for example,
you can track that as well as your running to give you an idea of your
overall training load.
And you can check out our video on over-training for more on that one.
Battery life is an important to look out for in a GPS running watch and the best
way to decide what your needs are when it comes to the battery is to think about
how you want to use the watch. So will you be wearing it all day every day?
And do you want to track activities on the regular? Bear in mind that
GPS tracking will use up more battery than if the watch is in
its standard mode. So for example,
the Forerunner 45 has a battery life of seven days in watch mode
and 13 hours of GPS. So for an average,
wearer, you'd probably be charging it about every four days or so.
So this brings us to all of the other extra features that you can get from your GPS running
watch, which will really help level up your training.
So as well as tracking your steps, calories burned and activities,
you'll find even more features in GPS, running watches, like sleep tracking,
stress tracking, and body battery.
So these can help you with your training from a holistic perspective.
Sleep disruption and stress can have a negative impact on your training,
and so can overdoing it.
Which is why these indicators can help you work out
if you're in a fit state to do your training that day. Body battery,
for example, works by using a combination of stats like heart rate
variability, sleep and activity, to show you as a score out of a hundred,
how much energy you've got at any point during the day.
A bit like a phone battery, really.
And then there's the option to turn your running
watch into your coach with adaptive training plans.
So if you have a goal that you want to work towards with your running,
you can set it up in the app using Garmin Coach and then follow the structured
workouts from your watch.
So you'll do a nine minute test workout first, then based on your results,
you'll get the sessions worked out for you. Similarly,
look for features where you can program your own sessions into the watch.
So you can set the distance and the pace or the time of reps and rests.
And then your watch will tell you when you've hit them whilst you're out on the run.
Music on your running watch is becoming a more common and attractive feature.
The main benefit being you can completely leave your phone at home if you want.
So there are two different music options when it comes to looking at GPS running watches.
The first is controlling music playback via your watch on a connected
smartphone. So you don't have to get your phone out to change your music.
And then the second is the capability of actually storing tracks, playlists,
or podcasts on your watch and playing music directly from it to your bluetooth headphones.
Also look out for smart notifications on your running watch.
Do you want to know when you've got a new message or an update? And you can see
notifications like emails, texts,
and alerts when your watch is paired with a phone.
You also told us that safety features on a running watch are important to you.
So some examples of these are live tracking and incident
detection. So live tracking,
lets you share your exact location with a trusted contact,
when your watch is paired with a smartphone. It's also super handy,
if you're running a race and your friends or family want to see where you are.
My mum was definitely glad of it whilst hoofing around Edinburgh,
trying to cheer me on at my first marathon. And then there's incident
detection. So if you're out on a run and you suddenly fall over or get hurt,
your watch can tell that you were moving,
you stopped abruptly and then you didn't carry on moving and will alert your
emergency contacts with a message and a link showing you where you are.
Again, this one does rely on you having your phone with you and paired with your watch at the time.
So now you know,
all of the different options and benefits you can get from a GPS running watch,
but how do you figure out what you really need to see? Well,
to give you an idea,
let's look at the standard data screen set up on the Forerunner 45.
So all of these different setups are entirely customisable to work with the data
that you want to be able to see on your run.
And I mentioned right at the beginning,
our top tip when it comes to your running watch. Well,
if you've got one like this, give it a charge while you're in the shower.
That way, if he wants to track your sleep,
you don't have to sacrifice a night of data while you charge it.
It doesn't really need that long. So hopefully you found these tips useful
if you're considering getting a running watch.
Do you agree with the key features that we've mentioned?
Maybe there's another feature of a running watch that we missed out,
that's important to you? Tell us in the comments below and we'll see you next
time on The Running Channel.