Garmin Forerunners

Garmin Forerunners

An Overview Of the Top Three Garmin Forerunner Watches

If you frequently run, cycle, swim or take part in triathlons then chances are you will have seen someone wearing a Garmin Forerunner sports watch. Garmin have long been known for their extensive range of spots and GPS watches that track and record various statistics about a person’s performance whilst they are training. Tracking things like pace, speed, distance, time, heart rate and calories has become a vital part of many people’s fitness routines as they train towards their fitness goals and improve in their chosen sport. Garmin GPS watches and Garmin Sports watches have been leading the way when it comes to performance tracking for over a decade now and Garmin produce some of the most advanced sports and GPS watches in the world.

There is a Garmin GPS watch for seemingly every level of athlete and every endurance sport out there, but finding out which Garmin Forerunner is best for what level and what sport can be a bit of a minefield. If you know your ‘Wireless Ant’ from your ‘HotFIx GPS’ then this article isn’t for you but if you would like a list of the best Garmin Forerunner’s along with what they are capable of, what functionality they offer and which one is best for each sport then read on.

Garmin Forerunner 210

See the following article for a more in-depth review of the Forerunner 210

The Garmin Forerunner 210 is an advanced GPS running watch for runners that need a simple to use GPS running watch that provides all the essential training statistics with non of the bells and whistles of the more expensive Garmin Forerunner 410.

The Garmin Forerunner 210 lets you track and record time, speed and pace(all either current or average) over laps or splits using the inbuilt high sensitive HotFix GPS receiver. You can combine the Garmin Forerunner 210 with a wireless heart rate monitor to track your heart rate and use the inbuilt alerts to train within heart rate zones. The 210 also uses heart rate data to accurately calculate how many calories you are burning during a training session.

Garmin Forerunner 210 Pro’s

So, without going into too much detail, the Garmin Forerunner 210 has the following plus points:

• Easy to use – just click and go
• High sensitivity GPS for city and suburban runners
• Track all the important training metrics like speed, distance, time and pace using GPS
• Use for Heart Rate Training (heart rate alerts)
• Easily set up interval training sessions
• Upload your saved runs to Garmin’s powerful online training website to track all of your past runs and training goals.
• Probably the best Garmin Forerunner for runners of all abilities.

Garmin Forerunner 210 Con’s

• Water resistant but not suitable for swimming
• No Virtual Training Partner feature like on the Forerunner 410

The cheapest place to buy Garmin 210′s is Amazon.com, else for more details see this indepth Forerunner 210 Review.

Garmin Forerunner 410

See the following article for a more in-depth review of the Forerunner 410

The Garmin Forerunner 410 is the Garmin 210’s big brother. It is the most powerful and advanced GPS watch that Garmin make and is perfect for advanced runners and cyclist alike.

The Garmin Forerunner  410 has all of the features of the Garmin 210 with some added extras. You can have up to three screens of different training stats shown to you when the Forerunner 410 is in training mode, and you can customise each individual screen with three different stats from things like pace (average, current, lap), speed (average, current, lap), time, heart rate, sunrise, sunset, direction of heading, distance, time, elevation and heart rate (current, average, lap). The sheer amount of combination of stats that you can display on the Forerunner 410 means that it is a very powerful training tool that can change with your training goals.

You can also link the Garmin Forerunner 410 up to a bike sensor to track cadence, speed and distance on a road or mountain bike. This makes the 410 a very flexible training watch for both cyclists and runners.

The Forerunner 410 has something called Virtual Trainer Mode where you can set the pace of a virtual trainer and race against a stick figure on the watch display. The watch tells you how far in front or behind of the virtual trainer you are so you can adjust your pace accordingly and is a great way to replicate a real running or cycling race.

The Garmin 410 connects up to your computer wirelessly using a USP dongle. This means that you don’t have to connect the watch up to your computer every time you want to transfer your training sessions over to Garmin’s Online Connect Portal and only have to walk within a few meters of your computer.

Lastly the Garmin Forerunner 410 is controlled by an Ipod Style touch operated control bezel. Everything is controlled with the bezel which gives it a very unique look and premium design.

Garmin Forerunner 410 Pro’s

• Track up to 40 different training metrics such as pace (average, current, lap), speed (average, current, lap), time, heart rate, sunrise, sunset, direction of heading, distance, time, elevation and heart rate (current, average, lap).- This makes the watch very flexible and perfect for any outdoor endurance sport.
• Setup advanced interval workouts for easy tracking.
• Download routes from Garmin Connect and run then using inbuilt GPS navigation that tells you when to turn and where to run/cycle – Race other peoples routes that they have uploaded to Garmin Connect
• Upload and download training data to Garmin’s online connect portal wirelessly.
• High Sensitive GPS for suburban and city runners.
• Compatible with any Wireless Ant+ cycle sensor to track cadence, speed and distance on the bike.
• Compatible with any Wireless Ant+ heart rate monitor for heart rate zone training and heart rate based calorie computation.
• The most advanced Garmin Forerunner and most advanced GPS watch for serious runners and cyclists.

Garmin Forerunner 410 Con’s

• Water Resistant but not suitable for swimming

The cheapest place to buy Garmin 210′s is Amazon.com, else for more details see this indepth Forerunner 410 Review. Otherwise, for more information on Garmin GPS Watches then there are some great reviews on the runners wor;d website.

Garmin Forerunner FR60

See the following article for a more in-depth review of the Forerunner 60

The Garmin Forerunner FR60 is a Forerunner that is perfect for any multi sport athlete that needs a sports watch that tracks all the essentials without the high price tag of the other Garmin Forerunners.

The Garmin Forerunner 60 tracks the important statistics such as speed, pace, distance time and calories using a Foot Pod that attaches to your running shoe. Not only does this mean that the Forerunner 60 can be used in areas with no GPS signal but it also means the price is much much lower than any other Garmin Forerunner.

The Forerunner 60 is also water resistant to 50m which means it is the perfect watch for swimmers and triathletes and explains why many endurance athletes opt for the FR60 over any of the other Garmin Forerunners.

The Garmin Fr60 has some advanced features such as Garmin’s Virtual Trainer (race against a virtual partner on the watch as race practice) and you can set up interval workouts at a touch of a button.

Garmin Forerunner 60 Pro’s

• Water resistant to 50m so the FR60 can be used for swimming and triathlon
• Compatible with Wireless Ant+ cycle sensor for cadence, speed and distance tracking on a road or mountain bike.
• Track statistics like pace (average, current, lap), speed (average, current, lap), distance (lap, total) as well as heart rate and calories using a Foot Pod and Heart Rate Monitor.
• Long Battery life
• Virtual Trainer Feature lets you race against a virtual trainer for race practice.
• Setup advanced Interval Training sessions.
• Upload and Share training sessions using Garmin’s Online Connect Portal.
• Low Price and massive functionality makes this watch the best value for money Forerunner watch which is ideal for runners, cyclists, swimmers or any other endurance sportsperson.

Garmin Forerunner 60 Con’s

• Foot Pod tracking means you have to calibrate the watch but then on the plus side you can use it in areas with no GPS signal unlike the GPS Garmin Forerunner.

The cheapest place to buy Garmin 210′s is Amazon.com, else for more details see this indepth Forerunner 60  Review

In summary, Garmin GPS Watches and Garmin Sports Watches are great bits of kit if you are looking to track your running, cycling or multi-sport performance and make great training tools.