Garmin Strength Coach added to recent Forerunners, Venus and Vivoactives. Feature to More Devices

Garmin is broadening the availability of its Coach Strength Training Plans, first written about here in August 2024, adding support for the Venu 3/3S, Vivoactive 5, and several recent Forerunner models, including the Forerunner 965, 955, 265, and 255. Previously exclusive to the Fenix 8, Fenix E, and Enduro 3 at launch, this feature is now being introduced to a wider range of devices.

Beta Updates: Garmin Coach Strength Training

The feature is currently 50% rolled out through beta firmware updates on the following devices:

• Forerunner 965, 955, 265, and 255: Beta version 21.018 (FR165 does not get the update)
• Vivoactive 5: Beta version 12.10
• Venu 3 and Venu 3s: Beta version 12.10

Devices Yet to Receive Updates

The ‘budget’ AMOLED Forerunner 165 is absent from this rollout, which has not been included in the current beta updates. The Fenix 7 and Epix series have not yet received this feature in their beta releases. However, based on Garmin’s approach to maintaining feature consistency across compatible models, these devices will likely see similar updates shortly, at least for the PRO models.

Strength Coach: A Recap

Garmin introduced the Coach Strength Training feature with the Fenix 8, Fenix E, and Enduro 3. These guided strength training plans allow users to follow personalized workouts directly from their watch.

Thoughts

It will be interesting to see how far back this feature is backported. FR165 already misses the update, so no devices other than those listed here may get the update. I guess the F7 and Epix Pro watches will get Strength Coach, but no others. If so, that would be a shame as this is a nice and useful feature covering an area that most of us should devote more time to.