My Morning Ritual: The 3-Minute Test That Dictates My Entire Training Day

Garmin Connect Sleep Stress timeline showing high stress spikes during the first half of the night and subsequent recovery.

After over 20 years of chasing wattage and focusing on what my power meter says I can do, I’ve realized the real secret to long-term gains is knowing when to pull back. It’s about listening to the engine. Today, I’m breaking down one of the most underutilized tools in the Garmin ecosystem: the HRV Stress […]

Garmin Sleep-Time Stress

Garmin Sleep-Time Stress Chart

Garmin Sleep-Time Stress: What It Really Tells You About Recovery and Performance Most cyclists I work with don’t ignore their Garmin sleep data. They obsess over it. They wake up, open Garmin Connect, and scroll straight to the sleep-time stress chart, trying to decide whether today is a green-light workout or a warning sign. And […]

Garmin Sleep Tracking: How to Use Garmin Connect Sleep Data to Improve Cycling Performance

Screen Shot from accompanying video about Garmin Sleep Score

Garmin Connect Has A Sleep Tracker That Can Help You Optimize Sleep and Recovery!

[caption id="attachment_12776" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Garmin Connect Sleep Tracker The Garmin Connect Sleep Tracker provides assessment for sleep quality and quantity.[/caption]

The Garmin Connect Ecosystem is RICH with features that are either under-utilized or perhaps are misunderstood. I have wanted to explore Garmin Connect with my followers for a while now. I think the Sleep Tracker is a great place to start.

Garmin Connect, when paired with any of…..

The OBC Dicta

OBC Dicta - Welcome to the Cathedral of Watts

The OBC Dicta (or, The Nine Commandments for Peak Performance In Cycling). *** I wrote the first version of this over twenty years ago, hoping that it would become the foundation for another book, but life and acceleration got in the way, and I just found it again in my Google Drive. A ‘Dicta‘ is […]

The Physiological Perspective of Four Separate 8-Minute Intervals

4x8 minute intervals online bike coach richard wharton coach wharton garmin connect

8-Minute Intervals At “Threshold”… In late November of 2024, I was able to perform an interval session on my indoor trainer and bike with my clients. The workout comprised of four separate 8-minute intervals. We used the VQ Velocity app, and I recorded each interval as a separate file while wearing my Vo2Master Gas Exchange […]

Affirming DFAA-1 Aerobic Base With Vo2Master and Moxy

Vo2 on screen with a Garmin 1040

A New Calculation Uses Heart Rate Variability to Better Tune DFAA-1 I’ve been a big fan of Dr. Bruce Rogers, since 2017. He is a trained MD, but publishes his work in credentialed journals. As a Masters’ level road cyclist, he knows how important heart health is. He is also fully aware of the cardiac […]

Vo2Master Vo2Max Value Affirms Garmin Vo2Max Estimator

Richard Wharton Vo2Master OBC Headquarters

Vo2Master’s Vo2Max Value Was 98% Consistent with Garmin In May of this year, I wrote a post about the Garmin Vo2Max Calculator. In July, I was able to test my Vo2Max at OBC Headquarters, to compare values. I performed a Graded Exercise Test, using the Vo2Master app. This app, on a cell phone, trapped data […]

Building An MTB Course With Garmin Connect Course Creator

Garmin Connect Course Builder Climb Detail

Garmin Connect Course Creator Offers Course Building – But Singletrack Can Be A Challenge The Garmin Connect Course Creator is yet another of Garmin’s under-utilized features. Other Apps and Software offer Course Creation, like RideWithGPS, but keeping everything inside the Garmin Connect Ecosystem allows for easier transfer to a Garmin Bike Computer or wristwatch. However, […]

Vo2Max On Garmin Connect and the Garmin 1040

Vo2max on Garmin Connect is closely correlated with Vo2max on a Gas Exchange analyzer.

Vo2Max Calculations Show Cardio-Vascular Changes Vo2max is a fitness and health measurement that is defined as, “The Maximal Volume of Oxygen that can be consumed by a person during physical exertion.” I’ve discussed Vo2max in the past, and I even own a Vo2Master assessment device, for testing and training purposes. Garmin Connect uses information collected […]