Since its launch, the Athletica’s Workout Reserve metric has become an essential tool for Athletica athletes.
Whether you’re using it to check “how far you are from your maximum effort”, or to gauge “how deep you were digging during your last session”, the Athletica Workout Reserve offers a comprehensive way to monitor your performance capacity before, during, and after any activity.
Thanks to seamless integration with the Garmin ecosystem, your device connects to your Athletica account and syncs your updated profile. As you start a new session, the Athletica Workout Reserve calculates and displays your margin from peak performance in real-time.
Having this data accessible on your watch or cycling computer allows you to pace your efforts and strategize your races effectively. A100% Workout Reserve indicates you’re fully fresh at the start of your session, while 0% signals you’ve reached your personal best effort.
But, you might wonder: how long can I sustain this pace or power before hitting my personal best?
With this latest release, we’ve introduced an exciting new feature that answers exactly this question: the “time-to-zero”.
In developing the equations for “time-to-zero”, we rediscovered the beauty of mathematics–thanks to Phil Whitehurst’s brilliant intuition (read the story behind it here). Because the Workout Reserve follows an exponential pattern, we derived “time-to-zero” using a geometric series. Sounds complicated? Don’t worry–your Garmin device handles all the math in the background, leaving you with a simple, user-friendly interface (Figure 1).
Figure 1. A Garmin device showing your “time-to-zero”.
Is that all? Not even close!
The “time-to-zero” feature is just one of several major enhancements in the latest release. Here’s what else is new:
- Expanded Device Compatibility: We now support more devices, including Garmin Fenix 8 and Garmin Edge 1050.
- Enhanced Gradient-Adjusted Pace Calculation: The latest update delivers a more precise calculation of your gradient-adjusted speed, particularly useful for road running on hilly terrain. This improvement leverages the renowned Kalman filter to refine road gradient estimations using GPS data.
Now, when you’re diligently grinding through uphill intervals or cruising downhill, you can trust Athletica to adjust your pace automatically. No need to worry about accounting for gradients–Athletica Workout Reserve has you covered. - Integration with Garmin Connect: Your Athletica Workout Reserve is now fully visible on Garmin Connect, ensuring all your performance data is easily accessible in one place (Figure 2).
Figure 2: The Athletica Workout Reserve: now also visible on Garmin Connect.
FAQ
Q: Is my Garmin device compatible?
A: Please check the list of the compatible devices here: https://apps.garmin.com/apps/c9a93545-7db0-4a1b-b955-21db19edbf9d?tid=1
Q: Does it work for Android and iOS?
A: Yes. You just need to have both the Garmin Connect and Garmin Connect IQ apps installed on your phone.
Q: I am already on Athletica, how do I install the Garmin Connect IQ App on my Garmin device?
A: Please watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gMKj3ggC5k
Q: I am not training with Athletica, can I try the Garmin Connect IQ App for free?
A: Yes, you can. However, to use the Garmin IQ App you must subscribe to Athletica at least with a free-trial plan. Once you have your data available on Athletica (through Garmin or Strava integration), you can then proceed with installing the Garmin IQ App. For the entire duration of the free-trial plan, you will be able to use both the Athletica platform and the Garmin IQ App.
Q: What are the sport activities I can use the Garmin Connect IQ App for?
A: At present, the Athletica Workout Reserve Garmin Connect IQ app reserve is available for road running and cycling. The former necessitates a GPS watch that can estimate running speed, while the latter requires a power meter. At the moment, rowing, XC-skiing, and swimming are NOT supported. Note that the App does not work well for trail running due to many different factors (terrain, forest coverage, etc.).
ADDITIONAL READINGS and LISTENINGS
Read stories behind the Athletica Workout Reserve and how it has been used to process the data and gain insight into the performance of athletes of all levels:
Workout reserve project landing page
How the Athletica Workout Reserve will look like in a cycling climbing stage
How the Athletica Workout Reserve will look like in a cycling sprint stage
A brief introduction to how to train with the Athletica Workout Reserve
Garmin Connect IQ App download page
Check on the Athletica Forum where the Athletica Workout Reserve has been used extensively
Listen to Phil talking about the Athletica Workout Reserve on the Athlete Compass Podcast
Listen to Andrea talking about the Athletica Workout Reserve on the Athlete Compass Podcast