Recently, I found an interesting option for the Activity class in User Settings. I found little information about it after searching the internet. Therefore, I wrote a short article on this topic. I hope the information I found will be useful to you.
As far as I could find the information, Activity Class was more important in older Garmin devices like Garmin Edge and Garmin Forerunner (till Forerunner 910XT). This is the setting where you set your Activity Class to a number from 0 to 10. number 0 means no exercise, and number 10 means daily training.
Activity Class in today’s Garmin devices is irrelevant and only affects the calories calculated. It doesn’t matter if you don’t use calories for any purpose. Activity Class has no effect on VO2 Max, LTHR, FTP, Training Load, Training Effect and Training Status.
What is activity class in Garmin?
So what is Garmin Activity Class? Garmin Connect application has an Activity Class setting that lets you adjust how often and for how long you train each week. This measurement is based on a scale of 0 to 10.
I even created a new account on Garmin Connect to check if they ask you how often you train each week. And no, they don’t ask that. You need to manually change it manually in User settings via the Garmin Connect app or in the web version of Connect.
How to choose Garmin activity class?
I created a small infographic showing where to press in the Garmin Connect application to find Activity class settings.
How to check/change your Activity class?
And in this menu, you will be able to set your Activity class. The chart provided by Garmin indicates the levels you should be referring to. So if you do sports 2-3 times a week, I recommend choosing between 4 and 5.
Remember that walking a dog is not a sport, yes a light walk in the fresh air is very good, but doesn’t walk a dog make you a super athlete? So don’t count walking the dog as a training session.
Do not forget
So if you’re using a newer generation, Garmin device like Garmin Fenix 6 or Garmin Epix watches, Activity class is irrelevant. Activity Class does not affect VO2 Max, LTHR, FTP, Training Load, Training Effect, and Training Status.
Please note that this functionality is used in these watches and devices.
- Edge 200
- Edge 205
- Edge 305
- Edge 500
- Edge 605
- Edge 705
- Edge 800
- Forerunner 10
- Forerunner 50
- Forerunner 101
- Forerunner 110
- Forerunner 201
- Forerunner 205
- Forerunner 210
- Forerunner 220
- Forerunner 301
- Forerunner 305
- Forerunner 405
- Forerunner 405CX
- Forerunner 410
- Forerunner 610
- Forerunner 620
- Forerunner 910XT
So, unless you’re using a Garmin Edge for cycling or an older-generation Forerunner, I’d suggest ignoring the Garmin Activity class.
Garmin activity class and calories burned
If you are already counting calories, choose the right Activity class based on the above information. Because as an example, Activity class 0: 20000 steps get you 2500 kcal burned, and the same amount of steps with Activity class 7 gets you burned 2900 kcal.
Related Articles:
- Garmin Acute Load: What you need to know.
- Garmin HRV: Everything you need to know.
- Garmin Abnormal Heart Rate. What to do?
- How to install free topo map on Garmin watch for hiking.
Conclusion
Garmin Activity class in Garmin devices nowadays plays a minor role. It can slightly change the calories you burn. Therefore, for peace of mind, I’d suggest setting the right Activity class for you and just forgetting about it.
If you have any comments or additional questions, you can leave them in the comment section or write to me directly.
