S1
Peak Strength
Heavy compound lifts. Reserved for your highest readiness days — Body Battery high, HRV balanced, load in range.
Your Enduro 3 has Strength Coach and exceptional biometric sensors. Forma adds a layer Garmin doesn't — every session adapts to last night's recovery data.
Try it free →Free guest mode · Pro from £14.99/mo · 28-day trial included
The gap
The Enduro 3 is Garmin's flagship ultra-endurance watch. It carries the full suite of biometric sensors — HRV Status, Body Battery, sleep score, training load, and Training Readiness. Every night it builds an accurate picture of where your body is in its recovery cycle.
The Enduro 3 also ships with Garmin Strength Coach. But Strength Coach operates from a fixed periodisation plan: it follows a calendar, not your physiology. A hard week of long runs, a bout of illness, or a stretch of poor sleep doesn't reroute the plan. The prescription for Tuesday is the prescription for Tuesday regardless of what Monday's run did to your HRV.
Forma re-evaluates from your actual biometrics every single morning. For endurance athletes who also lift, this distinction is meaningful — the session that is appropriate after a long run in an already-heavy training week is very different from a session after a recovery day, even if they fall on the same day of the programme.
How it works
Each morning, enter the values your Enduro 3 shows. Forma runs them through its decision engine and returns a session type, dose rating, and training window in seconds.
| Input | What it signals | Source on Enduro 3 |
|---|---|---|
| HRV Status | Autonomic nervous system recovery | Health Snapshot / Morning Report |
| Body Battery | Overall energy reserve (0–100) | Body Battery widget |
| Sleep Score | Sleep quality and duration | Sleep tracking widget |
| Training Load Ratio | Acute vs chronic load balance | Training Status page |
| HRV Low Streak | Multi-day stress accumulation | HRV Status history |
Compatibility
The Enduro 3 provides every signal Forma uses. This is full compatibility — no signal gaps, no approximations.
| Signal | Available on Enduro 3 | Used by Forma |
|---|---|---|
| HRV Status | ✓ Yes | Primary recovery signal |
| Body Battery | ✓ Yes | Session intensity cap |
| Sleep Score | ✓ Yes | Overnight recovery input |
| Training Load | ✓ Yes | Acute/chronic ratio input |
| Training Readiness | ✓ Yes | Available but not required — Forma uses raw signals |
Forma vs Strength Coach
Both tools aim to structure your strength training. They take fundamentally different approaches.
Garmin Strength Coach
Fixed periodisation
Forma
Daily biometric adaptation
For endurance athletes who also lift, the difference is most pronounced in the weeks before a long race or after a high-load training block. Strength Coach's calendar doesn't know your long run left your HRV suppressed for three days. Forma does — and it adjusts accordingly.
Example decision
You completed a 3-hour long run yesterday. Your Enduro 3 shows the impact this morning — high training load, suppressed HRV, depleted Body Battery. Forma reads the data and responds.
Post-long-run data
Session types
Forma maps your biometrics to one of five session types each morning. For endurance athletes, S4 and S5 appear more frequently in heavy training blocks — which is exactly correct.
Get started
All five biometric signals, full compatibility. Enter your morning numbers and get your first session prescription in under a minute — free, no account required.
Generate my session →Free guest mode available · Pro from £14.99/mo · 28-day trial included
FAQ
Does Forma work with the Enduro 3?
Yes — full compatibility. The Enduro 3 provides every signal Forma uses: HRV Status, Body Battery, sleep score, training load, and Training Readiness. You read the values each morning and enter them in Forma. No workarounds, no gaps.
I already have Garmin Strength Coach on the Enduro 3. Why use Forma?
Strength Coach follows a fixed periodisation plan — the session is determined by the calendar, not last night's biometrics. Forma re-evaluates every morning from your actual HRV, Body Battery, sleep, and training load. For endurance athletes managing concurrent training, this distinction matters most in high-load weeks: Forma will correctly route you to active recovery or rest when your body signals it, regardless of what the plan says.
Is Forma free?
Forma's guest mode is free with no account required. You can generate session prescriptions immediately. Pro (£14.99/mo) adds unlimited daily decisions and Garmin workout push. A 28-day free trial of Pro is included on first Garmin Connect.
Can Forma account for high training load from endurance work?
Yes. Training load ratio is one of Forma's five inputs and it is weighted heavily when elevated. A training load ratio above 1.3 from a heavy run week will push Forma toward S3, S4, or S5 — protecting you from adding strength stress on top of an already-loaded system. This is exactly the scenario where fixed-calendar programmes tend to over-prescribe.
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