Garmin announced today that it will be adding menstrual cycle tracking to its line of trackers and smartwatches. The new feature gives users the ability to log symptoms and track cycles, and offers up additional context by way of Garmin Connect, the company’s mobile app.
The addition follows a similar feature instituted by Fitbit, roughly this time last year. It’s since become a mainstay across the company’s tracker and smartwatch offerings. In spite of still being associated with GPS, Garmin has become a major wearable player in its own right, generally rounding out the global top five, courtesy of devices focused on sports and outdoor functionality.
Garmin’s offering sounds pretty similar to Fitbit’s, primarily focused on offering users a way to log this information in a centralized location along with the rest of the health data Garmin’s devices track. The contextual information, meanwhile, contains tidbits such as:
- Once your period starts, you might find it easier to push yourself physically. In 2002, Paula Radcliffe broke the world record for the fastest marathon in Chicago while dealing with menstrual cramps.
- Your body naturally craves high amounts of protein at this point in your cycle. Lentils, seeds or lean meats are great options to keep you going.
- During the first 2 weeks of your cycle, your body is primed for maximum strength, speed and power. This is the best time to focus on more challenging strength training.
The new feature comes as Garmin looks to expand its wearables’ appeal by offering additional smaller sizes of its devices. The new menstrual cycle tracking feature is available to users starting this week via Garmin Connect. A number of devices will get a widget for the feature, including the Forerunner 645 Music, vívoactive 3 and Fenix 5 Plus Series. A handful of additional devices will be getting it soon.