I'm going to suggest something that I don't see anyone else talking about here. Synology, the company mostly known for the NAS devices, makes some surprisingly good routers as well. I've got 2 of their RT2600ac and 3 of their MR220AC mesh units. Their configuration software is unlike anything I've used by any other brand. It a web based interface that looks like a variant of desktop linux. Configuring it feels like configuring an actual computer.
I had originally purchased these for my business, an esports center, but after the business closed a few years ago I kept the hardware and used them in my home. They are so much better than any other consumer networking hardware I've tried from DLink, Linksys, and Asus.
They have newer models out that support AX wifi. But I haven't felt the need to upgrade yet. A few notes though. Their hardware does not necessarily support every cutting edge feature. No wifi 7 as far as I know for instance. They seem to sit about 2-3 years behind the absolute latest, but the trade off seems to be stability and reliability.
In my home, I have every unit physically hardwired back to my server rack in my basement. So while it does support mesh over wifi, I've opted to run ethernet to every room in my house. My general rule is anything that can be wired, should be wired. We even have a disconnected shed/workshop which I trenched and buried a cable out to so that I'd have a wired access point out there.
I rarely see anyone mention Synology's routers, but I think they are worth consideration.
Fitbod is a really popular app that does pretty much exactly what you’re asking for. It’s not free, but here’s a referral link to get 6 free workouts before you have to pay anything. As far as I can tell. It’s the best workout planner available right now if you want to be completely hands off with it.
It will tell you what exercises to do, what set and Rep counts, what weights, etc. You can program it with exactly what equipment you have access to. And even multiple different profiles if you workout in different locations like a gym, at home, body weight only, etc.
They do have short videos in each movement you can choose to view that shows you how to correctly do the movement, but they are there for reference only. It’s not meant to follow along like a fitness+ video is.
I find controlled negatives help a lot with pull-ups. Start at the top of the bar, and slowly lower yourself down. Basically a pull up in reverse. You can aim for a specific number of seconds before you are fully extended.
I live far enough north that my mornings have still been relatively cool. So I’ve been prioritizing running early. My afternoons and evenings have been pretty uncomfortable. So we’ve had to skip some of our daily evening dog walks.
Lots of great options from Garmin. The Forerunner 45/55 is going to be your most basic and cheapest option. Still reliable, good battery life, accurate, etc. This is what I’d recommend if your buying new.
But if you can find a forerunner 245 on the used market (last gen device) or discounted at a retail store, I’d look for one of them. It’s a pretty solid upgrade over the 55. The 200 series is basically Garmins default best value line. The 245 specifically knocked it out of the park in price to performance and is probably their best selling model.
Of course the newer 255 is “better” but unless you got FOMO, there’s not a lot of reason to pay more for it.
I wouldn’t look at anything higher than the 200 line. The 600s are targeted towards long distance marathoners, the 900s towards multi sport triathletes, and the fenix/Epix towards hikers/rugged sports and people with more money than sense. And I can say that while wearing an Epix.
The Venus are comparably priced to the forerunners I recommended but are targeted more at people looking for a smartwatch first.
Running, walking, cycling, swimming, skiing, triathlons – no matter how you move, you can record your active lifestyle on Garmin Connect. It’s the only online community created specifically for Garmin devices.
I’ve been steadily increasing my lifting the last few months and I’ve been tracking everything exclusively in Garmin Connect. It works, but it feels like it lacks polish.
I’m looking for some way that I can program my strength workouts, have them sync with Garmin Connect (and by proxy, my watch). I want pattern matching for the sync. So if I am doing deadlift and program it that way, then the workout Garmin gets in the sync should match it to their internally classified exercise of Deadlift. This is so I don’t have to manually go in later at recategorize everything.
I don’t mind paying for a service.
I’ve tried fitbod, and while it’s a good app, it doesn’t sync with Garmin in any capacity.
I’ve looked int TrainingPeaks, and from their support documents it looks like they do everything except matching the exercises with Garmin. Haven’t paid for premium yet to test it myself yet.
I am currently using just the Garmin Connect app and creating my own workouts. This works well enough, but here are a few of my issues with it.
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I do % based builds. So day 1 would be something like 65% of max. This is easy to do with Garmin tools. But day 2 is 65% + #10, and then 65% +20#. Garmin can’t account for this so I have to manually calculate it.
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A cycle is often around 15 workouts. There’s no folder structure in Garmin Connect, so if you create programming for 5 different exercises, that becomes 75 custom workouts making it hard to find what your looking for. Also, I have to place each workout individually per day. I can’t set them up on a recurring schedule so all 15 show up on my calendar with 1 interaction.
I’ve never been on a team or ran for an organization per se, but while I was in college I got really involved in the local running and triathlon community. I turned to training peaks and bought a 5k, 1/2 marathon and triathlon training program through their site. I think it was one that runners world had published. I got down to a 20:40 5k and 1:44:50 13.1 without any formal training and was pretty happy with that!