The Garmin Forerunner 55 is a GPS running watch designed for runners who want more than just basic fitness tracking. Packed with advanced features, a sleek design, and impressive battery life, this watch is the perfect starting point for any runner looking to take their training to the next level. It is also available on Amazon.com
Key Features of the Garmin Forerunner 55
1. Garmin Forerunner 55’s Advanced GPS
The Garmin Forerunner 55 features GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo satellite support, ensuring you get accurate pace, distance, and route tracking, no matter where you run. In my experience, this watch is extremely accurate and reliable. Some GPS watches can take some significant time to locate, but I have never had this problem with my Forerunner 55. It always takes less than about a minute to establish a connection. It is also very accurate at determining what my live pace is. This is very helpful for managing and controlling runs to maximize my training. The GPS usually struggles to locate inside buildings, but I have no issues when running through trees or covered areas.
2. Heart Rate Tracking
Additionally, it has a built-in wrist-based heart rate monitor, so you can track your heart rate throughout your run without needing a chest strap. The heart rate tracking has always been accurate with only occasionally hiccups if my watch is on too loosely. This feature is perfect for athletes looking to maintain certain heart rate zones during their workouts. Personally, I use the heart rate data as a gauge for my fitness and recovery level throughout the season, so having this data accurately gathered on every run is quite useful.
3. Advanced Running Metrics
Unlike basic fitness trackers, the Forerunner 55 is designed to help you improve your running form and performance. The Forerunner 55 has the ability to track advanced running metrics, including cadence, stride length, elevation gain, estimated calories burned, and both average and live pace. I find this data interesting to look at to get a better idea of where I can improve my running. Information such as stride length can help me get an idea about how fresh my legs are.
4. Garmin Smart Training Plans and Coaching
One of the features of the Garmin Forerunner 55 is its personalized coaching. The watch offers a variety of training plans, including intervals, recovery times, and pace guidance, to help you stay on track and improve your fitness. However, I personally have the training suggestion feature turned off. Because I am an athlete and already have an established training plan, I dont need this feature. This feature could be helpful if you have no idea where to start. If you are wondering how to turn off suggested workouts on Garmin Forerunner 55, this link takes you to the owners manual is how I turned mine off.
4. Garmin Forerunner 55’s All-Day Activity Tracking
Beyond your runs, the Forerunner 55 also tracks all-day activity, such as steps, calories burned, and sleep. It even includes a stress tracking feature, which monitors your heart rate variability to help you gauge how your body is handling stress. I like to use the heart rate and sleep features to keep track of my recovery levels. Garmin also has a feature called “Body Battery” that estimates how rested you are. This information can help you get a gauge on how much rest you are getting compared to you activity level.
5. Garmin Forerunner 55’s Long Battery Life
One of the most appealing features of the Garmin Forerunner 55 is its impressive battery life. In my experience I have found the watch usually lasts about 10-12 days without needing charged. This is a huge for me as it means I can go on longer trips or vacations and leave my charging cable at home because I know my watch will last me through. I had the Garmin Forerunner 45 (now discontinued) before the 55 and I noted the improvement in battery life and found that the 55’s battery lasted nearly twice as long with regular use.
6. Garmin Forerunner 55 Lightweight and Comfortable Design
I thoroughly enjoy wearing my Forerunner 55. The simple, sleek design sits comfortably on my wrist and the silicon watch strap is fully adjustable and secure. The watch itself is fairly minimalist and lightweight coming in at just 37 grams. It has just over a 1” display and has a 5ATM water rating (5 ATM rating is about the equivalent of 50m for a short time). It’s no Rolex… but it is comfortable sleek enough to wear around almost all the time.
7. Built-In Sports
In addition to running, the Garmin Forerunner 55 offers a wide range of built-in sports modes, including cycling, swimming, yoga, cardio, indoor track, treadmill, and elliptical. This versatility makes it ideal for athletes who want to cross-train or who participate in multiple sports. It is very simple to select any sport and start a workout. Personally, I use the elliptical mode quite frequently when I cross-train. Because I can select the specific mode, the activity uploads to my Garmin app as an elliptical. This helps me keep my activities organized.
8. Smart Notifications and Music Control
The Forerunner 55 allows you to receive calls, texts, emails, and app notifications directly on your watch when synced with your smartphone. You can also customize what notifications go to your watch, which is great if you don’t want every notification. I personally have my watch set up so that only phone calls and texts will push notifications to my watch. You can also control your music or podcast apps right from the watch.
9. Customizable Watch Face
There are many different watch faces you can select from and on each one you can customize the highlight color to some degree. I like this because it allowed me to select the watch face that is the most useful to me. I use the analog watch face that displays heart rate, step count, date, and watch battery all with some blue highlights.
10. Workout interface
When you begin a run, it is quite convenient to set up the watch to display the information you find important. I have my watch set up to display total distance, current lap time, and pace. This allows me to easily check how far I have gone and how fast I am going from the main watch face during my workout. I have lap time on the main face to help me during workouts. If I am running repeats, I simply have to hit the lap button and the display will show the previous lap time. If I hit the down button, there are three more displays with different data on each. The second screen I have set up to display lap distance, lap time, and average lap pace. Next is heart rate, and finally is the time of day and date. Being able to customize the first display is a huge advantage that allows runners to see the data they want.
Where to Buy the Garmin Forerunner 55
The Garmin Forerunner 55’s list price is $199, but I have seen them on sale recently for $165.99 on Amazon. This watch is a great entry level watch for someone looking to get serious about their running but not wanting to break the bank. Garmin also has a 1-year limited warranty in case something goes wrong with your watch. They have a great customer service team that does a good job making sure you are satisfied no matter what. For example, I had a friend who’s watch randomly died, and Garmin had replaced their watch within 2 weeks with a brand new watch. This watch makes a perfect gift for serious runners, and provides a impressive selection of features at the price point. Buying through the link below supports our site, helping us continue to bring you the best product recommendations for runners.
Final Thoughts on the Garmin Forerunner 55
The Garmin Forerunner 55 is a standout option for runners who want a feature-packed, easy-to-use GPS watch at an affordable price. With advanced running metrics, impressive battery life, and smart features, it’s an ideal choice for anyone who likes to run.
Whether you’re a beginner just starting out or an experienced runner looking for a more reliable and data-driven way to track your progress, the Garmin Forerunner 55 offers a great balance of functionality, comfort, and value.