Articles · 6 November 2026 · 2 min read
Using Bao with your Garmin, step by step
Connect Garmin once and Bao puts each session on your watch, then brings your runs, sleep and heart rate back by itself. Setting it up takes about two minutes.
In short
- Connecting Garmin is free, and so is sending Couch to 5K to your watch.
- Sessions go to your Garmin calendar; runs, sleep, resting heart rate and HRV come back.
- Move a run in Bao and your watch has the new day after its next sync.
With Garmin connected, Bao puts the week’s sessions on your Garmin calendar and your watch guides you through each one, step by step. Finish a run and it comes back to Bao by itself, along with your sleep, resting heart rate and HRV, so Bao knows when to suggest an easier day.
What you need
- A Garmin watch that follows structured workouts. Most Forerunner, Fenix, Venu, Epix and Instinct models do.
- The Garmin Connect app on your phone, paired with your watch.
- A Bao account, on Android or at app.runwithbao.app.
1. Open Connected apps
In Bao, go to Settings → Connected apps → Garmin. If you’ve just signed up, Bao asks what you run with; choose A Garmin watch and it takes you straight there.
2. Connect Garmin
Tap Connect Garmin. Garmin’s own sign-in page opens. Sign in, and when Garmin asks what Bao can use, leave every box ticked:
- Workout import puts sessions on your calendar.
- Activities brings your runs back.
- Health brings sleep, resting heart rate and HRV.
Garmin sends you back to Bao, which confirms the connection. A few seconds later the page shows how many workouts are on your calendar.
3. Sync your watch
Open Garmin Connect and sync. This week’s sessions appear in your Garmin calendar and on your watch. On most watches you’ll be offered today’s workout when you start a run; otherwise look in your training calendar. Menus differ a little between models.
4. Run
Follow the workout on your wrist: warm up, the main part, then easy home. When the watch syncs, the run appears in Bao, matched to the session it was for. When you first connect, Bao also brings in the last two weeks of runs and recovery.
When your plan changes
Move a run, add time off or make a session easier in Bao, and your Garmin calendar is updated to match. The watch picks it up at its next sync.
In Bao: rides, football, gym sessions and long walks from your Garmin count towards how tired you are, so a big match on Saturday can mean an easier run on Sunday. They show on their day in the Plan tab.
Do I need Health Connect as well?
No. Everything Bao needs comes straight from Garmin, and where Health Connect has the same readings, Garmin’s are used.
If something isn’t working
- No workouts on the watch: sync Garmin Connect, then check its calendar.
- Bao says it can’t add workouts or read health data: a box was unticked on Garmin’s page. Disconnect Garmin in Bao, connect again, and leave every box ticked.
- A run hasn’t arrived: sync your watch. Runs usually arrive within a few minutes.
Disconnecting
Settings → Connected apps → Garmin → Disconnect Garmin takes Bao’s workouts off your Garmin calendar and stops anything new coming in. Runs already in Bao stay.
Garmin and Garmin Connect are trademarks of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries. Bao Run isn’t affiliated with Garmin.