Garmin Insider

Garmin | PowerDot Cool LinkUp

Garmin | PowerDot Link Up

I love it when something unusual or clever pops up in my inbox – especially when it coincides with one of my favourite products of 2020, PowerDot, and one of the platforms I use the most, Garmin Connect.

PowerDot is a ‘smart’ electrical massage device that you control from an app, I use mine several times a week for post-workout massage and injury prevention. Last night I used it on my calves and lower back whilst watching Netflix. Other than me ‘vibrating a bit’ 😉 it didn’t interfere with my evening social routine and didn’t cost me a trip to the physio. I felt good this morning because of it.

 

Background: Musing About Your Last Garmin Workout

Garmin has all the data it needs about the sport you performed and its duration and intensity. Their Firstbeat algorithms deliver to you many clever and wonderful insights. Indeed you love it when your Garmin confirms a 5/5 Anaerobic effort for that hard interval session.

You almost certainly knew you maxxed out that particular super-hard ride. But, so what? What next? We’ve seen apps that will recommend nutrition, Garmin will give you a recovery time and other apps might even suggest the amount of sleep you might need to optimally recover. What about active recovery/massage devices? Even though I have various physio/massage/recovery devices, I’d never really considered how they might be automatically linked to my workout data to improve the quality of my recovery. At least not until recently.

If you think about it, it’s fairly obvious that Garmin already knows this

  1. The last sport you performed – and hence the likelihood of which muscles needed some post-workout TLC
  2. The intensity-duration of your workout – and hence the nature and duration of physio-like recovery required

Bring On PowerDot

PowerDot is an electrical stimulation/massage product that’s controlled by an app. PowerDot now links to Garmin Connect and automatically notifies you on your smartphone that it has a recovery suggestion for you. You can, of course, override Powerdot’s suggested physio workout and create one yourself.

The PowerDot Linkup with Garmin Connect

As of NOW, PowerDot has linked up to Garmin Connect to recommend and partly-automate recovery protocols with their massage/stimulation product and app. STRAVA and Apple Health have similar linkups and Android/Google Health are pencilled in too.

Let’s say you’ve completed the super-hard ride I just talked about, above. From Garmin Connect, PowerDot takes speed, elevation, power averages and length of your ride to quantify if active recovery (massage) is needed whereas from Apple Health it just takes the heart rate. For many workouts, you will then get a notification in iOS suggesting some recovery actions. If you go to the PowerDot app you are efficiently guided through a short wizard which configures the type of massage/stimulation from PowerDot – the wizard effectively fills in the gaps based on what PowerDot has already gleaned from the Garmin Connect data. You have about 4 hours to complete the recovery protocol for best results.

Here are 7 images to give you a flavour of how you interact with PowerDot

 

Further details that I haven’t shown are in the PowerDot app which, for example, charts some elements of your progress with your chosen protocols/muscle groups over time.

Garmin Connect | PowerDot Linkup – Take Out

This is one of those “Huh! that’s clever” moments.

If you’re an existing PowerDot user then I reckon there’s a good chance that you will use this new feature. The new linkup perhaps won’t get too many people to rush and buy a PowerDot now but articles like this will possibly stick in your mind for when you next think about the cost and need of your next physio visit. I would definitely recommend PowerDot (I don’t say that very often) and it has certainly helped me stave off injuries over the last few months.

Return to PowerDot Review

PowerDot Discount Code, Pricing, Availability & Pads

PowerDot seems to have fairly consistent pricing at rrp. They have periodic one-off offers and there are various standard discount like my 15% one, below which seems to match the best I’ve seen elsewhere (that actually work!)

Duo Uno 15% Discount Code
USA Direct $349 $199 the5krunner15
Amazon – – –
UK Direct £325 £185 the5krunner15
Amazon £325 £185 –
Europe Direct Eu349 Eu199 the5krunner15
Amazon Eu349 Eu199 –
ROW Direct $349 $199 the5krunner15
Amazon Link Link –

Available in red or black

 PowerDot replacement pads are $18/ Eu18/ £17. I’m just about at the end of my original set of pads and the app tells me I’ve used them for 54 hours and 7 minutes.

 

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11 thoughts on “Garmin | PowerDot Cool LinkUp”

  1. Bah, still no love for Android users. They didn’t add the strava link up and now no garmin link either.

      1. PowerDot (Beta) on Android was last updated on 18th November. Doesn’t appear to have Strava in it and certainly won’t have the Garmin code yet. I’ve been really disappointed with PowerDot support for Android, it worked so well on my old iPhone.

      2. PowerDot Service <se*****@my********.com>
        Tue 09/02/2021 23:21

        To: You
        Hi Matthew,

        We are roughly looking to incorporate this integration between October 1 to December 31 2021.

        Thank You,

        PowerDot, Inc.

  2. i received following answer 10 days ago:

    No updates, at this time but this is in the works and hope to have this available for Android users in the future.

    Thank You, 

    1. no
      you can pair to your partners phone as well. you might have to reset the powerdot each time (takes 1 minute)
      if you get the DUO you get two sets of pads.
      for a romantic night in on the 14th you can have a pad each.
      I’m not sure where I’m going with this, I’ll stop now!

  4. Hi,

    If I got this right, power dot is injecting electricity pulse into you muscles like those torture machine the physio use when you ask to much question;)

    How does it compare against massage guns or when use one over the other? I was looking at the massage gun since tend to get tight muscle when adding more volume (running)

    Thanks

    1. yeah if you crank up the volume you can appreciate the beauty of electric shock torture.
      Massage guns: I use both and it depends on the massage gun you have in any case. Powerdot is better in one way in that you can easily do other stuff while it works away on your ailment for an hour. Even some of the lighterweight massage guns are annoying to hold for more than 5 minutes.
      smaller massage guns are easy to hold and a small head can really get at specific points of pain. the placement of powerdot’s pads is a tad hit and miss. tho you essentially surround the pain with the 3 pads and crank it up as high as you can
      if you are single then placing powerdot pads on some parts of your body will be impossible (back). but even there its hard to hold a heavy thumper in an awkward position.
      FWIW: I use powerdot more than my thumper/opove massagers.

  5. There is not a single manufacturer for generic pads that fit powerdot, I contacted a lot of manufacturers, I think it would be better to remove this information, because it is unfortunately not true

    cheers

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