Garmin Challenges and Badges
frankwbrown
Posts: 13,400 Member
I'm creating this discussion to share with others my interest in Garmin Challenges and Badges. I know a number of MFP members who have recently gotten a Garmin fitness tracker and who have expressed an interest in Garmin's challenges. So this is a primer to familiarize newcomers with the Garmin badge/challenge landscape.
I've been a Garmin user for over ten years now. As a new user, I saw I was earning badges for my activities. I found these badges very motivating and began actively pursuing them rather than just earning them haphazardly/incidentally. Each badge earns you one to eight points, and there are levels that correspond to having achieved a certain number of points. So, naturally, I wanted to get to the next level, and then the next, etc.
(The points have no value; you don't win anything with them. Beyond giving you bragging rights, they serve only to motivate you and give you a record of your progress.)
There are a lot of badges covering all kinds of activities: running, walking, cycling, steps, yoga, strength, dance, scuba diving, on and on. You are automatically awarded these badges upon completing the required activity.
But there is another category of badges that are earned by completing a challenge. You must explicitly join these challenges in order to earn the badges associated with them. I didn't realize this until just under four years ago. Now, at the end of each month, I look forward to seeing what challenges Garmin will create for the following month.
So, all you fellow Garmin and MFP users out there, this discussion is for you.
I've been a Garmin user for over ten years now. As a new user, I saw I was earning badges for my activities. I found these badges very motivating and began actively pursuing them rather than just earning them haphazardly/incidentally. Each badge earns you one to eight points, and there are levels that correspond to having achieved a certain number of points. So, naturally, I wanted to get to the next level, and then the next, etc.
(The points have no value; you don't win anything with them. Beyond giving you bragging rights, they serve only to motivate you and give you a record of your progress.)
There are a lot of badges covering all kinds of activities: running, walking, cycling, steps, yoga, strength, dance, scuba diving, on and on. You are automatically awarded these badges upon completing the required activity.
But there is another category of badges that are earned by completing a challenge. You must explicitly join these challenges in order to earn the badges associated with them. I didn't realize this until just under four years ago. Now, at the end of each month, I look forward to seeing what challenges Garmin will create for the following month.
So, all you fellow Garmin and MFP users out there, this discussion is for you.
5
Replies
-
An informative blog relating to Garmin's challenges/badges is https://blog.garminbadges.com/.
You will always find an entry about new challenges on this blog, usually just a couple days before they show up in Garmin Connect.
A post was made today listing the January 2025 challenges and badges. There will be ten full month challenges, three quarterly challenges and six weekend/week challenges. Check them out here:
https://blog.garminbadges.com/2024/12/january-2025-challenges-and-badges.html
(or wait for them to show up in Garmin Connect)- January Weekend 40K - Record a 40 km (24.86 mi) cycling activity January 3-5
- January Weekend Walking - Complete a 3-mile walk January 10 - 12
- January Swim Week - Record 1,000 meters of swimming January 12 - 18
- January Weekend 10K - Complete a run of at least 10 km January 17 - 19
- January Weekend 5K - Complete a run of at least 5 km January 24 - 26
- January Ride to 100 - Record 100 km of cycling January 26 - 31
- Active January - Record 20 activities of at least 20 minutes each
- January Time to Ride - Record 20 hours of cycling in January
- January Rundown - Run 50 miles in January
- January Time to Run - Record 10 hours of running in January
- January Step Month - 300,000 steps in January
- Disney, Marvel, & Star Wars Steps - Record 10 days of 10,000 steps in January
- January Gains - Record four hours of strength activities
- January Time to Swim - Record 4 hours of swimming in January
- January Walking - Walk 30 miles in January
- January Warrior - Record 4 hours of yoga activities in January
- 2025 Cycling - Stage 1 - Record 675 km of cycling during January thru March
- 2025 Running Stage 1 - Run 300 km (186.42 miles) during January thru March
- 2025 Walking Stage 1 - Walk 91 miles during January thru March
3 -
Be sure to do an activity on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day to earn these two badges, worht one point each:
- Finish Strong 2024 - Record an activity on New Year's Eve
- Strong Start 2025 - Record an activity on New Year's Day
3 -
FYI for newbies: In addition to the predefined [challenges]/badges and the monthly challenges/badges (referenced above), there is a third category of challenges. These are challenges that you or other Garmin users create. There are only four types of challenges:
- Steps - the most steps wins.
- Running - the farthest running distance wins.
- Cycling - the farthest cycling distance wins.
- Swimming - the farthest swimming distance wins.
These are challenges that you create and challenge other Garmin users to join. You must have connections with other users in order to do these challenges. Other users can challenge you as well, but of course you are not required to join, just as they are not required to join your challenge.
2 -
I should mention one other type of challenge that's relatively new (since March of 2023).
These new challenges are called expeditions. There's a group of Hikes (for steps) and a group of Climbs (for floors climbed). There are 17 hikes ranging from the Great Wall (~28k steps) to the Camino de Santiago (~4.9 million steps). There are 12 climbs ranging from Kosciuszko (7,309 feet) to Everest (~29,000 feet).
They are challenges you must join, just like the monthly challenges, but there's essentially no end date (i.e. the end date is 2099!) and there's no specific start date - start them whenever you want. However, you can join only one at a time of each. Once you complete one, you can join another. You can complete them in any order you want. I've chosen to do them from shortest to longest.
You will find these in the Connect App under Challenges.. Start An Expedition.
2 -
Here we are, near the end of January. I didn't join any running or cycling challenges this month, but I've completed most of the rest of the January challenges, as well as quite a few of the "REPEATABLE" challenges. Here's a list:
Finish Strong 2024 - Record an activity on New Year's Eve ✅ 12/31/24
Strong Start 2025 - Record an activity on New Year's Day ✅ 1/1/25
Walk Streak REPEATABLE - Walk 1 mile in a single activity for 30 consecutive days ✅ 1/6/25
Active January - Record 20 activities of at least 20 minutes each in January ✅ 1/7/25
January Warrior - Record 4 hours of yoga activities in January ✅ 1/7/25
Disney, Marvel, & Star Wars Steps - Record 10 days of 10,000 steps in January ✅ 1/10/25
January Weekend Walking - Complete a 3-mile walk January 10 - 12 ✅ 1/11/25
Sleep Savant REPEATABLE - Receive sleep data for 30 consecutive days ✅ 1/15/25
January Gains - Record four hours of strength activities in January ✅ 1/15/25
Hydration Streak REPEATABLE - Track 64 oz. of water daily for 30 consecutive days ✅ 1/16/25
January Walking - Walk 30 miles in January ✅ 1/17/25
January Swim Week - Record 1,000 meters of swimming January 12 - 18 ✅ 1/18/25
10K a Day Challenge REPEATABLE - Get 10,000 steps/day for 30 days in a row ✅ 1/23/25
Rise and Grind REPEATABLE - Record activity between 4&7am for 7 consecutive days ✅ 1/26/25
Sleep Streak REPEATABLE - Get a Sleep Score of 75+ for 7 consecutive days ✅ 1/26/25
30 for 30 REPEATABLE - Record a 30-minute activity for 30 consecutive days ✅ 1/27/25
January Step Month - 300,000 steps in January ✅ 1/27/25
January Time to Swim - Record 4 hours of swimming in January -- 1 hour to go for this one
Anyone else got some badges to brag about? 🙂2 -
@frankwbrown Good job! I'm failing miserably at getting badges but am learning and trying to get better. Having trouble with the sleep score and walking. I always forget to tell it that I'm walking so it records the steps but not the miles. I'm getting there... LOL3
-
I was really focused on running this month, so I got the running ones, steps and walking. I definitely need to work on varying my workouts.
Disney, Marvel and Star Wars Steps
January Weekend 10k
Active January
10K Run
Treadmill 10K
January Weekend Walking
January Walking
January Step
January Rundown
January Time to Run
January Weekend 5k
Early Riser
And I completed a few of the hike expeditions:
Patagonia Circuit
Cradle Mountain Overlook
Kilimanjaro Machame Route
2 -
Another Garmin fan here
My badges for January so far:- Disney, Marvel, & Star Wars Steps (record 10 days of 10,000 steps in January.)
- January Weekend 10K (record a 10-kilometer running activity from January 17-19.)
- January Weekend 5K (record a 5-kilometer running activity from January 24-26.)
- January Rundown (record 50 miles of running activities in January.)
- January Time to Run (record 10 hours of running activities in January.)
- Strong Start (Record an activity on New Year's Day)
- Sleep Streak (Get a sleep score of 75 or above for 7 consecutive days)
- Last but not least: Mythical Sleep (Get a sleep score of 100)
Still working on Active January - 4 days left for 4 activities.
FYI: today and tomorrow you can get badges for the Chinese New year's, for those of you you didn't know yet.2 -
I'm also a Garmin fan. Won't get a lot this month as I'm still recovering from surgery and an trying to get back into running. Thus nope, might not get anything this month.2
-
I earned many more than I thought!
Personal World Record
Double Duty
Early Riser
Saddle Up
Well Rested (not sure how I got that as my sleep scores usually s*ck)
Heating Up
On Fire
High Intensity
7 Day Goal Getter
Intense 100
Disney, Marvel & Star Wars Steps
Sleep Streak
Chinese New Year's Eve 2025
Walk the Walk 2
Rise and Grind (2 times)
Year of the Snake 2025
I'm also learning that for challenges I need to do steps or minutes rather than miles. I keep forgetting to tell my watch that I'm walking, and it doesn't track miles for a stationary bike. I'm also trying to figure out what affects my sleep core and body battery. Some days my body battery is so low I think I'm going to be negative before lunch. LOL And I stop activity about an hour before bed and read for at least an hour. No doom scrolling on my phone, etc. I'll keep working on those, but so far I'm liking my watch.1 -
I can relate with sleep score difficulties, although see my following post!DaffyGirl88 wrote: »@frankwbrown Good job! I'm failing miserably at getting badges but am learning and trying to get better. Having trouble with the sleep score and walking. I always forget to tell it that I'm walking so it records the steps but not the miles. I'm getting there... LOL
I generally remember to start my walking activities, but what I've done countless times is paused the activity to rest, then continued without unpausing, until it finally dawns on my a mile later. Makes for a funny trail map. A friend keeps telling me "Don't pause... just let it keep running", but I like seeing my moving pace.
1 -
-
Since October of 2023, when Garmin created the sleep-related badges, I've struggled to get 7 consecutive days with a sleep score > 75. I have managed to earn the Sleep Streak badge 27 times so far, but I can't tell you how many times I've had 5 or 6 good days and then along comes a 70 or 74. I've managed a 90+ score a number of times, but figured 100 was never gonna happen. But last night, it did! I've earned the Mythical Sleep badge for a sleep score of 100!
2 -
It's that time again (meaning new month coming). A preview of the upcoming February challenges can be found at https://blog.garminbadges.com/2025/01/february-2025-challenges-and-badge.html. There are 17 monthly recurring challenges plus one for Valentines Day. I don't see a February Time to Swim or a February Walking. Oh well, I guess Garmin doesn't want to be too predictable.
1 -
I got 7 challenge badges over the past YEAR entirely by accident.
Only one was this January. 
I do love my Garmin, but obviously badges are not the main reason, since I'm clearly under-performing on that side of things. Congratulations to all of you who are doing so well with those!
I work out pretty often, but don't walk much, rarely swim, never run, and Garmin doesn't seem to care how much rowing I do except when it falls on one of the days that any activities trigger badges. (I row quite a lot, boats and machines.) I've gotten a few cycling badges in the past, but none last year.
One comment on sleep badges: I hope no one is stressing too much about not getting these, or worrying about sleep scores if not feeling fatigued or having other symptoms. I had the opportunity to compare Garmin's sleep tracking with an in-hospital sleep study. Let's just say Garmin didn't measure up, not even close. This may be because I have unusual sleep patterns - after all, I qualified for an in-hospital study. Still, I'd take the sleep tracking with a grain of salt if feeling OK otherwise.
Just to be an on-topic - if sub-par - thread participant, my accidental badges in the last 12 months, FWIW:
Chinese New Year's Eve 2025
Sleep Savant x17
Year of the Dragon 2024
International Women's Day 2024
Global Wellness Day 2024
Walk the Walk 5
Finish Strong x3
I do some Concept 2 challenges, but clearly I'm not keeping up on the Garmin side.
0 -
@AnnPT77 It is odd that there are no rowing-related badges. After all, there's badges now for: dancing, jump rope, disc golf, pickleball, wingsuit, even drone activity. Not that you care, but you could easily do the monthly Active challenge that requires only 20 activities (of any sort) of at least 20 minutes each during the month. But you certainly don't need the motivation.
There are numerous badges that you get automatically, like the holiday badges and those for your first time doing whatever. You can get quite a few of these early on. Here's some examples:- Getting Started - Record an activity using your Garmin device
- Double Duty - Record two activities in one day
- Heating Up - Record an activity 2 days in a row
- On Fire - Record an activity 5 days in a row
- I am the Night - Record an activity between 10 pm and 4 am
- Early Riser - Record an activity between 4 am and 7 am
- Toasty - Record an activity when it's 100° F or hotter
- Frosty - Record an activity when it's below freezing
- lots more
- Super Strength 1 thru 5
- HIIT 1 thru 5
- Walk the Walk 1 thru 5
- Zen Master 1 thru 5 (for yoga)
- Pilates 1 thru 5
- Steps 30-day, 60-day, 15k, 20k, 25k, 30k, etc.
- Make Up Your Mind - Record one swim activity in yards & one in meters
- Just Keep Swimming - Record an open-water swimming activity
- Arctic Swim - Record an open-water swim when it's 60° F or cooler outside
- lots more
I think by now I've earned most of the automatic badges that I'm likely to earn, apart from the REPEATABLE ones that can be earned 250 times. I wasn't aware of the monthly challenges (that must be explicitly joined) for several years. Now it's those challenges that keep me engaged.
While challenges can be motiving if they present you with a, well, a challenge, it's worth noting that one should rely on one's own motivation, discipline and pursuit of health/fitness, and not get too caught up in chasing points awarded by a fitness device.
That said, it's unlikely I would have started running again (well, slow jogging) if I hadn't seen the March Weekend 5K challenge in March 2022.
3 -
@frankwbrown, that's a good idea: I should pay more attention to details on some of the join-able challenges. I have a pretty established workout routine, but maybe some of these would add to my enjoyment, particularly in Winter when we can't row on the river here, so rowing workouts are on the rowing machine, which I have to say is a bit less fun.
When I look, I have some of the automatic badges going back to 2018, when I got my first Garmin. But I haven't done any challenges that one has to join.
It doesn't really surprise me that they wouldn't offer many rowing-specific badges, maybe not any. Compared to the number of people who walk, bike, run, swim, lift or do yoga - which seem to be the commonest challenges - rowers are a pretty small population. Also, as I mentioned, there are specific sites that on-water rowers tend to focus on. I'm just glad Garmin has models that give us rowing-specific stats for our rowing workouts, whether machine or on water: That's one of the key reasons I love my Garmin.
Thanks for suggesting I join some of the non-automatic challenges!
1 -
Wow, I actually got some badges in January! I thought I got none 😅
Strong start: I started running again on 1. January after about a month of surgery pause.
Sleep savant: I basically always record my sleep data
Chinese new year
Year of the snake
Also got a new record on barbell deadlifts (have not done strength training in ages, thus... not much data in Garmin)
Well, it's something. Unfortunately I missed the 5k running badge because I didn't look at the date. Currently can't run 5k, but am sure I would have gotten there with a bit of walking. Oh well...
Btw, do I need to have the exact name to get strength records, like barbell bench press and not just bench press with assigned weight? Garmin selects the latter automatically, but not sure if this counts towards records.
Hmm.. would this be a good thread for the Challenges forum? Or keep it here?0 -
Love the challenges and badges!!! I selected several for January, then got COVID which took me out for a solid ten days.
Still got several, 30 miles walking, Chinese New Year, the Year of the Snake. If I workout as planned tomorrow, I'll get the 20 activities over 20 minutes too. Which surprised me to realize I was that close. But did miss my overall step count.
The challenges keep me motivated for sure.1 -
While I have taken walks outside when the temperature was around 25F/-4C. I earned this badge yesterday 10F/-12C, I think it was because I connected to my phone GPS? I don’t think I will have many opportunities to get the related ‘toasty’ badge🙃, but am proud for getting outside yesterday.
3 -
p8m6bwghh9 wrote: »While I have taken walks outside when the temperature was around 25F/-4C. I earned this badge yesterday 10F/-12C, I think it was because I connected to my phone GPS? I don’t think I will have many opportunities to get the related ‘toasty’ badge🙃, but am proud for getting outside yesterday.
Good job! Having grown up in Buffalo NY I used to have no problem being out in the cold. Now that I'm old I'm strictly a fair weather walker. 😁1
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 394.2K Introduce Yourself
- 43.9K Getting Started
- 260.4K Health and Weight Loss
- 176.1K Food and Nutrition
- 47.5K Recipes
- 232.6K Fitness and Exercise
- 439 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.6K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153.1K Motivation and Support
- 8.1K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.4K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.9K MyFitnessPal Information
- 15 News and Announcements
- 1.2K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.7K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions