Apple Watch TrainingPeaks integration makes personalized workouts easier

It can be said that the offseason is not for training. This year’s major races are complete! However, Apple and TrainingPeaks are getting a head start on next year’s resolutions with a new integration that lets you import custom workouts directly into the watch.

If you’re not familiar with TrainingPeaks, it’s an app that helps endurance athletes find training Their plans for the next half marathon, triathlon – you name it. If you want, it also offers a coaching service that matches you with a certified coach to customize your plan based on your individual schedules, performance, and needs. The idea is to take some of the guesswork out of what you should do to prepare for an event.

The integration itself is simple. It’s based on the new watchOS 10 API and is functionally similar to how Garmin Coach workouts appear natively on your Garmin watch once you subscribe to the software and sync your watch. All you have to do is enable the feature in the TrainingPeaks app settings and allow some Apple Health permissions – all of which is very easy to do.

I got to try it myself before the official launch, and it’s definitely something that will appeal to people who typically buy rugged multi-sport watches. (The Garmin crowd, if you will.)

The TrainingPeaks running workouts I tried are fairly standard for intermediate to advanced level athletes. I set up a Premium account, so I was also able to see some of the coach’s feedback within the app. But what I enjoyed most was how it removed another barrier to getting out of bed, lacing up my sneakers, and hitting the pavement. Analysis paralysis is real, and it doesn’t have to be He thinks About the exercise you are going to do is a huge boon to staying on track. Especially if you are tired of browsing through multiple apps or websites to manage one training plan.

For example, for my last half marathon, I was using the Runkeeper training plan but manually recording each workout on my Apple Watch And In the phone application. Was this largely ineffective? Absolutely, especially since Runkeeper has an Apple Watch app. My issue was that I didn’t like the interface of the Runkeeper Apple Watch app and much preferred the workout views in the native Workout app. But to get my preferred interface, that meant I had to program my own custom playbacks to run at interval or tempo playback on the Apple Watch. This happens TRUE Real old fast.

With the TrainingPeaks integration, there is none of that. When you open the Workout app, you can see today’s workout. The TrainingPeaks logo is clearly visible, and if you click on the three-dot menu, you can check out more details about your workout or view upcoming workouts. When you finish a particular workout, that data is sent directly to the TrainingPeaks app itself, and you can view the results there or in the Apple Fitness app.

It seems like a small thing, but simplistic everyone Sharing your fitness data and plans across multiple apps, devices, and platforms can be a pain. I’m a wearable reviewer and my own system is far from efficient. So it’s good to see this kind of functionality coming to the Apple Watch — a big deal if Apple wants the Ultra to succeed in a category dominated by Garmin. Many endurance athletes don’t use a single app or platform, and most other multi-sport watches have features and integrations that better accommodate personal training.

However, we will have to see how many other third-party applications take advantage of this API. I personally didn’t like the interface of the TrainingPeaks app, and while I liked the programming, I’m more inclined to stick with the apps I currently use. It would be great if Those Apps designed like TrainingPeaks made use of the API in the same way. But even if a bunch of companies do it, the Apple Watch still has a long way to go before I think it will catch the eye of die-hard Garmin fans. If it really wants to attract these people, it’s going to have to address battery life and post-recovery tracking.