How to Get Structured Workouts into TrainingPeaks (and Onto Your Trainer)

TrainingPeaks is where many riders and coaches keep their training calendar. If a workout lives there, it can flow on to Zwift, Garmin, Wahoo and other apps automatically. The question is how to get a workout from outside, like one of ours, into TrainingPeaks in the first place.

The short answer: use the .zwo file. TrainingPeaks imports planned workouts into the Workout Library from .zwo files, and at the time of writing that is the only file type it accepts for this.

What you need

• A TrainingPeaks account, opened on the web in a desktop browser.
• The workout as a .zwo file. Every workout in our library has a ZWO download button.

Step 1: Import the .zwo file into your Workout Library

1. Open TrainingPeaks on the web and show the Workout Library panel on the right side of the calendar.
2. Create a library folder if you do not have one yet, for example "The ERG Room".
3. Click the ⋮ icon next to the folder and choose Import Workout.
4. Select one or more .zwo files. Bulk import is supported, so you can bring in a whole set at once.

Two things change on the way in. A warm-up or cool-down placed in the middle of a workout becomes a regular ramp, and any interval with a target of 0% FTP becomes a free-ride interval. Neither affects the workouts in our library.

Step 2: Put the workout on your calendar

Drag the workout from the library onto the day you want to ride it. It appears as a planned, structured workout with its intervals, targets and estimated training stress. Check that your FTP in TrainingPeaks is up to date, because the watt targets are calculated from it.

Step 3: Ride it in your app or on your device

Where you ride	How the workout gets there
Zwift	Connect TrainingPeaks in Zwift's connections; the structured workout planned for today shows up in Zwift's workout list.
Garmin Edge or watch	Connect TrainingPeaks and Garmin Connect; planned structured workouts sync to your Garmin calendar and device.
Wahoo ELEMNT	Link TrainingPeaks as a planned workout provider in the ELEMNT app, then sync planned workouts on the unit.
TrainerRoad, other apps	Many training apps read TrainingPeaks workouts once the accounts are linked.

Which automatic syncs are available can depend on your TrainingPeaks account type and on each app, so check the connection settings on both sides. If a sync is not available to you, you can still download the workout file from our site and load it directly: see our guides for Zwift, TrainerRoad, Wahoo ELEMNT and Garmin.

Why not MRC or ERG?

MRC and ERG are older trainer formats that many apps read, but TrainingPeaks does not import them into the Workout Library. Use the ZWO file for TrainingPeaks and keep MRC and ERG for apps like TrainerRoad and for direct loading onto a head unit.

Troubleshooting

• The import option is missing. Make sure you are on the web version and clicking the ⋮ icon of a library folder, not of a single workout.
• Watts look wrong. The targets are percentages of FTP; update your FTP in TrainingPeaks settings.
• The workout did not reach your device. Open the device's companion app and run a manual sync of planned workouts.