TrainingPeaks – Everything you need to know!

TrainingPeaks is the go-to companion for all things around your training. The software is streaks ahead of its competitors for the planning, recording and analysis of your cycling, running, triathlon or strength & conditioning training! However, it can be tricky for new users! Here’s a way to get to grips with some of the key controls!

Getting started with TrainingPeaks

Once you have created your TrainingPeaks account, the first thing you need to do is to get your previous activities synced up. Your previous files will be held by Garmin Connect, Wahoo or similar so you will just need to add the connection. To do this you will need to go into settings, apps and devices and then add a new connection. The files will be sent over automatically and give you up to date readings on your fitness, fatigue and form.

It’s also really important to update your notifications, especially if you are working with a coach! There is a notifications tab under your profile settings that allows you to have emails and mobile notifications sent upon a new upload, update to threshold or comment from a coach!

Setting training zones

This is one of the most important steps when starting with TrainingPeaks. The thresholds you have set will determine your training zones and therefore all of your metrics within the software such as fitness and fatigue. Head to the ‘zones’ tab under settings and make sure it is kept up to date with power and heart rate!

How to view your activities

You have recorded your first training session or ride but want to view all your numbers? Open up your activity and then click the arrow in the top right corner to expand the session and allow you to view the detailed information. If you are on mobile you can click on Map/Graph to move across the pages.

Once you get to the Map/Graph or expanded view screen, you can then start to break the session down and look at individual intervals. This is perfect for reviewing an interval session or looking at certain sections of your route! To find intervals (laps) on mobile you need to click on ‘Entire workout’ to then open up the list of laps and times. On the PC, the laps can be seen at the bottom right of the workout.

Workout comments

Using the post activity workout comments can help your own training or the quality of service from your coach. They give you a point to look back on when reviewing your training or seeing what does and does not work for you. If you work with a coach, they allow the coach to really understand how you were feeling or any relevant information which will effect the analysis of the session. This could include:

How you felt?

How hard the session was?

Anything else specific to the session or significant life events.

What do the workout colours mean?

When you plan training or work with a coach, you will start to see different colours pop up in your calendar for activities you have completed, what do these means?

Green: Completed value is +/- 20% of planned values

Yellow: Completed value is 50%-79% or 121-150% of planned values

Orange: Completed value is more than 50% above or below planned

Red: Workout is was not completed

Grey: Unplanned workouts (completed values with no planned values)

Workout corrections

Most people that have a power meter will come across an anomaly at some point in their training. Power meters can spike unexpectedly from time to time but importantly, you can remove these.

You will need to find the power spike and highlight it by dragging your cursor to select the period of time either side of the spike. Then eliminate the data from the activity and peak power by using the ‘cut’ option.

How to change workout days

You can change the planned workout on mobile by changing the date of the session planned. This would allow you to swap training days or alter a training plan. You can do this on PC with a simple drag and drop. You will need to click the edit button in the top corner of the screen on mobile where you can then change the date for the workout.

Performance Management Chart

Want to find out how your training is going? Have you improved your fitness? Move across to the ‘dashboard’ screen on PC or ‘Charts’ on mobile to open the performance management chart. This chat will show your fitness in blue, fatigue in pink and form in orange. You can then see all those training sessions paying off!

Contact Us

If you need any help with TrainingPeaks or would like to get in touch for a free consultation then use our ‘contact us’ page!