Final Surge to Garmin / TrainerRoad structured workout integration

TomKaufman

FYI, I highly recommend the (relatively) new structured workout integration between Final Surge and both Garmin and TrainerRoad. Super easy to create structured workouts in FS and automatically push them to any Garmin devices or TrainerRoad.

https://blog.finalsurge.com/ride-sync-integration-with-trainerroad/

https://support.finalsurge.com/hc/en-us/articles/360050607053

Coach Patrick

@TomKaufman I've spoken to FS about this...they have suggested we use this for our run workouts, etc...how have you personally used it?

TomKaufman

@Coach Patrick I'm now using it for all of my running and cycling workouts. This is primarily because I think the FS workout builder is significantly better than any of the alternatives within Garmin or TrainerRoad. They did a great job. For me it's also faster than using the terrific libraries the EN team previously created. It takes 60 seconds to build a workout from scratch on FS, but a minute or two to find the previous item from the library, then another minute or two to tweak it for my personal setup.

Here is my model:

• Sunday night: (1) compare my FS plan to the reality of life that week, move workouts around as needed, and then (2) use the FS workout builder to create structured workouts for the week. With FS, building workouts for a full week takes maybe 10ish minutes.
• Overnight Sunday: All of those workouts automatically sync to Garmin and TrainerRoad. If I forget a workout, made a mistake, or need to change something at the last minute, you can always immediately push workouts to Garmin or TR instead of waiting for the daily sync. (Technically you pull TR and push Garmin, but the point is you can get the workouts to devices immediately if needed) Both models are easy.
• During the week: (1) for runs: simply sync my Garmin 945 to Garmin Connect on my phone, which pulls down the workout. I have my watch/phone set to automatically sync anyway, so there are no extra steps. Just push run on the watch, select workout of the day, and go. Super easy. The key point is this means you no longer have to use the terrible ConnectIQ interface with the FS app on the Garmin device. Much easier to just use the native Garmin interface. One less place for things to sync poorly or go wrong. (2) for outdoor rides: exact same sync process, except I use a Garmin 520 head unit instead of watch. (3) for indoor rides: the FS/TrainerRoad integration syncs down to the exact time of day. This means once I've done the sync on Sunday night it shows up as a perfect structured workout on TrainerRoad. Tomorrow morning, for example, I'll just open TR on my iPad and have an ABP ride waiting to go. Again, couldn't be easier.

It all works great for me, but here are a few caveats for you to consider: (i) I'm fully in the Garmin ecosystem because I'm lazy, while others on the team presumably use different platforms, (ii) for Zwift, I haven't done this yet because my time zone Down Under never works with all of you, but if they don't have the same great integration story you can always just use the structured workout that FS pushed down to your Garmin head unit while riding in Zwift because the power meter can be paired with both Zwift and the Garmin head unit. Just dump either the Garmin or the Zwift ride at the end or you'll have a duplicate entry. and (iii) I haven't played with swimming yet, but it should work the same as a run workout.

The dream state obviously would be if the plans themselves pushed down to FS perfectly tailored structured workouts. Or if there were an option in FS to have the system build everything for an entire plan, just as they have the option to layer your personal power numbers across an entire plan. For now, however, this is a very easy Plan B.