Apple Watch adds yet another training feature: Structured workouts from Training Peaks

A few years ago my review of the Apple Watch was pretty simple–as a smart watch it was incredible, but when it came to training, it would do in a pinch, but probably didn’t offer enough features for serious endurance enthusiasts. All that has changed dramatically over the last few years, though, not only with the release of the Apple Watch Ultra in 2022, but with a steady stream of software enhancements that make all of the Apple Watches much more viable as reasonable training tools for serious athletes.

Things started with a big update to the Workout App in 2022, which signalled that Apple was getting serious about endurance training options. Then came the new Apple Watch Ultra, a watch that had enough juice to get through a long ride with ease, all while providing all the data cyclists need during a long-distance training or racing effort.

Continued improvements

This year Apple took things to the next level, adding more cycling functionality including the ability to track power from a Bluetooth enabled power meter.

Things continued to build with this year’s announcement of the Apple Watch Ultra 2, which added more screen real estate to make viewing workout metrics even easier, increased the brightness and vastly increased processor power, all while maintaining the same battery life.

Partnership with Training Peaks

That dynamic just got enhanced even further with a new partnership between Apple and Training Peaks. Athletes can now import custom workouts into their Apple Watch–a big step forward for cyclists and other endurance enthusiasts who are looking for an advanced training tool to help them prepare for a big event.

Apple Watch Ultra 2 testing

We’ve had the opportunity to play around with the new Training Peaks app on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 for a few weeks now and have been impressed with the process. Workouts can be manually or automatically synced over to the Apple Watch, and with just a few button presses and swipes you are quickly into your workout. Once there you can follow through each step of the workout – the watch vibrates to warn you that it’s time to move to the next step of the workout, and you get the appropriate instructions. (In my case the workouts were set up based around HR ranges, which were clear and easy to follow.)

Training Peaks

Most Training Peaks cyclists will likely be following workouts prepared by their coach (or from a purchased training program), but you can also create your own sessions to…