How does importing workouts work?
Steps required to import training correctly
1. Save a workout on your watch
Once the athlete has completed their workout, they complete the workout and save it on their watch.
2. Synchronise the watch with an external provider's app
The next step is to synchronise the watch with an application from a third-party provider (Garmin, Polar, etc.) after connecting to it via a Bluetooth connection (or sometimes another method, depending on the watch manufacturer)
You need to make sure that you can see your training in the external app (Garmin Connect, Polar, Suunto, etc). At this stage, the apps you sync your workouts to can be problematic and sometimes need to be restarted in order for them to properly connect to the watch and download your completed workout from it.
3. Importing workouts into the Good Coach App system (except Apple Health)
Once correctly synchronised, the workout will automatically be sent to the Good Coach App system and will be stored in our database. This usually takes a few seconds, but depends on the load on the providers servers and our servers, and the number of workouts currently being processed.
What happens later with the workout depends on whether we have automatic import of workouts enabled in the Good Coach App for the integration.
Automatic workout import
Automatically import workouts is enabled in the Good Coach App mobile app under Settings -> Integrations -> Garmin Connect (or other integration). Option: Automatically import workouts.
After importing a workout, you will receive a push notification on your phone (from the Good Coach App) that the workout is in your account. Once in the app, you sometimes have to refresh the calendar screen by 'pulling it down'.
After importing, the activity can be automatically merged with a training plan prepared by the coach. More....
Manual import of trainings
If you don't have automatic import of workouts enabled, then workouts have to be imported manually. To do this, go into the Good Coach App, select the Calendar tab and press the Import from Garmin Connect button (or other integration). The app will then show the workouts available that have come into the Good Coach App system from an external service.
Always prefer to import workouts from the watch provider service, rather than from Strava. Strava receives workouts from external providers and sends them on to the Good Coach App. That's why the workouts sent by Strava have a limited amount of training data and are simpler than the original workouts. However, it can be useful to import data from external sources if it is not directly supported by the Good Coach App.
4. Importing workouts into the Good Coach App system (for Apple Health).
Workouts are not imported automatically in the case of workouts originating from the Health app (Apple Health), i.e. for example workouts recorded by an Apple Watch and synchronised to an iOS device (the same one on which we have the Good Coach App mobile app installed, e.g. iPhone or iPad). In order to use the workout data performed in the Good Coach App, you need to import it manually.
To do this, go into the Good Coach mobile app, select the Calendar tab and press the Import from Apple Health button. The app will then show the workouts available that are in the Apple Health app on the same device.
For workouts from Apple Health, the Good Coach App can only access workouts that are in the Health app on the same device where we have the Good Coach App installed.
From the Health app, you can also download other workouts stored in this app using other external apps from other devices, such as watches from other manufacturers. To do this, synchronise these workouts with the Health app on the device on which you have the Good Coach App installed, and then import them in the Good Coach App.
5. Add training manually
If a workout has not been imported automatically or is not available for manual import, you can add the workout manually. To do this, go into the Good Coach App, select the Calendar tab and press the Add workout manually button. The app will then show you a form where you have to enter the workout details.
It is important to note, however, that such a workout is much simpler and does not include exact data on heart rate, pace, altitude etc.
Manual import of a workout data file
When manually adding a workout in the browser app, you can also import a FIT file, which contains the full workout information and has the same value as data imported automatically from an external service. If you want to use this method, you can download the FIT file from an external service (e.g. Garmin Connect) and import it manually in the Good Coach App browser app.