Garmin buys TrainingPeaks and TrainHeroic in fitness software deal

Garmin announced on 22 July 2026 that it had acquired TrainingPeaks and TrainHeroic, two of the most widely used software platforms in endurance and strength coaching. The deal, struck with Peaksware Holdings — the Louisville, Colorado parent company of both businesses — brings approximately 120 combined staff into Garmin's global workforce of 23,000. Financial terms have not been disclosed.

The acquisition is framed by Garmin as a natural extension of a partnership that has existed for more than a decade. TrainingPeaks workouts already sync to compatible Garmin devices, and health data from Garmin wearables flows back into the TrainingPeaks athlete calendar. The company has followed this pattern before: it licensed Firstbeat's physiology algorithms for years before buying the Finnish firm outright in 2020, and it acquired turbo trainer brand Tacx in 2019 after a long commercial relationship.

What Garmin has actually bought

TrainingPeaks is the better-known of the two platforms. Founded in 1999 by Gear Fisher and Dirk Friel, it built what it describes as the first online training log and has spent more than two decades developing tools for endurance athletes and their coaches. It handles training calendars, structured workouts, performance analysis, and coaching relationships, and is particularly embedded in the running, cycling, and triathlon communities. More than 35 national sports federations trust the platform, which is built around the TSS, CTL, and ATL framework that has effectively become the shared language of endurance coaching.

The platform also carries a training plan marketplace with more than 5,000 plans written by named coaches, a Coach Match service that routes athletes to accredited coaches, and WKO — a desktop analysis package aimed at power-focused coaches sold as a one-off purchase. In October 2024, TrainingPeaks acquired the indoor cycling platform indieVelo and relaunched it as TrainingPeaks Virtual, folding it into Premium subscriptions from March 2025.

TrainHeroic, founded in 2012 and also based in Louisville, operates in a different space: web and mobile tools for strength and conditioning coaches, covering exercise demonstrations, programming dashboards, and athlete progress tracking. It is a more specialist product than TrainingPeaks but fills a gap that Garmin has long struggled with.

Peaksware Holdings is not selling in its entirety. MakeMusic, Alfred Music, and the payments platform Fons remain with the parent company. This is a carve-out of the endurance and performance assets, not a whole-business sale.

What the companies are saying

"TrainingPeaks and TrainHeroic share Garmin's passion for empowering athletes and coaches around the world with world-class training tools, performance metrics and actionable insights. The addition of these highly successful platforms to the Garmin ecosystem will expand access to more authentic coaching experiences — connecting athletes with professional coaches who guide, motivate and inspire them to reach their goals."

— Brad Trenkle, Garmin Co-Chief Operating Officer

"We're thrilled to join forces with Garmin to advance our shared mission of empowering coaches and athletes with science-based training. For over a decade, we've worked together to democratize coaching and performance insights, helping millions of athletes reach their peak through data-driven, structured training."

— Andy Stephens, CEO of Peaksware Holdings

The question nobody has answered yet

TrainingPeaks currently connects to more than 100 devices and apps, including hardware from Garmin's direct competitors: Wahoo, Coros, Polar, Suunto, and Apple, as well as the indoor platform Zwift. As of the announcement date, those integrations remain intact and pricing is unchanged. But Garmin has not made any formal commitment to keeping the platform open indefinitely.

The precedent here is uncomfortable. When Garmin acquired Firstbeat in 2020, it offered reassurances about third-party licensing. That licensing has since wound down. Analyst and cycling tech commentator DC Rainmaker has characterised the deal primarily as a play for Garmin's Connect+ subscription tier, writing: "Garmin has been searching for something that makes Connect+ actually worth paying for, and TrainingPeaks is exactly that kind of layer: mature, respected, already wired into Garmin devices, with a real subscription business attached."

The acquisition also arrives in a competitive moment. Wahoo launched a two-way integration with Coros earlier this year in what was widely read as a direct attempt to chip away at Garmin's grip on athlete data ecosystems. Garmin also acquired MYLAPS — the Dutch timing chip company behind the BibTag and ProChip systems used at mass participation races — in July 2025, signalling a broader push to own more of the race-day and training stack.

Strength training: the less-discussed upside

While the TrainingPeaks purchase attracts most of the attention, TrainHeroic could prove equally significant over time. Garmin's endurance tools are well developed, but its strength-training features have consistently felt underpowered — logging gym sessions and following detailed programmes on a Garmin device can still be clumsy. TrainHeroic brings established strength-programming tools, exercise demonstrations, coach dashboards, and progress tracking. A deeper integration could eventually make resistance training a first-class experience on Garmin hardware rather than an afterthought.

There is also the matter of TrainingPeaks Virtual. With Garmin's capital behind it — and with Garmin having owned Tacx hardware since 2019 without ever shipping its own riding software — analysts have suggested TrainingPeaks Virtual could now develop into a more serious challenger to Zwift and MyWhoosh. Garmin, in other words, finally has both the hardware and the software to build an indoor cycling world of its own.

For now, UK athletes and coaches on TrainingPeaks can expect business as usual. Subscription pricing is unchanged, though it remains set in US dollars; UK coaches will continue to be charged VAT. The longer-term shape of this deal — and what it means for anyone not running Garmin kit — will take considerably longer to become clear.