Best File Format to Upload to Training Peaks

I similar highlighting things that ameliorate interoperability for end users, and aid advance the manufacture forward. Said differently: I like highlighting cases where companies shift towards manufacture standard file formats that make our lives easier. Or at the very to the lowest degree, my life.

Today Final Surge became the first platform to start pulling .FIT files from Polar, all while leveraging Polar'south quietly available API for .FIT files. You'll remember I first highlighted their new API a picayune nether 2 years agone, about the indicate Polar slowly started to turn the transport towards being more open. Since then nosotros've seen the company accept a number of steps – even adding in ANT+ support few months back on their sensor products similar the OH1/OH1 Plus and H10 straps.

In some ways the .FIT format might seem like a modest and light-headed footstep, but information technology'southward also a large one for allowing them to start transferring more data to 3rd political party platforms. Up until this signal Polar primarily used .TCX files to transfer data, which while a good choice for basic fettle information – gets more than convoluted and easily swollen when y'all effort and starting time adding things similar programmer extensions or complex data streams. While the .FIT file has been adopted past Garmin and most other sports tech companies for the better part of a decade, Polar was kinda the last holdout. Their new .FIT file API option inverse that.

And in turn, Final Surge became the commencement to utilise information technology – a development procedure that started before this year and is at present live.

Speaking of Last Surge, you may not know them – though they have gained popularity, even winning the 2019 Garmin Connect IQ Developer Awards for Best Grooming App. The simplest lift explainer is that Last Surge is somewhat akin to Preparation Peaks or Today's Plan – except free. Well, mostly. It'due south free if you just desire to apply information technology for analytics. Nonetheless, if y'all want one of their grooming plans (Running, Cycling, Triathlon), and then it'll cost you for that program. Or if a coach wants to utilize it for their athletes. Then their lesser line is funded by people buying training plans or coaches. Still, if you're just a regular athlete that wants detailed analytics – and so it's totally costless.

Mayhap I'll do a 'Quick App Review' on it someday. Though, if you're a participating athlete already – I'd love to hear what you lot think (specially if yous've got experience on other platforms). At any rate, we're getting distracted.

Setting information technology up:

Setup is silly like shooting fish in a barrel. They walk through the steps here, or, you can just tap the 'Workouts' menu option, then choose 'Garmin/Device Upload', which takes you to this folio:

Information technology's here you lot'll have the complex decision of choosing from 5 colors. Red = Polar. Or, y'all can read the logo. Your telephone call.

Once y'all practice that, information technology'll bring you lot here. The key checkbox on that one to take note of is that information technology'll automatically merge scheduled workouts from your Final Surge agenda with those coming from Polar. I tin't call up of a reason you wouldn't want this, just of course if yous have a reason, the checkbox is in that location for yous. Otherwise whack that green button.

Like 18 meg other websites out there, you'll and so exist brought to the authorization/authentication page – in this case on Polar'south site to accept/corroborate the app. Blue is the color of pick here for success. Along with that agreeing to the terms checkbox.

And with that, you lot're done, it'southward setup.

Now unlike some platforms, there doesn't appear to be any backfill hither of older workouts. For case my runs and rides this past week with the Polar Vantage V weren't copied over. In talking with Final Surge, that sounds like the mode the Polar API works at nowadays. Since it'south 9PM and I'g home lonely with the kiddos already sleeping, going out and doing another longer test workout isn't possible. However, I did use the Polar Beat app tied to a HR strap and was able to confirm that the files went from Polar Menses to Terminal Surge and showed up there.  It wasn't every bit instant as the connection to Strava (which occurred within iii-5 seconds of hit 'Done' on the app), just it showed up inside a couple of minutes in both cases.

However, considering me recording 60 minutes+GPS for 28 seconds is kinda deadening to look at, here'southward a quick wait at what a Polar workout from earlier this week (Vantage V) looks similar manually uploaded to their platform (for those non familiar with it). Plainly this doesn't show you the .FIT file, but it does show you what Final Surge looks similar – and then there's that.

They besides have a more advanced view also, and you tin toggle the core charts you'd look forth the bottom for things like pace/power/HR/elevation/etc…

But that'due south all stuff we tin can chat virtually on another rainy day. From a .FIT file standpoint, I take reasonably potent conviction that the .FIT files are properly parsed here, both in looking at some of the files generated for my examination data, only likewise considering I know the specific Terminal Surge developers that did a ton of piece of work behind the scenes with Polar hither to make this 'clean'. I'll upload my tomorrow conditioning once I have it synced over, for those curious.

Annotation that while this pulls your completed workouts from Polar to Concluding Surge, this doesn't push structured/scheduled trainings from Final Surge to Polar. In looking through Polar's API documentation, I don't seen an option for that at this time.

Also, another random FYI – this integration isn't listed on Polar's site, either their main folio or their secondary page (I suppose one could argue the first is the secondary and the 2nd the main…merely, either way, it's non in that location yet). Then y'all'll have to follow the instructions to access it from the Final Surge site rather than the Polar site.

Just in example you were looking for information technology, now you lot know.

Wrap Up:

While there hasn't been a ton of media attention on Final Surge, they have been quietly growing and adding new partnerships. Only more importantly: New customers and coaches. Aside from today's Polar implementation the visitor is too in the concluding beta stages of their workout builder they'll be releasing subsequently this summertime.

Of course, the preparation platform field is more crowded than always before. In some ways it's condign harder and harder to stand out among the crowd. And while free is a adept motivator, the reality is that other platforms also take gratuitous tiers too (including the giant, TrainingPeaks). And to be fair, it'south honestly hard to figure out the nuances of those platforms. Large ticket items are mostly the aforementioned, it's the gotchyas that are harder to spot.

Even but doing a quick Google search revealed virtually no current/up to engagement meaningful reviews or comparisons of the different core platforms. Which I know, y'all'll tell me that perhaps I should practise a mega comparing review of them all. Though, long-time readers will know how much I hate doing mega comparing reviews, let alone mega reviews of apps. That'southward like asking me to consume an uncooked broccoli-parsley-artichoke smoothie. So again, I suppose it'll exist good for you – so maybe it'll exist good for me.

So if you've recently switched platforms I'd honey to hear your pros and cons. Keeping in heed that part of the reason I hate doing app reviews is the content becomes so quickly out of engagement. The reviews of Concluding Surge I looked at fifty-fifty from belatedly 2018 (a mere six months ago) were already wrong/out of date on certain features. Times be moving quick!

Oh, and congrats to Polar on getting their .FIT functionality out the door. Looks like the simply thing left on the 'complete manufacture interoperability' checklist is adding ANT+ to their Vantage series units. I mean, simply sayin'…

Thank you for reading!

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Source: https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/05/final-surge-becomes-first-platform-to-enable-polar-fit-file-integration.html

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