TrainingPeaks: How to Copy, Modify, and Optimize Workouts

How Do You Copy a Workout in TrainingPeaks?

Efficiently managing your training schedule in platforms like TrainingPeaks often involves duplicating existing workouts to save time and maintain consistency. This guide outlines the straightforward steps to copy a workout within the TrainingPeaks calendar interface, a fundamental skill for strategic training planning.

Understanding the Utility of Workout Duplication

The ability to copy workouts within your training calendar is more than just a convenience; it's a powerful tool for effective periodization and consistent training application. From an exercise science perspective, duplicating workouts allows athletes and coaches to:

• Maintain Training Stimulus Consistency: For recurring sessions (e.g., weekly long runs, specific interval workouts), copying ensures the core structure and prescribed intensity remain consistent, facilitating adaptation.
• Streamline Planning: Reduces the manual input required for repetitive sessions, freeing up time for analysis and more nuanced planning.
• Facilitate Progression: Copied workouts serve as a baseline that can then be incrementally modified to apply progressive overload, a key principle for continuous improvement.
• Create Templates: Establish foundational workouts that can be easily adapted for different training phases or athlete needs.

Step-by-Step Guide to Copying a Workout in TrainingPeaks

TrainingPeaks offers intuitive methods for duplicating workouts directly on your calendar.

Method 1: The Drag-and-Drop Technique

This is often the quickest and most visual way to copy a workout.

• Locate the Workout: Navigate to the specific workout you wish to copy on your TrainingPeaks calendar.
• Click and Hold: Click on the workout event and hold down your mouse button.
• Drag to New Date: While holding, drag the workout event to the desired future date on your calendar.
• Confirm Duplication: As you drag, TrainingPeaks will typically create a copy of the workout on the new date, leaving the original in place. If you do not hold down a modifier key (like Alt/Option or Ctrl) and simply drag, it might move the workout. To ensure a copy, confirm the original remains. On some interfaces, holding Ctrl (Windows) or Option/Alt (Mac) while dragging explicitly signals a copy.

Method 2: Using the Right-Click (Context) Menu

This method provides explicit options for copying and pasting.

• Select the Workout: Locate the workout you want to copy on your calendar.
• Right-Click: Right-click on the workout event. A context menu will appear.
• Choose "Copy": From the menu, select the "Copy" option. The workout is now copied to your clipboard.
• Navigate to Target Date: Move your mouse cursor to the specific date on the calendar where you want to paste the copied workout.
• Right-Click on Target Date: Right-click on the empty space of the target date.
• Choose "Paste": From the context menu, select "Paste." The copied workout will now appear on the new date.

Modifying Copied Workouts

A crucial aspect of using copied workouts is understanding that each copy is an independent entity. Once a workout has been duplicated, any changes made to the new copy will not affect the original workout, and vice-versa. This independence is vital for adapting training.

After copying, you can easily:

• Adjust Duration: Change the total time of the activity.
• Modify Intensity: Alter target zones (e.g., heart rate, power, pace), RPE, or specific interval parameters.
• Update Description/Notes: Add specific instructions, focus points, or modify the workout description to reflect the new context.
• Change Workout Type: While less common for copies, you can change the sport or type if needed.

To edit a copied workout, simply click on it on the calendar, and the workout detail window will open, allowing you to make all necessary adjustments.

Best Practices for Efficient Training Planning with Duplication

To maximize the benefits of copying workouts while adhering to sound training principles:

• Create "Template" Workouts: Design generic versions of your most common sessions (e.g., "Threshold Intervals (Bike)," "Zone 2 Run," "Strength Session A"). Save these to your workout library within TrainingPeaks for quick access and copying throughout your annual plan.
• Utilize Workout Libraries: TrainingPeaks allows you to save frequently used workouts to a personal workout library. This is distinct from copying on the calendar and is ideal for building a repertoire of go-to sessions that can be dragged directly onto any date.
• Review and Adjust Periodically: While copying saves time, avoid "set it and forget it" planning. Regularly review your upcoming copied workouts to ensure they align with your current fitness level, recovery status, and training goals. Progressive overload demands that the stimulus evolves.
• Balance Consistency with Adaptability: Copying promotes consistency, which is excellent for building foundational fitness. However, be prepared to deviate and adjust copied workouts based on physiological feedback, race schedule changes, or unexpected life events. Training is dynamic, not static.

Beyond Copying: Leveraging TrainingPeaks for Optimal Performance

While copying workouts is a basic yet powerful feature, TrainingPeaks offers a suite of tools for comprehensive training management. Familiarity with this function is a stepping stone to more advanced planning techniques, including building Annual Training Plans (ATPs), utilizing performance metrics like CTL/ATL/TSB, and analyzing post-workout data to inform future training prescriptions. Mastering the simple act of copying workouts is a foundational step in harnessing the platform for more intelligent and effective training.