FEATURE
the press release, Garmin noted that the acquisition would strengthen their fitness ecosystem with “customisable coaching experiences for endurance, strength and performance-focused athletes across every stage of their fitness journey.”
But what will the acquisition mean for coaches who rely
on TrainingPeaks as their primary source of gaining clients, then both communicating and accepting payments from those clients? A lot of coaches would see TrainingPeaks the same way a small business owner would view Shopify or WooCommerce: A software working in the background to keep their business running. This acquisition, if Garmin decides to implement any major changes in the software or the pricing, could have major consequences for those coaches. (At the time of publication, TrainingPeaks and TrainHeroic’s 120-person staff still remained in place in Colorado, becoming part of Garmin’s global workforce.) Brad Trenkle, Garmin Co-Chief
Operating Officer, noted in the press release that the coach/athlete relationship seemed to be the reason Garmin was interested in the platform, rather than access to athlete/coach data, trademarked metrics like TSS or Normalised Power, or the actual software. “[It will] expand access to more authentic coaching experiences—connecting athletes with professional coaches who guide, motivate and inspire them to reach their goals,” he added. As we’ve hinted at, though,
quarter of 30%+ growth, and pundits note that the growth likely comes not just from Shopify’s use of AI, but from their payment processing abilities. Subscription models are great, but making money by making money? Even better.
The Predictions + Concerns At the time of publication, predictions are all we have. Neither TrainingPeaks nor Garmin are making comments to the press. At the end of July, Clifton Pemble, Garmin’s CEO, did answer a question regarding the acquisition during an earnings call. “In terms of
traditional synergies, we’re really not thinking about any of those,” he said. “The synergies we’re thinking about in TrainingPeaks and TrainHeroic really has to do with our product line and the ability to offer what I would call a 360-degree
experience for our customers, where, using our devices, they record information that is then loaded into the training platform. Coaches are able to review that and provide
recommendations, which then modifies the behaviours of the user. We feel like that’s a
fantastic thing to be able to achieve.” Considering TrainingPeaks
‘THE SYNERGIES WE’RE THINKING ABOUT IN TRAININGPEAKS AND TRAINHEROIC REALLY HAS TO DO WITH OUR PRODUCT LINE AND
TrainingPeaks is interesting not just because it’s a coach/athlete platform for connection, where athletes log their training and check tomorrow’s workout. It has hundreds (if not thousands) of pre-made training plans that have been used by real athletes thousands of times, which is arguably the ultimate beta-testing for what actually works for athletes; it has a solid virtual cycling platform that could steal market share from apps like Zwift and Rouvy; and it has proprietary metrics like Training Stress Score (TSS) and Normalised Power (NP) that are currently licensed to Garmin and Wahoo, among others, for use. And in recent months, it’s added more payment processing options for coaches to its already robust payment functions—interesting when you look at the fact that Shopify just announced its fifth consecutive
14 | September 2026
THE ABILITY TO OFFER WHAT I WOULD CALL A 360-DEGREE EXPERIENCE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS, WHERE, USING OUR DEVICES, THEY RECORD INFORMATION THAT IS THEN LOADED INTO THE TRAINING PLATFORM. COACHES ARE ABLE TO REVIEW THAT AND PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS, WHICH THEN MODIFIES THE BEHAVIOURS OF THE USER. WE FEEL LIKE THAT’S A FANTASTIC THING TO BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE.’
already allowed Garmin users to do just that, the answer still feels vague. But it makes sense, says Vekta’s co-founder Paul Antoine Girard. “We took it as a good signal in the sense that for the market it shows that there is lots of interest for training softwares,” Girard says. “Garmin believes in this relationship between the coach and athlete, which is something we strongly believe in.” A similarly vague email to coaches on the TrainingPeaks platform from TrainingPeaks managing director Lee Gerakos was sent shortly after the
announcement, reassuring them that the “objective is to expand access to more authentic coaching experiences – connecting athletes with human coaches who guide, motivate and inspire them to reach their goals. As a valued customer, we wanted to proactively assure you that TrainingPeaks will continue to operate as a cross-platform ecosystem, enabling athletes and coaches to use the devices, platforms and services that best suit their needs.” For many coaches, the news of the acquisition came with alarm bells not because coaches hate Garmin, but because
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