How to run a training plan on a smart trainer
Send the cycling plan from Based Training to a Garmin watch or a Wahoo computer. That device sets the trainer resistance for each interval.
Short answer: Build the cycling plan in Based Training and accept it there. Garmin Connect can take the whole plan. Wahoo gets the next 7 days first, then the later rides as those days get close. Sync the watch or the bike computer, pair it to the smart trainer, and start the workout on the device. The device tells the trainer the watts for each step, and the trainer changes resistance to hold them.
Use Based Training
A cycling plan is a set of rides with power targets. Accept the plan in Based Training. Garmin Connect gets the upcoming rides then. Wahoo gets the next 7 days, and later rides go out as those days come into that window. A single generated ride uses the same send. See The easiest way to generate a workout and send it to a device.
Sync the watch or the bike computer the way you already do. Pair the trainer to that device and start the session there. Each interval’s power target is what moves the brake.
The plan builder is marked beta. The rides are structured workouts with a duration and a power target on each step. That is what the watch and the bike computer can run.
On this page
What moves the resistance
The trainer has a brake. The watch or the bike computer commands that brake over ANT+ FE-C, the control link smart trainers use. Garmin lists the sensor as Smart Trainer. Wahoo pairs the trainer the same way it pairs a heart-rate strap, then follows the planned workout.
A step with a power target runs in ERG. The trainer holds that wattage. Spin slower and the brake firms up. Spin faster and it eases off. The step timer lives on the device. When the interval ends, the device sends the next target and the brake changes with it.
Pick a gear where your cadence feels normal, then leave the shifter alone. ERG is chasing watts, so a very slow or very fast spin feels worse than a steady one. Stop pedaling and power drops. The trainer can only hold watts you are actually producing.
The brake follows power. Save your FTP in Based Training before you send, so a percentage has a watt number behind it. With that FTP saved, a Garmin workout carries a watt range for each step. A Wahoo workout carries each target as a percentage of FTP, plus the FTP used to build the file. If the watts on the Wahoo look wrong, those two FTP numbers have drifted apart.
The controller is the watch, the Wahoo, or an app such as Zwift. Use only one of them. Two controllers on the brake make the resistance jump. Start the workout on the device that has the plan.
Record the ride on that same device. A second activity on the other one becomes a second file. See Why one ride becomes three activities.
On a Garmin watch
The workout has to be on the watch before you start. When you accept the plan in Based Training, Garmin Connect gets those rides. Sync the watch. The sessions show up on your wrist.
In the sensor menu, add a sensor and look for Smart Trainer. That entry means the watch can command the trainer over ANT+. Many recent Forerunner and Fenix watches have it, and Edge bike computers have had it for longer. A power-meter pairing records the watts and leaves the brake alone.
Pair the trainer as a Smart Trainer. Then:
- Press START and choose Bike Indoor.
- Hold MENU and open Smart Trainer Options.
- Choose Follow Workout and pick the session.
- Start the timer.
Follow Workout walks the intervals. Free Ride, Set Power, Set Grade, and Set Resistance hold one setting, or follow a course. Garmin’s manual calls this section Using an Indoor Trainer. The names move a little between models. Smart Trainer in the sensor list is the check that matters.
On these watches, a power range is held at the middle of that range. A step written as 200 to 240 watts rides at 220.
On a Wahoo computer
Based Training uploads the ride as a planned workout. Sync the ELEMNT, BOLT, ROAM, or ACE. Pair the trainer the same way you pair any sensor.
On the original ELEMNT, BOLT, and ROAM, set the location to Indoor and start pedaling so the computer connects. On ACE, BOLT 3, and ROAM 3, set the workout profile to Indoor Cycling.
Open the KICKR control page and choose the planned workout. Passive mode records the trainer and leaves the brake to another app. The planned workout is the mode that sets resistance. With power targets, Wahoo runs ERG and the trainer holds each step until the timer moves on. A step with no power target adds no resistance. Wahoo’s support note says the same thing.
Wahoo keeps planned workouts for the next 7 days on the computer. Based Training sends later rides as those days come into that window. Sync again and they show up.
Wahoo documents this for ELEMNT, BOLT, and ROAM, and for ACE, BOLT 3, and ROAM 3.
Other options
You can build the same intervals in Garmin Connect or in the Wahoo app. The trainer behavior is the same. You click every step.
Zwift, TrainerRoad, and Wahoo SYSTM can command the trainer from the app. Leave them closed when the watch or the Wahoo computer is following the plan.
An Edge bike computer uses the same control as the watch. Pair the trainer as a Smart Trainer, start an indoor ride, and choose Follow Workout. A power-meter pairing records the watts and leaves the brake alone.
Limits
- Sync the device, then start the workout on the device. The phone app has no live control of the trainer.
- The ride needs power targets. A heart-rate ride can appear on a Garmin and leave the brake where it is.
- Set FTP before you send.
- Wahoo shows 7 days at a time. Later sessions are sent as they enter that window.
- You sync the watch or the computer yourself.
- Garmin sign-in is experimental. You log in with your Garmin email. The password is never saved. The path is unofficial and can need a reconnect. Read the privacy policy.
- The plan builder is marked beta.
- A running plan does not drive a bike trainer.
- The same cycling workout can also go to a Karoo. This page is the Garmin watch and Wahoo computer path.
Bottom line
Write the cycling plan in Based Training and accept it there. Sync the Garmin or the Wahoo. Pair that device to the trainer and start the workout. The device changes the resistance when the interval changes.