Garmin just announced it has acquired TrainingPeaks and TrainHeroic. Two platforms widely used by athletes, coaches, and teams for pretty much everything. That includes programed/structured training, coach-athlete workout delivery, data/performance tracking, and coach-athlete communication.(Image/Garmin)Garmin TrainingPeaksFor cyclists, triathletes, runners, and endurance coaches, TrainingPeaks is already part of the daily routine. As a coach, its been part of mine for the better part of 13 years. Its where plans are built, workouts are assigned, power and heart rate files get combed over, annual training plans are built, and dreams are put into words. Its where athletes can communicate with their coach (or find coaches like myself) directly. Most importantly, its where all the data lives for years of training, racing, personal notes, and health data are stored.(Image/TrainingPeaks)TrainHeroic GarminThose who use TrainingPeaks should be familiar with TrainHeroic (TH). TrainHeroic was acquired by TrainingPeaks and brought an easier way for coaches and athletes to bring strength training into their routine and programming.Why Would Garmin Buy TrainingPeaks? Garmin says the acquisition strengthens its fitness platform with more coaching options for endurance, strength, and performance-focused athletes.Garmin already owns a huge part of the hardware side through watches, cycling computers, heart rate straps, power-adjacent data, and Garmin Connect. Bringing TrainingPeaks and TrainHeroic into the fold gives Garmin a much bigger hand in the planning and coaching side of the equation, not just the recording side.TrainingPeaks and TrainHeroic are owned by Peaksware Holdings, based in Louisville, Colorado. According to Garmins press announcement, 120 combined associates from the two platforms will join Garmins global workforce. Financial terms were not disclosed.(Image/TrainingPeaks)What About The Coaches?The big question is what changes for athletes and coaches. Only two years ago, Todays Plan (another popular training module for coaches and athletes) was purchased by Specialized and left to rot. Will the same come from Garmin? Or is this a play to add more AI coaching into TrainingPeaks and TrainHeroic? Either way, its gonna leave the coaching and strength/conditnoiing world a bit shocked, and looking for other programming options. Garmin did not outline any immediate product changes in the announcement, so for now, there is no clear word on pricing, platform integration, account changes, or whether TrainingPeaks and TrainHeroic will continue to operate as standalone services.(Photo/Jeremy Benson)Where do we go from here? For now, Garmin has two established coaching platforms, TrainingPeaks and TrainHeroic, folded into one of the biggest names in fitness tech. Athletes and coaches will have to wait and see what deeper integration looks like once the corporate dust settles. As a coach that uses TrainingPeaks daily, I am a bit shook. I have some lingering pain from the Today Plan acquisition, and lots of lost data. Hopefully, this acquisition simply puts TrainingPeaks under a new roof and allows all users to continue on with regular programming. Garmin.com