📘 User Guide

🚴 Overview

Maximum Trainer is a free, open-source indoor cycling and rowing training application. It connects to smart trainers, power meters, heart rate monitors, and cadence sensors over Bluetooth LE (BLE), runs structured interval workouts in automatic ERG mode, and exports completed activities to the Garmin FIT format for upload to Strava, TrainingPeaks, and SelfLoops.

This guide assumes Maximum Trainer is already installed on your computer. If you need installation instructions, see the README on GitHub.

🚀 First Launch & Login

On first launch, Maximum Trainer displays a login screen. You can create a local account or log in with an existing one. Your account stores your user profile (FTP, weight, heart rate zones) and links to third-party services such as Strava.

1. Launch MaximumTrainer from your Start Menu, Applications folder, or desktop shortcut.
2. On the login screen, enter your username and password, then click Login.
3. If this is your first time, click Create Account and follow the on-screen prompts to set up a new local profile.
4. After a successful login the Main Window opens, showing your workout library.

👤 User Profile & FTP

Maximum Trainer uses your Functional Threshold Power (FTP) and body weight to calculate training zones and relative power (W/kg). Setting these values correctly ensures ERG targets and zone boundaries are accurate.

1. Open Preferences → Preferences & Profile from the menu bar (or the gear icon in the toolbar).
2. Select the User Profile tab.
3. Enter your FTP (in watts). If you don't know your FTP, a value of 200 W is a reasonable starting point.
4. Enter your body weight (in kg).
5. Adjust heart rate zones if desired (default zones are percentage-based on your max HR).
6. Click Save.

📡 Connecting Your Sensors

Maximum Trainer communicates with cycling hardware over Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). Before connecting, make sure your devices are awake and within range (typically 10 m).

Waking up your devices

Pairing sensors in the app

1. From the main window, open Preferences → Device Connections (or the Bluetooth icon in the toolbar).
2. Click Scan / Add Devices. The BLE scanner lists every nearby Bluetooth LE device.
3. Select the correct BLE profile for each device from the list below.
4. Click Connect. A green indicator confirms the sensor is active.
5. Repeat for additional sensors. You can pair multiple devices simultaneously (e.g. an FTMS smart trainer and a heart rate strap).

🎮 Simulation Mode

If you have no Bluetooth hardware available — or simply want to preview a new workout — choose Simulation in the connection dialog. The built-in simulator generates realistic, gently drifting sensor values and responds to ERG load commands, giving you a full end-to-end test of the training logic without any physical devices.

1. When the connection method dialog appears, select Simulation instead of BTLE Device.
2. Choose a workout and press Start.
3. The simulator immediately begins emitting data — no hardware required.

🔍 Finding Workouts

Option A — Intervals.icu calendar sync

Maximum Trainer integrates directly with Intervals.icu — the popular free training platform — to pull your scheduled workouts into the app.

1. Open Preferences → Cloud Sync and enter your Intervals.icu API key and Athlete ID.
2. Click Intervals.icu in the left sidebar of the main window.
3. Use Refresh to load your planned workouts for the current week.
4. Select a workout and click Load Selected Workout to download it to your local library.
5. The workout appears in your library list immediately, ready to start.

Option B — Browse existing library

Previously downloaded workouts are listed in the Workouts tab of the main window. Use the search/filter bar at the top to quickly find a specific session by name, duration, or workout type.

📂 Importing Workouts

If you already have workout files from another application (TrainerRoad, Zwift Companion, Intervals.icu, etc.), you can import them directly into Maximum Trainer.

Supported import formats

Importing a single workout file

1. Go to File → Import Workout in the menu bar.
2. Navigate to your .erg or .mrc file and click Open.
3. Maximum Trainer converts the file to its native XML format and adds it to your library.

Importing a folder of workout files

1. Go to File → Import Course Folder.
2. Select the folder containing your .erg / .mrc files.
3. All compatible files in the folder are batch-imported at once.

✏️ Creating Custom Workouts

The built-in Workout Creator lets you design your own structured interval sessions — specify target power (as absolute watts or % FTP), cadence, or heart rate for every segment, add repeats, and save for immediate use.

1. Click the pencil / Workout Creator icon in the toolbar (or go to File → New Workout).
2. Enter a name, optional description, and workout type (cycling / rowing).
3. Add intervals using the Add Interval button:
   • Set the duration (minutes:seconds).
   • Set the target — Power (W or % FTP), Cadence (rpm), or Heart Rate (bpm).
   • Choose Ramp if the power should smoothly transition from the previous segment.
4. Use Add Repeat Block to wrap a set of intervals in a repeat loop (e.g. 4 × 4 min at 105 % FTP).
5. Drag rows in the interval table to reorder segments.
6. The graphical preview at the top updates in real time as you add and edit intervals.
7. Click Save. The workout is added to your library immediately.

⚙️ ERG vs Slope Mode

Maximum Trainer supports two resistance modes when connected to a smart trainer. Understanding the difference is key to getting the most out of your sessions.

ERG tips

• Maintain a smooth, consistent cadence (85–95 rpm is typical). Abrupt cadence changes cause the trainer to momentarily over- or under-correct resistance.
• When a new interval starts, give the trainer 5–10 seconds to settle at the new target.
• If a target feels too hard or too easy, use Adjust Difficulty (±5 % FTP per press) to scale the entire session without stopping.

▶️ The Workout Player

The workout player is the central screen during a training session. It combines a real-time power graph, live sensor metrics, interval information, and playback controls all in one view.

Display elements

🎛️ During a Workout

Starting a workout

1. Select a workout in the main window and click Start Workout (or double-click the workout).
2. Choose your connection method: BTLE Device (real hardware) or Simulation.
3. The workout player opens and begins the pre-ride countdown.
4. Start pedalling — the ERG controller begins adjusting resistance immediately.

Playback controls

Settings during a workout

Press the gear icon within the workout player to open the in-workout settings panel. From here you can adjust display options — which metrics are visible, timer size, font size — without interrupting the session.

Internet radio

Maximum Trainer includes a built-in internet radio player. Open the settings panel during a workout and navigate to the Radio tab to add a stream URL and adjust volume. Radio plays in the background alongside workout audio cues.

Video player

On desktop builds with VLC-Qt installed, you can open a local video file (training footage, virtual rides) to play alongside your workout. Use Settings → Video in the workout player to select a file.

💾 Saving Your Activity

When you press Stop / Finish (or the workout ends naturally), the post-workout screen appears.

1. Review the activity summary — total time, average and normalised power, average HR, TSS, and interval breakdown.
2. Edit the activity name if desired (defaults to the workout name + date).
3. Click Save to write the activity as a .fit file to your configured history folder.

If you choose Discard instead, the raw data is deleted and no file is written. This cannot be undone.

☁️ Uploading to Strava & More

Maximum Trainer can upload completed activities directly to third-party platforms from the post-workout screen — no need to open a web browser or manually transfer files.

Supported platforms

Linking a platform (one-time setup)

1. Open Preferences → Preferences & Profile.
2. Select the Connections tab.
3. Click Connect to Strava (or TrainingPeaks / SelfLoops).
4. A browser window opens for you to authorise Maximum Trainer. Log in and click Authorise.
5. Return to Maximum Trainer — the platform now shows as linked with a green tick.

Uploading after a workout

1. On the post-workout summary screen, click the Upload to Strava (or other platform) button.
2. Maximum Trainer uploads the .fit file. A confirmation message appears when the upload completes.

⚙️ Settings

Open Preferences → Preferences & Profile from the menu bar to access the full settings dialog. Settings are organised into tabs.

🏟️ Studio Mode

Studio Mode allows multiple riders to train simultaneously on a single installation — perfect for spinning studios and group training sessions. Each rider has their own BLE device slot and individual metrics display.

Enabling Studio Mode

1. Open Preferences → Preferences & Profile.
2. On the Studio tab, toggle Enable Studio Mode.
3. Set the number of riders (up to the maximum supported by your hardware).
4. For each rider, configure their name, FTP, and assign a BLE device.
5. Click Save. The main window now shows a rider panel for each participant.

🏆 Achievements

Maximum Trainer awards achievements automatically at the end of a workout based on your performance data. Achievements recognise milestones such as personal power records, streak completions, and training volume targets.

After saving an activity, any newly unlocked achievements are displayed on the post-workout screen. You can review all earned achievements at any time in the History tab of the main window.

💡 Tips & Shortcuts

Useful keyboard shortcuts (during a workout)

General tips

• Warm up your trainer before calibrating or doing a serious workout. Most direct-drive trainers need 10–15 minutes of easy riding at 100–150 W to reach operating temperature and produce accurate power readings.
• Use simulation mode to preview new workouts and verify that the interval structure is what you expect before committing to the real effort.
• Adjust difficulty on the fly — if a workout is designed at 100 % FTP and you're having a bad day, knock it down by 1–2 presses (−5–10 %) rather than stopping. You'll still get a training benefit and keep the streak alive.
• Set accurate FTP and weight. Incorrect values shift all zone boundaries and make ERG targets too easy or too hard. Update your FTP after every test or ramp test.
• Check for updates regularly via Help → Check for Updates in the menu bar. New trainer profiles and BLE improvements are shipped frequently.

Troubleshooting