📘 User Guide

🚴 Overview

Maximum Trainer is a free, open-source indoor cycling 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 and Intervals.icu.

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 sign in with your Intervals.icu account, or choose Offline Mode to train without an internet connection.

Option A — Sign in with Intervals.icu (recommended)

1. Launch MaximumTrainer from your Start Menu, Applications folder, or desktop shortcut.
2. On the login screen, click Sign in with Intervals.icu.
3. Your web browser opens the Intervals.icu sign-in page — log in (email, Google, or Apple) and click Authorise.
4. Return to MaximumTrainer — the Main Window opens, ready to use.

Option B — Offline Mode

1. Launch MaximumTrainer.
2. On the login screen, click Work Offline.
3. The Main Window opens. All core features — ERG control, sensor recording, and workout playback from your local library — work without an internet connection. Intervals.icu calendar sync and cloud upload are not available in offline mode.

👤 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 MaximumTrainer → Preferences from the menu bar (or Ctrl+,).
2. Select the Profile category.
3. Enter your FTP (watts), LTHR (lactate-threshold heart rate, bpm), and weight (kg).
4. Click OK.

Don't know your FTP?

Use one of the built-in tests (shown in amber in the workout list): the FTP Test (20-minute protocol; FTP = 95 % of your test average), the shorter FTP 8min Test, or the MAP Test (ramp to failure; FTP is estimated as 75 % of your MAP). Your result appears on screen as soon as the test interval ends — no need to finish the cooldown. (Until you've tested, 200 W is a reasonable placeholder.)

📡 Connecting Your Devices

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

Sensors are paired on the Devices tab in the left sidebar of the main window. It has one slot per sensor role — Trainer, Power, Cadence / Speed, Heart Rate, and Muscle Oxygen — and you assign one device to each role.

1. Wake the sensor you want to pair (see the table above).
2. On the Devices tab, click Scan… next to that role. A scanner lists the nearby Bluetooth LE devices.
3. Pick your device — it's assigned to that slot right away. To swap or remove it later, click Clear.
4. For a smart trainer, tick Control trainer resistance (ERG / FTMS) in the Smart Trainer section to enable automatic ERG resistance.

Saved sensors connect automatically when you start a workout — a green indicator confirms each one is active — so you don't need to re-pair them each session.

The app matches each role to the right Bluetooth LE service automatically:

🎮 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.

🚣 Rowing (Beta)

Maximum Trainer can drive workouts from an FTMS-compatible rowing machine. Enable Rowing mode (Beta) in MaximumTrainer → Preferences → General:

• The Devices tab shows a Rower slot in place of the Trainer slot. The two pairings are saved separately, so switching between cycling and rowing never re-pairs your devices.
• The workout dashboard adapts: the cadence box shows Stroke Rate (spm) and the speed box shows Pace per 500 m (e.g. 2:05).
• Workout power targets and ERG control work as for cycling — rowing ergometer watts are real watts.
• Completed activities are saved (and uploaded) as rowing, so Strava and Intervals.icu classify them correctly.

🔍 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. Connect your account: sign in with Intervals.icu on the login screen, or open Preferences → Intervals.icu, paste your API Key and Athlete ID (from intervals.icu → Settings → Developer), and click Test Connection.
2. Click the Intervals.icu tab in the left sidebar of the main window.
3. Use Refresh (or Sync All This Week) 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.

Option C — Included training plans

Maximum Trainer ships with several ready-made training plans. Type a plan name into the Plan filter at the top of the workout list to see its sessions in order (workouts are named week-ride, e.g. "Kickstart 2-1").

New to structured training? Ride them in this order: Base Camp → FTP Kickstart → VO2 Shock Block, with Polarized 3x as a repeatable maintenance week and Lunch Crunch for weeks when time is short.

📂 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 Workout → Import → Single 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 multiple workout files

1. Go to Workout → Import → Multiple Workouts.
2. Select one or more .erg / .mrc files.
3. All selected files are converted and 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. Open the Editor tab at the top of the main window (next to List).
2. Fill in the Name, Type, and optional Plan, Creator, and Description.
3. Build the session in the interval table:
   • Add — appends an interval; set its Duration, Target — Power (W or % FTP), Cadence, Heart Rate, and an optional Display Message.
   • Repeat — repeats a block of intervals (set the # Repeat count, plus an optional Repeat Change to step the target on each pass).
   • Copy / Delete — duplicate or remove the selected interval.
4. The graph preview at the bottom updates live as you edit.
5. 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.

Virtual shifting (Zwift Cog / single-gear setups)

If your trainer uses a single cog (e.g. a Zwift Cog) instead of a normal cassette, free rides and FTP tests would otherwise leave you with no usable resistance. Enable Virtual shifting (Zwift Cog / single-gear setups) in the Smart Trainer section of the Devices tab (it is off by default, so normal-cassette setups are unaffected) and the app gives you on-screen gears.

• A gear indicator (▼ N / 30 ▲) appears on the workout top bar.
• Shift with the Up / Down arrow keys or by clicking the on-screen ▲ / ▼ arrows — a harder gear instantly raises resistance, like a real drivetrain.
• During an ERG power interval the indicator is hidden (the target power is in control); it reappears on free rides and test intervals, where the gears drive the resistance.

Zwift Click v2 controller (beta)

You can shift and control the workout with a Zwift Click v2 controller. It connects over its own Bluetooth link (separate from the trainer), so ERG/FTMS is unaffected. Enable Use Zwift Click v2 controller (right side only) - Beta in the Smart Trainer section of the Devices tab (off by default).

• Wake both controllers before the workout - press a button on each. The left (-) controller only needs to be connected to keep the pair's link stable; you control everything from the right.
• Only the right (+) controller is mapped: Y = gear up, B = gear down, A / Z = next / previous radio station, + paddle = start / pause the workout.
• The left (-) controller is not supported yet - it currently has a connection-drop issue that will be investigated in a later release. For now it serves only to anchor the link so the right side stays solid.

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 to scale the entire session without stopping — ±1 % FTP per press on the on-screen + / − buttons, or ±5 % with the + / - keys.

▶️ 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 it).
2. Choose your connection method: BTLE Device (real hardware) or Simulation.
3. The workout player opens and waits at the start line.
4. It begins according to your start trigger (below) — by default, as soon as you start pedalling. You can also press Start (or Space / Enter) at any time.

How the workout starts

Choose the trigger in the workout's Settings (the gear icon) under Start workout when:

Playback controls

Settings during a workout

Press the Settings gear in the workout player to adjust options without interrupting the session: which metric widgets are shown and their style (Detailed / Graph / Graph & Detailed), which timer elements appear, the start trigger, the Multimedia panel, and your Radios.

The media panel

The large panel beside the power graph can show one of three things. Choose which in the workout's Settings (the gear icon) → Multimedia:

Radio Player

Internet radio is separate from the panel above and plays on any mode. Its controls sit at the top-right of the workout player; add your own stations in the workout's Settings → Radios (they're saved for next time). You can also play, pause, or skip with the radio shortcuts.

💾 Saving Your Activity

How the session ends — and whether it's saved — depends on whether you finish the workout or leave early.

Finishing the workout normally

When the workout reaches its end, a Workout Complete! panel appears over the player with your summary and an Upload Activity section (see Uploading). The activity is written as a .fit file to your history folder.

Leaving before the end

If you Exit before the workout finishes, Maximum Trainer asks "Workout is not completed — Save your progress?" with three choices:

• Yes — saves the ride so far as a .fit file and closes.
• No — discards the ride; nothing is written. This cannot be undone.
• Cancel — returns to the workout.

☁️ 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.
2. Select the Strava category.
3. Click Connect to Strava.
4. Your system browser opens for you to authorise Maximum Trainer. Log in, click Authorise, then return to the app.
5. Maximum Trainer now shows Strava as linked with a green tick.

Uploading after a workout

On a normal finish, the Workout Complete! panel handles uploads:

• Auto-upload on — the activity uploads on its own and the panel shows the status; nothing to click.
• Auto-upload off — the panel shows an Upload to Strava / Upload to Intervals.icu button; click it to upload the .fit file.

Toggle auto-upload per platform in Preferences → Strava and Preferences → Intervals.icu.

⚙️ Settings

Maximum Trainer has two settings dialogs. Preferences (MaximumTrainer → Preferences, or Ctrl+,) holds your account-wide options, organised into the categories below. Display options that apply only while you ride live in a separate dialog — see Workout settings further down.

Workout settings (in the player)

Options that apply only while you ride live in their own dialog — open it with the Settings gear in the workout player. There you choose which metric widgets are shown (power, HR, cadence, speed, balance, SmO₂), the timer style, the Multimedia panel type (video / web / game), and your Radios.

🏟️ 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. Click the Studio tab in the left sidebar of the main window.
2. Toggle Studio Mode on.
3. Set the number of riders — up to 8, limited by simultaneous BLE connections.
4. For each rider, set their name, FTP, and LTHR, scan and assign their sensors, and choose whether ERG/FTMS control is enabled.
5. Start a workout — each rider trains with their own sensors and gets their own live metrics panel. You can also Import / Export the whole studio configuration as JSON.

🗒️ Log Files & Troubleshooting

Maximum Trainer writes diagnostic messages to a log file whenever file logging is enabled in Preferences → Logging. The log captures all network request errors, BLE connection events, and OAuth login steps, making it the first place to look when something goes wrong.

Enabling the log file

1. Open Preferences.
2. Select the Logging category.
3. Tick Write log to file.
4. Optionally change the log file path with the Browse… button.
5. Click OK — logging starts immediately.

Use the Open log file button to open the current log in your default text editor at any time.

Default log file locations

💡 Tips & Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts

Press ? at any time during a workout to view the in-app keyboard shortcuts dialog.

Workout Player

Main Window

Zwift Click (right controller) - when paired (Bluetooth settings).

General tips

• Warm up your trainer before 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. Run the built-in FTP test when your fitness changes — it updates your profile for you.
• Keep the app up to date. It checks for a newer release automatically at startup and offers the update when one is available. New trainer profiles and BLE improvements are shipped frequently.

Troubleshooting

🖥️ Platform Requirements

Maximum Trainer is supported on Windows, macOS, and Linux. The BLE requirements differ slightly per operating system.