Importing Workouts
If your workouts are already recorded somewhere else — on Strava or on a Garmin device — you don't have to re-enter them by hand. Cairnholm can import them with full detail: duration, distance, elevation, heart rate, and mile splits.
Both importers live under the Import Workout dropdown in the Exercise page header:
- From Strava — pick any activity from your connected Strava account
- From file (Garmin) — upload a
.tcxor.gpxfile exported from Garmin Connect
Imported workouts are saved as completed activities and count toward everything your manually logged workouts do: year-to-date stats, the training heatmap, Activity Trends, Best Efforts, Lift Records, and the Trophy Room.
Importing from Strava
Connecting your account
The first time you open the Strava importer, you'll be asked to connect. Tap Connect Strava and you'll be sent to Strava to authorize read access to your activities, then returned to the import page. This is a one-time step.
You can also connect or disconnect Strava at any time from the Integrations card in Settings.
Strava is an integration, not a sign-in method. Connecting it only grants Cairnholm permission to read your activity history — it doesn't change how you log in or affect your account.
Picking an activity
The import page lists your recent Strava activities with name, date, duration, distance, and average heart rate. Use Load more activities to page further back into your history.
To narrow a long list:
- Filter chips — chips appear for each activity type present in your loaded activities (Run, Cycling, Swimming, Strength, etc.). Tap one to show only that type.
- Sort — order by newest, oldest, longest, or shortest.
Activities you've already imported show an Imported badge and can't be selected again, so you'll never create a duplicate.
Reviewing and saving
Selecting an activity opens a review screen pre-filled from Strava:
- Stat cards — duration, distance, elevation gain, and average heart rate
- Date and start time — taken from the activity's local wall-clock time
- Mile splits — when available, a table of split time, distance, and average heart rate per mile; splits are saved as individual exercise entries on the workout
Before saving you can adjust:
- Activity type — Cairnholm suggests one based on Strava's sport classification, but you can change it
- Intensity — Easy, Moderate, Hard, or Very Hard (defaults to Moderate)
- Notes — pre-filled with the activity's Strava name; edit freely
Tap Save Workout and the activity lands in your archive as a completed workout.
Duplicate protection
Cairnholm remembers which Strava activities you've imported. If a save would create a duplicate, it's blocked and you'll see a message instead — even across devices or sessions.
Importing from a Garmin file
Choose From file (Garmin) and upload an export from Garmin Connect:
.tcx— recommended; includes full lap splits.gpx— GPS track data
You'll get the same review screen as the Strava flow — stats, date and time, splits, and editable type, intensity, and notes — before saving.
Tips
- Backfill your history — the Strava importer can page back as far as your history goes, so you can pull in past months of training one activity at a time.
- Imported records count — if an imported activity is your longest run or fastest pace, your Trophy Room and Best Efforts update automatically.
- Use the notes field — the Strava activity name is a starting point; add how the session actually felt while you still remember.