Turn Any YouTube Video Into an Interactive Workout

GPX or Strava TCX import is for POV YouTube route videos and for building terrain on workouts that need a matched outdoor route. The workout category chosen at creation determines whether primary telemetry is speed (walk/run) or power (cycling and most other equipment types). Once created, that category is locked for the workout.

1. Go to Create/Edit and create a new YouTube workout (or open your draft).
2. Select the correct POV_* category before clicking Create.
3. On the workout landing page, open the Telemetry panel.
4. Choose your GPX or Strava TCX file and click Import GPX / Strava TCX.
5. Review the generated speed/incline or power/resistance curves in the editor and adjust anything that needs tuning.
6. Make the workout public when you are satisfied with the telemetry.

Imported routes store terrain in natural units in the workout file — incline percent on treadmills, grade mapped to resistance or power on bikes. You do not need a separate account preference to scale hills for GPX-backed workouts.

The bottom player graph and workout landing chart show both primary and secondary lines together. Each timestamp stores both values; the player maps them to your equipment profile and detected device range during playback.

If the GPX file includes timestamps, YouTread preserves that timing even when the route is longer than the video. If it does not include timestamps, YouTread spreads the route across the video duration with a 50% default speed baseline before terrain mapping.

For pure 3D route workouts without YouTube, see Route simulation workouts instead.

Route simulations are GPX-only workouts — no YouTube video. You import a route file and race it in a 3D satellite map player with incline or grade driving your equipment.

1. On Create/Edit, click Create Route Simulation Workout.
2. Upload your GPX, TCX, or XML route, enter a title and description, and pick Route Run Simulation or Route Cycle Simulation.
3. Set a target pace (minutes per mile) that defines the workout's baseline effort.
4. After creation, review telemetry on the landing page and click Start Race.

Route run simulation uses speed + grade channels. Route cycle simulation uses power + grade. A starter countdown begins the race; your live effort can drive video-free 3D progress along the route.

Route segments, ghost racers, bot racers, and session recording work the same way as other member workouts when telemetry is ready.

Live recording is for POV YouTube workouts where you do not have a route file but still want natural speed/power and incline/resistance telemetry. You perform the workout once on real equipment while YouTread samples what you actually did.

1. Create a new workout and choose a POV_* category.
2. On the workout landing page, open the Telemetry panel.
3. Click Record telemetry live (owner only, before telemetry exists).
4. Pair your treadmill or bike. The player uses fixed 1.0× video — no effort-based video follow during recording.
5. Use the primary and secondary bias +/− buttons as a remote control for speed/incline or power/resistance. Equipment mapping controls are hidden during recording.
6. Click Pause recording if you need a break; resume when ready. Both video playback and telemetry sampling pause together.
7. When finished, click Finish & save telemetry. Partial recordings are allowed with a confirmation.
8. Review the generated telemetry in the editor before making the workout public.

Treadmills record speed + incline. Cycles record power + resistance. Use GPX import when you have a matching route file; use live recording when you want the workout to follow the effort profile you actually performed.

AI Analysis is for coach-led videos where the instructor gives spoken cues for speed, incline, resistance, power, intervals, recoveries, or effort changes. It is designed for Coached_* categories when AI processing is enabled on the server.

1. Go to Create/Edit and create a new YouTube workout.
2. Select the correct coached category during creation.
3. On the workout landing page, open the Telemetry panel.
4. Click Initiate AI Analysis.
5. Wait for the job to finish. The page shows processing status while the analysis is queued or running.
6. When telemetry is attached, open the editor and review timing and values.
7. Save corrections before making the workout public.

AI works best with clear spoken instructions and structured coaching. It is less accurate for music-only videos, unclear audio, or vague effort cues. Treat the result as a strong first draft.

Coach-led playback always uses fixed 1.0× video; equipment follows the generated telemetry. For POV route videos use GPX import; for full manual control use Manual Telemetry in the editor.

Racing adds up to 10 competitors total before you start. Mix saved Human Sessions (real people) and Bot Racers (synthetic pacing targets) on supported workouts.

Human Sessions

1. Open a workout landing page with ready telemetry.
2. In the available sessions section, click Add to race on your sessions or shared sessions from other members.
3. Pick one session for a head-to-head race or several for a group benchmark.
4. Click Start Race on the workout page (your selections are remembered in the player).
5. During playback, compare your progress to ghost markers on the timeline and in the Racers overlay metric.

Human ghosts follow their recorded session timing, not your live speed or playback bias. Only sessions with at least 20% completion can be raced. Partial-route sessions may not appear on the map until you reach their segment.

Bot Racers (POV and route simulation workouts)

The Bot Racers panel on the workout page adds synthetic competitors such as the original route pace (Youtube Athlete) and personality bots with tunable intensity. Bots and Human Sessions share the same 10-racer limit.

Racing is for motivation and comparison — it does not change the workout's telemetry file.

Member workouts automatically save a Human Session when you complete at least 20% of the workout. Sessions store your real speed, power, elapsed time, and route progress — not playback-bias adjustments to the live view.

• Sessions appear under Your Sessions on the workout page and in Workout History.
• New sessions are private by default. Toggle Shared Session on a session detail page to let other members race it.
• Making a workout private also makes your shared sessions on that workout private.
• Partial-route sessions save with segment thumbnails when you used route segment selection.

Sessions are not recorded in public preview mode. Sign up for the free trial to save and share sessions.

Temporary changes (today's session only)

Use the bias controls in the player panel:

• Primary bias — nudge speed (treadmill) or power (bike).
• Secondary bias — nudge incline (treadmill) or resistance (bike).
• Playback bias — nudge YouTube playback rate on POV workouts with video follow enabled (live view only; see video progress FAQ).

On POV treadmill workouts the player usually starts with Primary: Manual and Secondary: Auto. Manual means YouTread does not command that axis from workout telemetry — use bias buttons as a remote. Auto drives the axis from the workout timeline.

The Controls panel lets you change Primary, Secondary, and Video follows (Off, Auto, My speed, My power) during playback.

Permanent changes (your own copy)

1. Open the workout and click Make Customized Copy.
2. YouTread creates a private copy you own.
3. Open the copy's landing page and click Edit Telemetry.
4. Adjust speed, incline, power, resistance, playback speed, or timing in the editor.
5. Save the edited copy.

If you own the original workout, you can edit its telemetry directly once it exists. If you do not own it, make a customized copy so the creator's workout stays unchanged.

On POV Cycling and Route Cycle Simulation workouts you can attach an interval plan that drives target power while the route or video still controls grade and route progress.

• Upload private .zwo, .erg, or .xml plans in Settings.
• On the workout landing page, choose Free Ride or pick a public or private plan before Start Race.
• Duration modes include fitting the plan to the full route, fitting a segment to the plan, looping the plan until the video ends, or truncating when the video ends.

During play the structured plan sets ERG-style power targets. Terrain from the workout timeline still commands incline/resistance or grade as usual. Public preview mode can use public library plans only.

On POV and route-style YouTube workouts, the video can react to your live effort. Most surprises come from video follow (how the player tracks you) and playback bias (a manual nudge on top).

Start with the player Controls panel

• Video follows: Off — video plays at the workout timeline speed (usually about 1.0×). Equipment still follows the workout; the video does not speed up or slow down with you.
• Video follows: Auto — default on most POV workouts. YouTread matches video to your live speed (treadmill) or power (bike). The style comes from your account Video follow setting.
• Primary: Manual on a treadmill POV workout — the belt is not driven by workout speed targets, but video can still follow your effort when video follow is on. Video stays at 1.0× until your live speed clearly differs from the workout target.
• Coach-led workouts and live telemetry recording — video always stays at 1.0×. No effort-based follow or playback bias during recording.

How following works

• The authored video-to-route alignment supplies the camera athlete's local speed.
• Your measured speed, or physics-derived cycling speed, determines the base playback rate.
• Position error makes only a small rate adjustment. It never causes a drift-correction seek.
• Off keeps fixed timeline playback while equipment controls remain independent.

When my treadmill is at max speed the video is still slow. Why?

Video follow compares your speed to the workout target at that moment, not to your treadmill's maximum. If the route is faster than you can run, playback stays below 1.0× even at max belt speed. Bias controls change the belt; playback bias changes only the picture.

If the workout is too fast today, use bias controls, make a customized copy with lower targets, or turn video follow off and watch at normal speed while equipment still follows the workout.

Can Playback Bias make the video jump backward?

No. Playback bias is a temporary visual multiplier. It does not add distance and cannot trigger a seek.

When I decrease Playback Bias the video slows or pauses. Why?

Negative bias reduces visual playback rate. Video follow also pauses when your speed stays at or below your account pause threshold while stopped or walking slowly.

My saved session shows less route progress than I remember. Why?

Saved history records real speed, elapsed time, and distance — not biased playback. Positive playback bias can make the live view look farther along the route than your actual effort. Replayed sessions show only what your recorded speed would have covered. Sessions still save normally; history is authoritative for racing and stats.

Quick checks

1. Read the video status line in the Controls panel.
2. Confirm Video follows is Off or Auto as intended.
3. Review account Video follow style if seeks feel too frequent or catch-up feels sluggish.
4. Reset playback bias to 0.00 before judging follow behavior.

My Favorites — workouts you starred for quick access. Can be yours or another member's shared workout. Use favorites to bookmark workouts you repeat often without needing edit rights.

My Workouts — workouts owned by your account: ones you created, customized copies, and drafts. Use My Workouts to edit metadata, add or fix telemetry, toggle public/private, verify YouTube ownership, request terrain certification, or manage route thumbnails.

Both filters live in the category dropdown on workout list pages. List pages also support search, duration filters, sort by popular/newest, and badges such as Featured, Verified Owners, and Terrain Certified.

A workout cannot be made private if other members already have saved sessions on it — convert or communicate with your riders first.