Apple Health to Strava: Sync or Upload Apple Watch Workouts

By Josep Mampel Marques, updated November 11, 2026

There are two ways to get Apple Watch workouts into Strava. For recent workouts, use Strava's own Apple Health connection: in the Strava app go to Settings > Manage Apps and Devices > Health and connect, then import or turn on automatic uploads. That sync only covers activities recorded with the Apple Workout app in the past 30 days. For anything older, convert the workouts to FIT files with FitMigrate and upload them on the Strava website, up to 25 files at a time for subscribers or 15 for free accounts, each 25 MB or smaller.

Option 1: Strava's Apple Health sync (recent workouts)

Strava's help center describes the connection like this:

1. In the Strava app, tap the settings icon in the upper corner of the You tab.
2. Tap Manage Apps and Devices, then Health, then the plus icon.
3. Tap Connect. On the Health Access page, enable Workouts & Routes and any other data types you want to share.
4. Back in Settings > Manage Apps and Devices > Health, turn on Automatic Uploads, or tap Import next to a workout to add it by hand.

Two limits matter. Only activities recorded with the native Apple Workout app within the past 30 days can sync, and workouts that another company's app wrote to Apple Health will not sync. If you want to bring years of Apple Watch history to Strava, this option alone will not do it.

If you already use the sync, the free option is the right one for new workouts. Use files only for what it cannot reach.

Option 2: upload FIT files (older workouts)

Make the FIT files

1. Export your Apple Health data on the iPhone: Health, Summary, your picture or initials, Export All Health Data. See how to export all Apple Health data.
2. On a computer, open FitMigrate and choose the export.zip.
3. Click FIT next to a workout, or Download all workouts as FIT (zip) for every workout with a route or heart rate.
4. Unzip the download into a folder. Each file is named by start time and type, so you can leave out workouts Strava already has.

Upload them to Strava

1. Sign in at strava.com on your computer.
2. Click the orange plus icon at the top right, then choose Upload Activity and File.
3. Click Choose files, go to the folder with your FIT files and select them.
4. Wait while Strava processes the files, then check the new activities. The screens after this step may vary.

Strava's limits for file uploads:

• File types: GPX, TCX and FIT.
• Up to 25 files at a time for subscribers, 15 at a time without a subscription. For a long history, upload in batches.
• Each file must be 25 MB or smaller. A FIT file for a normal workout is far below that.
• The file must contain real workout data. Strava says an "Empty" error appears when a file it receives has no GPS data. Indoor workouts without a route may be handled differently; if one is refused, a manual activity is the fallback.

Avoid duplicates

Strava does not allow duplicate activities. If a workout already came in through the Apple Health sync, or through Garmin Connect or another connected app, the FIT file for the same date and time will not be added. Sort your FIT files by date and upload only the period Strava does not have yet.

What the FIT file carries

Each FIT file from FitMigrate includes the sport type, start time and duration, the GPS route with elevation when your watch recorded one, the heart rate samples from the workout, the distance and the calories Apple stored. Splits, running power and cadence are not included. Why FIT and not the GPX route files in your export? See GPX or FIT for Apple Watch workouts.

Other options

• Strava's Apple Watch app. Strava has its own watch app for recording new activities. It does not bring over workouts you recorded before.
• HealthFit. This paid iPhone app reads Apple Health and lists Strava among the services it syncs to, and says it can sync your whole workout history. A good fit if you want ongoing automatic uploads from any workout app.

FitMigrate is free, needs no account and keeps your data in the browser, which suits a one-off move of your history.

If workouts are missing from Strava, see the checklist in Apple Watch workouts not syncing to Strava. The same FIT files also work for Intervals.icu.