How to Add GPX and Workout Data Overlay to Your Cycling or Running Videos

Action camera footage from rides and runs looks great — smooth, wide-angle, immersive. But it's missing the data story. Your speed at that climb, heart rate through the final sprint, total distance of the route. Adding this to the footage manually is tedious. FitCam's Video Editor was built to solve exactly this.

What is GPX and why it matters for video

GPX (GPS Exchange Format) is the standard file format for GPS route data. It stores timestamped coordinates, elevation, and sometimes speed. Most cycling apps (Garmin Connect, Wahoo, Strava) and GPS devices can export GPX files from your activities.

When you sync a GPX file to your video footage, every frame of your video gets paired with the GPS data from that moment in time. Speed, distance, elevation, and position are all knowable per-frame — and FitCam can render that as a live stats overlay on the video.

Using FitCam's Video Editor with GPX

1. Export a GPX file from your cycling app (Strava, Wahoo, Garmin) after your ride.
2. Transfer the GPX file to your iPhone — via AirDrop, Files app, or direct download.
3. Open FitCam and go to the Video Editor. Import your video (from Camera Roll or Files).
4. Import the GPX file and FitCam will sync the GPS data to your video timeline.
5. Choose your overlay style — speed, distance, heart rate, elevation.
6. Trim your clip if needed, then export. The final video has live data changing frame-by-frame throughout.

Combining Apple Watch data with action camera footage

If you wore an Apple Watch during your ride, you can also import that workout's heart rate data alongside the GPX. This means your exported video can show simultaneously: speed from GPS, elevation from GPX, and heart rate from Apple Watch — all synchronized to the same video timeline.

Common use cases

• GoPro cycling footage combined with Strava GPX data
• Helmet cam running videos with pace and heart rate overlay
• Trail running recaps with elevation profile and effort zones
• Triathlon segments combined into one video with relevant sport-specific overlays

Why do this on iPhone vs desktop?

Desktop tools like DaVinci Resolve can overlay data too, but the workflow takes hours and requires learning complex software. FitCam's approach is mobile-first — import, sync, export in a few minutes on the device where your footage already lives.