Imported activity does not create exercise load

Yes. That is normal. The exercise load is calculated on the device. Garmin Connect does not do any calculations.

Thanks. Yes, that seems logical, but when I save an activity with Zwift, it uploads automatically to Garmin Connect, and those activities do get an Exercise Load allocated. I suppose that it is Garmin Connect that calculates the Exercise Load in this case since this is a Garmin attribute unknown to Zwift. So why can Garmin Connect not do the same when importing an activity from Kinomap? (Kinomap can only upload directly to Stava; upload to Garmin Connect is not supported and must be done by export/import manually.

I have no experience on Zwift, but my guess is that it's Zwift that calculates the training load and stores it in the .fit file that's uploaded to Garmin Connect. (Similarly the watches calculate training load and store it in their .fit file, which is automatically uploaded in Garmin Connect.)

Thanks. I agree with you that this is the most likely explanation. 

Thanks a lot for your reply. I trust that you are absolutely sure about this. It seems incredible that my watch is used to do that calculation after the Zwift to Garmin sync and then sends the data back to Garmin Connect. 

To add to this discussion, Zwift also syncs with Strava, and so does Kinomap. However when you then export the activity in original format from Strava, the Zwift activity produces a .fit file whilst the Kinomap activity produces a .tcx file. 

So, Zwift sends .fit files and Kinomap sends .tcx files.

Could not there still be a possibility that Zwift adds the Garmin compatible exercise load to the .fit file? And since the original Kinomap format is .tcx it does not contain the exercise load?

This would avoid the crazy ping pong between Garmin Connect and a device.

Thanks a lot for your interesting contribution in helping me to solve this problem.

hoornl said:

Could not there still be a possibility that Zwift adds the Garmin compatible exercise load to the .fit file? And since the original Kinomap format is .tcx it does not contain the exercise load?

I do not use Zwift, so cannot verify it, but I am persuaded that it is indeed that case. If you post a sample FIT file, it might be possible to analyze it and tell for sure. Garmin Connect will only use the exercise load that comes already in the file (regardless whether it is from a Garmin device, or from a 3rd party service). And the data must be from a certified provider (currently only Zwift, TrainerRoad, or ROUVY).That's comprehensible, since the data provider must assure to be using the same algorithms as Garmin, to guarantee the compatibility of data.

Some info here: What Is the Training Status Feature on My Garmin Device? | Garmin Customer Support

DC Rainmaker has written a good article about how it works: Garmin Training Status Now Includes Zwift, TrainerRoad, The Sufferfest and Tacx App Workouts

Thank you very much . The article by DC Rainmaker explains it very well and together with the link sent by trux the puzzle is complete. The differences between the Zwift and Kinomap output is clear and I have seen that indeed the training load compatible device plays an important role in the whole syncronisatin process. Thanks a lot for your valuable help.