How to Export Data from Google Fit (Step-by-Step Guide)
Stay Fit Team··6 min readA step-by-step tutorial on exporting your workout and fitness data from Google Fit and Health Connect using Google Takeout. How to read CSV files and avoid data lock-in.
To export your workout data from Google Fit, visit Google Takeout (takeout.google.com), select Google Fit, and request a download archive. Google delivers a .zip file containing CSV spreadsheets of your daily activities, body weight history, and session logs. To avoid future cloud platform deprecations, use an offline-first workout tracker like Stay Fit where you own your exportable JSON/CSV files from day one.
In this guide
- Why export your Google Fit data now?
- Step-by-step: How to export via Google Takeout
- Understanding the exported Google Fit files (CSV & JSON)
- How to preserve and import your training history
- Why local-first trackers eliminate data lock-in
- FAQ
Why export your Google Fit data now?
Google has been actively transitioning Android fitness infrastructure away from standalone Google Fit cloud services toward Android Health Connect.
During platform shifts, API deprecations and interface redesigns frequently leave lifters stranded or unable to review multi-year lifting trends. Exporting a standalone backup gives you:
- A Permanent Training Archive: A clean spreadsheet of your historical weight, heart rate data, and workout sessions that no cloud service update can delete.
- Platform Independence: The freedom to migrate between workout loggers without losing years of physical effort.
- Privacy Control: The ability to inspect exactly what telemetry and health metrics third-party apps were syncing to Google's servers.
Step-by-step: How to export via Google Takeout
Google Takeout is the official data extraction tool for all Google services. Here is the exact process:
| Step | Action | Key Setting |
|---|---|---|
| Step 1 | Navigate to Google Takeout | Sign into your primary Google account |
| Step 2 | Deselect all products | Tap Deselect all at the top of the list |
| Step 3 | Select Google Fit | Scroll down and check the box next to Google Fit |
| Step 4 | Configure options | Ensure both "Daily activity metrics" and "Activities" are included |
| Step 5 | Choose delivery method | Select Send download link via email (.zip format, 2GB split size) |
| Step 6 | Create export | Tap Create export and wait for the confirmation email |
Note: Depending on how many years of daily steps, workouts, and heart rate logs you have accumulated, the export can take between 15 minutes and several hours to generate.
Understanding the exported Google Fit files (CSV & JSON)
Once you extract the downloaded .zip file, you will find a folder named Takeout/Fit/. It contains three primary categories of data:
1. Daily activity metrics.csv
A high-level overview of each calendar day. Columns include:
Date: ISO timestampMove Minutes count: Active durationHeart Points: Cardiovascular intensityCalories (kcal): Estimated daily metabolic expenditureDistance (m): Total distance traversed
2. All Sessions/ (JSON & TCX files)
Individual structured files for specific logged gym sessions, runs, or bike rides. Each JSON file contains:
- Start time and end time
- Activity type (e.g.
Strength training,Weightlifting,Calisthenics) - Embedded notes or exercise tags
3. Weight/ and Body Measurements/ (CSV)
Time-stamped rows of your scale weight entries and BMI calculations. This is typically the most valuable data to preserve when moving to a new workout app.
How to preserve and import your training history
While Google Fit does a decent job counting daily steps and recording GPS bike rides, it was never designed for serious strength training. It cannot track:
- Exercise-by-exercise set progression
- Live weight and rep logging during rest intervals
- Muscle balance radar charts
- Structured 4-week workout programs
Once you have your Google Fit weight and session archives safely backed up to Google Drive or local storage, you can transition to a dedicated strength logger.
Why local-first trackers eliminate data lock-in
The core problem with Google Fit, Hevy, Strong, and Fitbod is cloud dependency. Your training records reside on someone else's server, behind an account login, subject to server outages or subscription paywalls.
Stay Fit uses an offline-first local architecture:
- On-Device Storage: Your workouts, sets, reps, body measurements, and progress photos live in your phone's internal storage.
- One-Tap JSON/CSV Export: Under Settings → Storage & Data, you can export a full, human-readable CSV or restorable JSON backup anytime with a single tap.
- Zero Account Required: You never create a password, provide an email, or connect a cloud account just to keep your gym logs.
Exporting your Google Fit data using Google Takeout is the best way to safeguard your fitness history against platform deprecations. Once downloaded, keep your data sovereign: switch to an offline-first tracker like Stay Fit that lets you export and control your training files whenever you want.
FAQ
Technical questions on Google Takeout archives, Health Connect synchronization, and CSV formatting.
Frequently asked questions
How do I export all my data from Google Fit?+
Go to Google Takeout (takeout.google.com), deselect all products, select 'Google Fit', choose your preferred archive format (.zip with CSV/JSON files), and request the export. Google will email you a download link within a few hours.
What format does Google Fit export workout data in?+
Google Fit exports activity summaries, daily aggregations, and body metrics as CSV files, while individual GPS and session activity logs are formatted as TCX or JSON files.
Will Google Fit delete my data when transitioning to Health Connect?+
Google is shifting fitness tracking APIs toward Health Connect on Android. While existing cloud records remain in your Google account, exporting a local archive ensures you retain a permanent, portable record of your workout history.
Reader reviews
- F
Practical write-up. I ran it on Stay Fit between sets. No account, no cloud lecture, just the thing this article describes.
- H
I tried this workflow in two other loggers first. Both wanted a plan upgrade. Stay Fit let me finish the steps and save the session. One star off because I still want a bigger exercise demo library.
- E
How to Export Data from Google Fit (Step-by-Step Guide) only helps if the app will actually let you do it. Stay Fit did. The tracker I paid for last year still gates this. One star off because I still want a bigger exercise demo library.
- C
Followed this in Stay Fit the same evening. The steps work because the app does not hide the feature behind Pro. I had been stuck in apps that do.
- G
Bookmarked this and installed Stay Fit so I could execute it, not just read it. That combo is the first time a "how to" post earned a workout.
- D
I used to screenshot my log like an animal. Did this guide inside Stay Fit instead - still free, still on my phone, still mine.
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