🌿 Lifestyle
intervals.icu Workout Builder Text for a Self Coached Cyclist: Power Zones, Ramps, Repeats, and Cadence Cues That Sync to Garmin and Zwift
Turn a plain language training week into intervals.icu workout builder text: warmup ramps, repeat blocks, percent FTP or zone targets, cadence and cue text, and the checks to run in the workout chart before it syncs to a Garmin head unit or Zwift.
0Reviews
Prompt
Act as a cycling coach who writes structured workouts directly in the intervals.icu workout builder text format for self coached amateur riders. You keep sessions honest to the rider's FTP and available time, and you write every line so the builder parses it the first time. Inputs: - Rider FTP in watts, threshold heart rate if known, and the zone model set in intervals.icu: [RiderThresholds] - The week in plain words (what each session is for, days and time available): [WeekPlan] - Indoor or outdoor for each session and the devices used (Zwift, Garmin Edge, Wahoo, smart trainer in ERG mode): [Devices] - Cadence preferences or drills wanted: [CadenceWork] - Recent fatigue, illness, or missed sessions: [RecentLoad] - Target event and date, if any: [Event] - Output format: [Format] - Language: [Lang] Generate: 1. Session list with the purpose of each workout and its expected time, checked against WeekPlan and RecentLoad (reduce or swap intensity if RecentLoad says so, and say why). 2. Builder text for each session. Use section header lines (Warmup, Main Set 4x, Cooldown) with steps below as lines starting with a dash. Write durations as 10m, 30s, 1h; targets as percent of FTP (95%), a range (88-92%), or a zone (Z2); ramps as ramp 10m 50-75%; cadence as 95rpm on the step; and put cue text before the duration so it shows on the head unit. Put repeats on the header line with the count (Main Set 4x). 3. Watt check table: for each target step, the percent and the resulting watts from RiderThresholds so the rider can sanity check the chart. 4. Device notes for Devices: ERG mode behavior on short sprints, what to do outdoors when a step cannot be held on a climb or descent, and how to confirm the sync arrived. 5. Parse check list: what to look for in the builder chart after pasting (total time, number of repeats, no step at 0 watts, ramps sloping the right way). 6. One line on how the week moves toward Event, without promising a fitness outcome. Constraints: - Do not prescribe through illness; if RecentLoad mentions fever or chest symptoms, the plan is rest and a doctor, not intervals. - Keep syntax to forms the builder documents; flag anything to verify in the builder help if unsure. - No em dashes.
Instructions
Replace every [bracket] with your details before running. Works on ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
Generated Output
This image was generated using the prompt above.
Examples
Example Input
RiderThresholds: FTP 248 W, threshold HR 168, Coggan power zones in intervals.icu WeekPlan: Tuesday 60 min sweet spot, Thursday 50 min VO2 work, Saturday 2.5 h endurance outdoors Devices: Tuesday and Thursday on a smart trainer in Zwift with ERG on; Saturday on a Garmin Edge outdoors CadenceWork: wants high cadence drills in the endurance ride RecentLoad: missed last Thursday for work travel, legs feel fine, no illness Event: 120 km gran fondo on November 15 Format: sessions with builder text in code blocks, then tables Lang: English
Example Output
1. Sessions - Tue: Sweet spot 3 x 10 minutes, 60 minutes total. - Thu: VO2 5 x 3 minutes, 50 minutes total. Last week's missed VO2 is not made up; one quality day lost is fine. - Sat: Endurance 2.5 hours with 4 high cadence blocks. 2. Builder text Tuesday Sweet Spot 3x10 Warmup - ramp 10m 50-75% Openers 3x - Fast spin 30s 105% 105rpm - Easy 30s 55% Main Set 3x - Sweet spot steady 10m 88-92% 90rpm - Easy spin 5m 55% Cooldown - ramp 2m 60-45% Total: 10 + 3 + 45 + 2 = 60 minutes. Openers are their own repeat block because a header line repeats every step under it. Thursday VO2 5x3 Warmup - ramp 12m 50-75% - Primer 3m 90% - 3m 55% Main Set 5x - VO2 hard 3m 115% 100rpm - Recover 3m 50% Cooldown - 2m 50% Total: 12 + 6 + 30 + 2 = 50 minutes. Saturday Endurance with cadence - Settle in 20m Z2 Cadence 4x - High cadence 5m Z2 105rpm - Normal cadence 20m Z2 - Easy finish 30m 55-65% Total: 20 + 100 + 30 = 150 minutes. 3. Watt check (FTP 248) | Target | Watts | | 50% | 124 | | 55% | 136 | | 75% | 186 | | 88-92% | 218 to 228 | | 90% | 223 | | 105% | 260 | | 115% | 285 | Z2 in Coggan zones is 56 to 75% of FTP, about 139 to 186 W. 4. Devices - Zwift with ERG: on 30 second openers the trainer lags; start spinning up 2 seconds early or turn ERG off for the openers. - Garmin outdoors: Z2 steps will drift on climbs. Ride the climb at the top of Z2 and do not chase the target on descents. - After saving, open the Garmin Connect calendar or Zwift custom workouts to confirm the sessions arrived before the day. 5. Parse check - Chart total time matches the totals above. - Main Set shows 3 and 5 repeats, Cadence shows 4. - Cooldown ramp slopes down (60-45%), warmup ramps slope up. - No step reads 0 W; a missing target usually means a typo in the percent. 6. Toward November 15 Sweet spot and long Z2 build the steady power a 120 km fondo needs; VO2 is a small part. Repeat this week with a little more time at sweet spot next week if it felt controlled.