Workouts & AI Builder v2

Montis provides both a manual visual workout builder and an AI Structured Periodisation Builder v2—an advanced periodisation engine that generates multi-week, physiologically validated training blocks adhering to the strict Priority 1–4 Governance Hierarchy and native Intervals.icu workout syntax.

In ChatGPT & Claude: the Montis Plan Builder skill builds the same governed plans, and the Montis Coaching skill writes single workouts. Only in the Montis App: persistent personal directives, Performance Progression evidence, workout library folders (Montis and Intervals.icu), the visual editor and saved plans.

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1. Manual Builder & Workout Library

The Manual Builder allows athletes and coaches to design individual structured workouts with instant visual feedback:

• Visual Step Builder: Construct structured sessions using drag-and-drop steps. Add warmup ramps, steady intervals, repeating work/rest sets (5x 3m), free-ride intervals, and cooldowns.
• Relative Target Scaling: Define power as % FTP or absolute watts, heart rate as % Max HR or % LTHR, and running/swimming as target pace. Workouts automatically scale dynamically as your fitness signature updates in Intervals.icu.
• Curated Montis Library Folders: Browse built-in collections tailored to specific physiological adaptations:
  • Activation & Warmup
  • Aerobic Base & Endurance
  • Threshold & Sweet Spot
  • VO2 Max & Anaerobic Repeatability
  • Masters 60+ Adaptations
  • Strength, Yoga, Prehab, and Active Recovery
• Intervals.icu Integration: Pull custom workout folders directly from your Intervals.icu account, edit existing workouts on your calendar, or copy workout descriptions to the clipboard. Intervals.icu then syncs your workouts to your devices and apps (including .zwo / .fit files).

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2. AI Structured Periodisation Builder v2

The v2 implementation represents a major evolution in automated training design. Rather than generating unconstrained workouts, AI Builder v2 operates under a Strict 4-Tier Governance Hierarchy. This mathematical framework ensures every workout is anchored to your chronic training capacity, recovery status, and target race goals.

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│      PRIORITY 1: HARD OVERRIDES                        │
│      Directives · Athlete Constraints · Sickness       │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│      PRIORITY 2: PLAN GOVERNANCE                       │
│      Theme · Microcycle · Deterministic Load Targets   │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│      PRIORITY 3: ATHLETE PRESCRIPTION ANCHORS          │
│      FTP · CP / W′ · Pace · Personalised Z2 (LT1)      │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│      PRIORITY 4: PROGRESSION EVIDENCE                  │
│      ESPE · Durability (ISDM) · SIL Curated Pathways   │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

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👑 Priority 1: Hard Overrides (Highest Authority)

Hard Overrides have unconditional veto authority over all other planning layers. If a Priority 1 rule conflicts with a progressive overload suggestion, Priority 1 always wins:

• Custom AI Instructions: Temporary situational instructions for the upcoming block (e.g., "Traveling Wed–Fri in Week 3, hotel gym only; long weekend ride capped at 2.5h"). Automatically synced from your Intervals.icu profile notes or customized directly in the builder.
• Persistent Personal Directives (Montis Cloud Store): Permanent coaching rules stored in your profile and automatically applied to every plan generated:

  - Strength Rule: No heavy strength within 48h prior to Z4/Z5 high-intensity sessions.- Race Rule: No heavy strength sessions during race weeks; use mobility only.- Recovery Rule: When Recovery Z-Score < -2.0, convert interval sessions to Z2 endurance.
  

• Quick Constraint Snippets: Tap one-click preset buttons (+ VO2 Max Strength, + Pre-Race Strength, + Recovery Z-Score, + Strength 3-Tier) to insert validated physiological safety rules immediately.
• Health & Safety Restraints: Hard stops for recent illness, acute muscular soreness, or rehabilitation constraints.

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🏛️ Priority 2: Plan Governance (Structural Guardrails)

Defines what the plan is structurally authorized to do based on chronic physiological state and target race dates:

• Plan Duration: Choose 4, 8 or 12 weeks (1 to 3 blocks), or a long plan of 24, 36 or 48 weeks (6, 9 or 12 blocks, up to a full year).

  • Plans of up to 12 weeks are built from blocks, using your periodisation cycle.
  • Longer plans are laid out as a season (macrocycle), with phases such as Aerobic Base, Preparation, Aerobic Development, Muscular Endurance, Build, Event-Specific Preparation, Peak, Taper, Race Week, Post-Event Recovery, Base Re-Entry and Transition.
  • Enable Smart (Flash) (Subscribers) works for plans up to 12 weeks. Longer plans use the faster Lite model.
  • Montis library folders can only be used in plans of up to 12 weeks.

• Auto-Aligned Baseline: Analyzes your historical training volume (evaluating 60+ previous training phases) to automatically configure a realistic starting weekly TSS and hour capacity.

• Active Microcycle Status: Detects current operational state (load_accepting, load_sensitive, recovery_seeking) to establish appropriate volume limits and prevent overreaching.

• Deterministic Weekly Targets Engine: Before generating workouts, Montis computes mathematically rigid weekly load targets:

  • Progressive Overload Sliders: Configure week-over-week growth rates (+5% to +10%, default +6%) and recovery week reductions (-30% to -50%, default -40%).
  • Elevated Fatigue Handling: Caps weekly progression when systemic fatigue is elevated.

• Periodisation Cycle: Standard 3:1 (3 load weeks, 1 recovery week), Masters / Low-Capacity 2:1, or Base Rhythm 4:1.

• Target Events: The panel lists the A, B and C races in your Intervals.icu calendar that fall inside the plan. Each one shows its category, its date and the plan week it falls in. Pick one of these:

  • All Target Events: plan around every race in range.
  • No Target Event (Pure … Block Loading): ignore races and follow your cycle only.
  • One or more individual events: tick just the races you want to plan around.

  A selected race overrides the normal cycle with taper weeks, a race week with openers 24–48 hours before, and post-race recovery. With no races in range, the plan follows your normal block progression.

• Restrict to Primary Sport: Keeps the plan to your main sport (Ride, Run or Swim). When this is ACTIVE, you can also add Strength, Activation and Recovery sessions.

  • Strength follows the Montis strength skill: 1–2 WeightTraining sessions a week, written as sets x reps @ RPE/RIR, no made-up weights, and no heavy lower-body work 24–48 hours before key sessions.

• The builder doesn't generate a plan when the page opens. Set your options, then press Generate Custom AI Plan.

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🎯 Priority 3: Athlete Prescription Anchors

Calibrates every prescribed workout step against your physiological boundaries:

• Power & Metabolic Models: Anchors workouts to your current FTP, eFTP, Critical Power (Skiba CP), anaerobic work capacity (W′), and neuromuscular power (Pmax).
• Speed & Heart Rate Anchors: Calibrates running threshold pace, pace zones, swimming 100m pace, LTHR, and Max HR.
• Personalised Zone 2 (LT1 Calibrated): Integrates lactate threshold calibration data to define your individual aerobic endurance boundaries. This ensures long aerobic sessions stimulate mitochondrial biogenesis and fat oxidation without drifting into tempo fatigue.
  • See Where your personalised Z2 is used for setup and how the range changes Ride endurance steps.

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📈 Priority 4: Progression Evidence (Montis Intelligence & SIL Pathways)

Provides the generative engine with physiological adaptation and execution evidence from the Montis Intelligence Stack:

• Deterministic Adaptation Focus: Select the specific adaptation pathway for the block:
  • AUTO: Automatically matches the overall periodisation theme.
  • THRESHOLD: Focuses on ESPE threshold adaptation timeline, aerobic capacity, and TTE (Time to Exhaustion) extension.
  • VO2: Maximizes aerobic ceiling progression, high-aerobic stroke volume, and high-intensity interval repeatability.
  • AEROBIC: Prioritizes decoupling resistance, durability (ISDM), and mitochondrial fat oxidation efficiency.
  • ANAEROBIC: Focuses on W′ depletion tolerance, high-glycolytic capacity, and anaerobic repeatability.
  • NEURAL: Emphasizes cadence density, neuromuscular recruitment, and sprint rate of force development.
  • RECOVERY: Strict physiological consolidation, restoration, and active adaptation washouts.
• ESPE (Energy System Progression Engine): Compares power curves across trailing comparison windows to track adaptation status (supercompensation, maintenance, detraining, fatigue_decline) across individual physiological systems (Anaerobic, VO2 Max, Threshold, and Aerobic Durability).
• Fatigue Resistance & Work Retention: Evaluates late-session power retention after significant mechanical work (e.g., 2,000+ kJ). Identifies whether an athlete's primary limiter is short-power fatigue or chronic durability decay.
• Performance Intelligence (PI) Stack:
  • ISDM Durability: Quantifies aerobic drift through cardiovascular decoupling (mean_decoupling_7d, max_decoupling_7d, high-drift session frequency).
  • WDRM Anaerobic Repeatability: Evaluates W′ depletion depth, total Joules above FTP, and recovery kinetics across microcycles.
  • NDLI Neural Load Density: Monitors the clustering of high-intensity efforts, average Intensity Factor (IF), and Variability Index (VI).
• External Environmental Load Context: Incorporates environmental stressors (acute heat, elevated thermal strain, cardiovascular drift) to calibrate recovery margins.
• Recent Execution Evidence: Evaluates completion ratios and compliance signals (ready_to_progress, consolidating, overreached) from recent microcycles.
• Session Intensity Lab (SIL) Curated Pathways: Athlete-curated progression lineages linked directly into the plan. The AI inspects historical interval durations (e.g., advancing from 4x8m to 3x12m or 2x20m at threshold) and schedules the recommended progression session into the appropriate build week.
• Progression Safety Rule: Positive progression evidence is never permitted to force additional overload when higher-priority governance requires recovery, taper, or reduced load.

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3. Guiding the AI: The Value of Curated Pathways & Athlete Context

The true power of Montis AI Builder is not just generating workouts—it is ensuring the AI understands who you are, what you have already achieved, and where your physiology is heading.

Standard AI fitness tools generate disconnected workouts with zero historical memory: you might receive a generic 4x10-minute session one week and a completely unrelated 5x3-minute session the next. By connecting your Session Intensity Lab (SIL) Curated Pathways, Montis transforms your real Intervals.icu history into an intelligent coaching brief for the AI.

🎯 The Core Messages Montis Communicates to the AI on Your Behalf

Rather than leaving the AI to guess, Montis passes 5 foundational coaching directives into the plan generation engine:

1. Your True Historical Lineage (No Blank Slates):

   • What Montis tells the AI: "Here is the athlete's exact history in this interval family (e.g., Threshold 20m). Across their last 4 exposures, pacing was consistent, but aerobic drift climbed in the final 10 minutes."
   • The Value to You: The AI never assigns workouts in a vacuum. It recognizes your current ceiling and builds the plan starting from where your fitness actually is today.

2. The Authoritative Next Step (Progression vs. Consolidation):

   • What Montis tells the AI: "Do not guess the next workout. Based on recent physiological responses, the authoritative prescription is to REPEAT_FOR_CONFIRMATION at 3x20m @ 100% FTP (or EXTEND_DURATION to 3x12m)."
   • The Value to You: You avoid premature overreaching. If your recent sessions showed signs of breakdown or elevated cardiac drift, the AI consolidates your foundation before demanding more.

3. Structural Progression Over Raw Watts:

   • What Montis tells the AI: "Progress the athlete by extending interval duration, increasing repetitions, reducing rest intervals, or accumulating work deeper into the session. Do not blindly inflate percentage targets above their tested FTP."
   • The Value to You: Real endurance adaptation comes from expanding your Time to Exhaustion (TTE) and stamina under fatigue. Workouts build durable, race-ready fitness rather than turning every session into an unsustainable test of will.

4. Monotonic Progression Across Build Weeks:

   • What Montis tells the AI: "Loading weeks in a block must progress logically and monotonically (Week 1 → Week 2 → Week 3). Never regress interval duration or time-in-zone between build weeks. Restrict deloading strictly to designated recovery weeks."
   • The Value to You: Your training block has clear momentum and progressive purpose. Every week builds confidence toward your peak goal.

5. Unbreakable Governance & Safety Boundaries:

   • What Montis tells the AI: "The athlete's injury rules, personal directives, and recovery state overrule all progression evidence. Positive adaptation signals must never force high intensity into a scheduled recovery week or pre-race taper."
   • The Value to You: Total peace of mind. Your scheduled rest days, easy weeks, and race-week tapers are protected from unexpected AI overload.

🛡️ How This Translates into a Balanced Weekly Schedule

• Quality Sessions Stay Focused: To satisfy your target weekly TSS and hours, the AI never artificially bloats your interval sessions. Key quality workouts remain clean and targeted, while remaining weekly volume is distributed into comfortable Zone 2 aerobic endurance rides.
• Dynamic Intervals.icu Scaling: All sessions are generated with native relative intensity targets (% FTP and % HR). If your FTP updates in Intervals.icu next week, all planned sessions in your calendar automatically scale to your new fitness level without manual edits.
• Full Transparency via the AI Inspector: Athletes and coaches can verify the underlying dialogue at any time. Clicking the AI Inspector exposes the exact context, prompt contracts, and generated responses behind the plan.

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4. What-If Load Impact Analytics & AI Inspection

Before committing any workouts to your schedule, AI Builder v2 provides comprehensive validation tools:

A. Multi-Week Load Forecast

An interactive Banister EWMA model calculates the long-range physiological impact of the plan across every week:

• CTL (Fitness): Visualizes projected fitness acquisition from week 1 through the completion of the block.
• ATL (Fatigue): Tracks acute fatigue accumulation and verifies recovery week washouts.
• TSB (Form): Forecasts your form week by week across the plan.
• ACWR (Acute:Chronic Workload Ratio): Verifies the strain ratio stays within the physiological sweet spot (0.80x – 1.25x) to minimize injury and overtraining risk.

B. Deterministic Load Harmonizer

After the AI generates the weekly workouts, a background deterministic reconciliation pass (harmonizeGeneratedWorkoutsToWeeklyTargets) verifies that the sum of the workouts matches the pre-computed weekly TSS and hour limits. If variance is detected, session durations and intervals are mathematically harmonized to eliminate AI load hallucination.

C. Live AI Inspector (Context, Prompt, Response)

For complete transparency, coaches and athletes can inspect the exact data exchange with the model via three dedicated tabs:

• Context Tab: View the complete structured Priority 1–4 JSON context sent to Gemini.
• Prompt Tab: Review the exact prompt instructions and syntax contracts enforced.
• Response Tab: Inspect the raw JSON returned by the model before rendering.

D. AI Coaching Rationale & Analysis

Every generated plan includes a detailed coaching analysis breakdown covering all 7 strategic modules:

• 🎯 Selected Target Theme: Strategic purpose of the block (e.g., Base, Build, Peak, Maintain).
• 🫀 HRV & Wellness Trends: Physiological readiness, autonomic balance, and recovery safety buffers.
• 🧭 Training Load & CTL: Rationale for weekly TSS volume steps and chronic workload trajectory.
• 🛡️ Recovery & Fatigue Limits: Scheduled deload weeks, active recovery days, and fatigue caps.
• 📈 Fitness / Fatigue (CTL/ATL/TSB): Modeling of form and readiness across the block.
• 📋 Completed vs Prescribed Training: Historical compliance context informing future progression.
• 🏁 Event Periodisation & Taper: Tactical taper rate, primer openers, and post-event recovery planning.

The card ends with a Coach Verdict & Strategy, which sums up the plan. Use the copy button to copy the whole rationale.

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5. Commit to your calendar

Nothing reaches Intervals.icu until you commit. You choose which weeks, and which workouts, to write.

1. Tick the weeks you want, or press Toggle All Weeks. For example, you can commit only the first 4 weeks of a 12-week plan.
2. In a ticked week, untick any workout you don't want.
3. Press Commit Chosen Weeks to Calendar.

Commit replaces planned workouts. In each ticked week, the new plan replaces the workouts already planned on those dates. It doesn't add to them.

What changes and what doesn't:

• After a race, some recovery sessions start unticked if the week already has more training days than your days-per-week setting. Tick them if you want them.
• Intervals.icu then syncs the workouts to your devices and apps (Garmin, Wahoo, Zwift, Karoo and others).
• Annual Training Plan in Intervals.icu: new workouts may not show in the Intervals.icu ATP straight away. They appear once you've opened those weeks in the Intervals.icu calendar. This is how Intervals.icu works; the workouts are on your calendar.

Email the plan to your athlete

If you're a coach working as an athlete, an Email Plan to Athlete panel appears after a successful commit.

1. Check the athlete's email address.
2. Add your own note at the top if you like.
3. Press SEND EMAIL.

The email is titled "Coaching Plan & Rationale", includes the coaching rationale, and copies you in. It can only go to your athlete's known email address. See Coach Roster and Acting as an Athlete.

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6. History

Every AI Builder plan you generate is saved in History, so you can come back to it later. Plans you've committed show a Committed badge.

Open in AI Builder

Press Open in AI Builder on a History entry to reload that plan, with its settings and rationale, into the AI Builder. You can review it, change which weeks or workouts are ticked, and commit it. The same commit rules apply (see section 5).

Continue in AI Coach Chat

Press Continue in AI Coach Chat to discuss the plan with the AI Coach. The chat gets the plan summary and can fetch the full plan when it needs it. Ask why a week looks the way it does, or ask for changes.

• If the AI Coach writes workouts to your calendar from the chat, it adds or updates them but doesn't remove the ones already there. To avoid doubled-up days, delete the old workouts first, or reopen the plan with Open in AI Builder and commit from there.
• The figures come from the Montis engine. The AI Coach explains them and is told not to recalculate them.

History, commit and the athlete email are only in the Montis App. In ChatGPT and Claude, the Montis Plan Builder skill builds the plan and asks before it writes anything to your calendar.

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7. Recommended Settings & Pro Tips