Question 1

What is IntervalCoach?

Accepted Answer

IntervalCoach is an AI-powered cycling and running coach that creates personalized workouts based on your fitness data. It connects with Intervals.icu to analyze your training history, recovery status, and goals to generate the perfect workout for each day.

Question 2

How does the AI coaching work?

Accepted Answer

Our AI analyzes your power/pace data, training load, recovery metrics, and upcoming goals. It then generates structured workouts that target the right training zones and intensity for your current fitness level. Over time, the coach learns your preferences — which workouts feel harder for you, your recovery patterns, and how you respond to different training stimuli. Workouts automatically sync to Intervals.icu and your connected apps like Zwift.

Question 3

How are workout intervals created?

Accepted Answer

IntervalCoach uses a two-step process. First, it selects a workout type (like Sweet Spot, Threshold, or VO2max) from a catalog of ~25 types based on your training phase, recovery status, and recent workout history — ensuring variety and proper stimulus spacing. Then the AI generates the specific intervals for that type, tailored to your FTP/pace, available time, and current fitness. This is why duration may vary slightly from your target — the AI prioritizes the right training stimulus over hitting exact minutes.

Question 4

Why AI coaching instead of a human coach?

Accepted Answer

AI coaching offers 24/7 availability and instant adaptation to your daily readiness. Unlike static training plans, our AI adjusts every workout based on your sleep, HRV, recent training load, and recovery status. It's like having a coach who knows your body's data in real-time. For serious athletes, AI coaching complements human coaching by handling daily adjustments while your coach focuses on strategy.

Question 5

How does IntervalCoach compare to apps like TrainerRoad or JOIN?

Accepted Answer

TrainerRoad and JOIN are excellent training platforms that provide structured training plans. The key difference is how IntervalCoach handles daily adaptation.

Traditional apps give you a plan — often a good one — but they don't know that you slept poorly last night, had a stressful week, or that your legs just aren't there today. You either follow the plan or skip the workout entirely.

IntervalCoach adapts every single day. It looks at your recovery metrics (HRV, sleep, resting heart rate), your accumulated fatigue, and your recent training load. Then it adjusts — not just "easy day vs hard day", but the specific workout, intensity, and duration. Some days it'll push you harder because you're fresh. Other days it'll dial back because the data shows you need recovery.

Think of it as: static plan vs. dynamic coach that responds to your body in real-time.

Question 6

What's the relationship between Intervals.icu and IntervalCoach?

Accepted Answer

Intervals.icu is a free training analysis platform that stores your workout data from Garmin, Wahoo, Zwift, etc. IntervalCoach connects to Intervals.icu to read your data and generate AI-powered workouts. Think of Intervals.icu as your training database, and IntervalCoach as your AI coach that uses that data. Workouts created by IntervalCoach are uploaded back to your Intervals.icu calendar.

Question 7

What languages are supported?

Accepted Answer

IntervalCoach is available in 12 languages: English, Dutch, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Polish, Portuguese, Czech, Slovenian, Danish, and Chinese. The AI generates workout descriptions, emails, and coaching advice in your selected language. You can change your language preference in Settings.

Question 8

What does the Analytics page show?

Accepted Answer

The Analytics page gives you a deep dive into your training data across different time ranges (7, 30, 90, or 365 days):

Fitness Trends — CTL, ATL, and TSB charted over time with a projected trajectory.

Wellness & Recovery — HRV trend, resting heart rate trend, and an AI-generated recovery assessment.

Power & Performance — eFTP history chart and peak power table (1s, 5s, 1min, 5min, 20min). For runners: Critical Speed history and best efforts.

Training Volume — Weekly TSS trend, progressive overload tracking, and power/HR zone distribution.

AI Insights — Personalized training observations and recommendations based on your data patterns.

Question 9

What does the Training Plan page show?

Accepted Answer

The Training Plan page shows your periodized path to your goal (requires setting a race event or training goal):

Goal Projection — Your current CTL vs target CTL with a fitness trajectory chart. Shows whether you're on track, ahead, or behind.

Phase Roadmap — Visual timeline of training phases (Base → Build → Peak → Taper → Race Week) leading to your event.

Weekly Timeline — Week-by-week breakdown with TSS targets, where you can compare planned vs actual training load.

Training Volume — Your weekly availability and how the AI distributes training across your schedule.

If you don't have a goal event set, the page will prompt you to add one.

Question 10

What does the Calendar page show?

Accepted Answer

The Calendar page gives you a monthly overview of your training:

Daily view — Each day shows completed activities (green, with TSS) and planned workouts (blue). Race days are marked with a red dot.

Weekly summaries — The left column shows each week's training phase (Build, Peak, Taper, etc.) and a TSS progress bar comparing achieved vs target load.

Click any day — Opens the activity detail (with AI analysis for completed rides) or event detail (with workout structure for planned sessions).

The calendar shows up to 6 months and automatically loads more as you navigate.

Question 11

What are Training Milestones?

Accepted Answer

Training Milestones are badges you earn as you train. They recognize your achievements across volume, consistency, fitness, recovery, and loyalty.

One-time badges — Goals like your first 100 TSS day, a 7-day training streak, hitting a new CTL peak, or completing a 3+ hour workout. There are 16 across easy, medium, and hard tiers.

Repeatable badges — Monthly and yearly challenges that reset: earn a Monthly Century for hitting 100+ TSS in a day each month, a Perfect Month for 4 consecutive weeks of 90%+ plan adherence, or become an Annual Warrior by training 200+ days in a year.

Tenure badges — Loyalty milestones at 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years.

Progress tracking — Unearned badges show how close you are (e.g., '4/7 days' toward a streak). You'll get an email notification when you unlock a new milestone.

Milestones appear on your dashboard and are available to Pro, Max, and trial users.

Question 12

Can I share my training publicly?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Enable a public profile in Settings > Account and pick a handle. Your profile page is then available at intervalcoach.app/p/'{'handle'}' and shows your training milestones, fitness trend, sport distribution, and recent public activities.

Activity pages — Each public activity has its own shareable page with duration, distance, TSS, power, heart rate, zone distribution, and workout segments. When you paste the link on Twitter, Strava forums, or messaging apps, a rich preview card shows up.

Privacy — Public profiles are opt-in. Toggle them off anytime and the pages stop rendering. You choose which handle to use — it doesn't have to be your name.

Question 13

How does IntervalCoach determine workout intensity?

Accepted Answer

The AI considers multiple factors: your current CTL (fitness), ATL (fatigue), TSB (form), recent sleep and HRV data, power/pace zones, upcoming events, and weekly training availability you set in settings. It balances progressive overload with recovery to build fitness without overtraining. Intensity targets are based on your actual power curve or pace data, not generic percentages.

Question 14

Can I use IntervalCoach without a race goal?

Accepted Answer

Yes! You don't need an upcoming race to get structured training. In Settings or during onboarding, choose a Training Goal template instead of a race event. Templates include:

General Fitness — Progressive overload to build overall fitness.
Return to Sport — Gentle comeback after injury or an extended break.
Off-Season Base — Build aerobic foundation between race seasons.
Weight Management — Consistent endurance-focused training.
Speed / Power Block — Short focused block to sharpen speed.
Maintenance — Hold your current fitness level indefinitely.

Each template has a recommended duration you can adjust. The AI uses goal-specific phase models and CTL targets, so your training plan, weekly workouts, and daily emails all adapt to your chosen goal — just like they would for a race.

Question 15

How is my target CTL determined?

Accepted Answer

When you set a goal — whether it's a race event or a training goal template like General Fitness or Return to Sport — the AI calculates the optimal CTL (Chronic Training Load) you need to reach by that date. It considers your current fitness, time available, and a safe ramp rate (typically 3-7 CTL points per week). The goal progress chart shows your projected fitness trajectory and whether you're on track. The AI then plans weekly training load to hit that target.

Question 16

What is CTL, ATL, and TSB?

Accepted Answer

These are key fitness metrics: CTL (Chronic Training Load) represents your fitness level built over ~6 weeks of training. ATL (Acute Training Load) represents recent fatigue from the past ~1 week. TSB (Training Stress Balance) is CTL minus ATL — when positive you're fresh, when negative you're fatigued. IntervalCoach uses these to ensure you build fitness while avoiding overtraining.

Question 17

Where can I learn more about training terminology?

Accepted Answer

We have a comprehensive training glossary that explains all the key terms: CTL, ATL, TSB, FTP, TSS, HRV, periodization, tapering, and more. Visit our glossary for detailed definitions and explanations of each concept.

Question 18

What's the difference between the weekly plan and daily workouts?

Accepted Answer

The weekly plan is generated each Sunday and outlines your training structure: which days are hard, easy, or rest, plus TSS targets for each session. Actual workouts are then generated one per day, 7 days ahead — so each workout uses your most recent data. On the day itself, a final adaptation layer checks your recovery, sleep, and fatigue and may adjust intensity or suggest rest. This three-layer approach (weekly structure → rolling generation → daily adaptation) combines strategic planning with maximum flexibility.

Question 19

What's the difference between JustTrain and daily email workouts?

Accepted Answer

Daily email workouts are sent automatically based on your weekly plan and schedule. JustTrain is an on-demand feature for when you want to train outside your schedule — it generates a workout based on your current readiness right now. Use JustTrain for spontaneous training sessions or when your schedule changes.

Question 20

How does the AI decide when I need rest?

Accepted Answer

The AI monitors your TSB (form), HRV trends, resting heart rate, sleep quality, and recent training load. When fatigue accumulates or recovery metrics drop, it automatically schedules easier days or complete rest.

Smart sleep adaptation: If you consistently get less sleep than average (like parents with young children) but your HRV and resting heart rate show good recovery, the AI trusts your body's actual signals over sleep hours alone.

Setting your availability: You can control which days you train in two ways:

1. Weekly schedule — In Settings → Training, uncheck the days you can't train. The AI won't schedule workouts on those days.
2. Specific dates — In Intervals.icu, add Holiday events for vacations, work travel, or other dates you can't train. IntervalCoach treats these as off days and adjusts the week accordingly.

Question 21

Where does my recovery status come from?

Accepted Answer

Your recovery status (green/yellow/red) comes from wellness data IntervalCoach pulls from whichever sources you've connected — Intervals.icu (HRV, resting HR, sleep, subjective ratings for fatigue/soreness/mood), Whoop if you've linked it in Settings → Integrations, and Apple Health if you've enabled the iOS integration. All three paths feed the same readiness pipeline, so you don't need to pick just one.

The AI compares your current HRV and resting HR to your personal 30-day baseline. If your physiological signals indicate good recovery despite short sleep, the AI trusts your body's actual recovery state — helpful for those who naturally need less sleep or have adapted to their schedule.

Question 22

How does wellness data (sleep, HRV) get imported?

Accepted Answer

You have three paths and you can use any combination:

1. Intervals.icu — anything your device already syncs to ICU (Garmin, Polar, Wahoo, Oura, and more) is read from there automatically. Good for established setups; Whoop via this path syncs every ~8 hours.

2. Whoop direct — connect in Settings → Integrations for real-time recovery scores. Your daily email waits for Whoop's morning readiness before sending. Pro / Max only.

3. Apple Health — enable in the iPhone app → Settings → Apple Health. Anything that writes to HealthKit (Apple Watch, Oura, Withings, Garmin Index, period trackers, Garmin/Polar via their auto-sync apps) feeds IntervalCoach directly, no third-party scripts. Everything compatible also mirrors back to your Intervals.icu wellness tab, so your history there stays complete.

If you mix sources, IntervalCoach merges them into a single daily wellness record instead of letting them fight over the same metric.

Question 23

What if I'm sick or injured?

Accepted Answer

Take the time you need to recover — your health comes first. When you return, the AI automatically adjusts based on your time off. It will ease you back in with reduced volume and intensity. You don't need to manually update anything; just start training again when you're ready and the AI adapts to your current fitness level.

Question 24

Does IntervalCoach handle tapering for events?

Accepted Answer

Yes! The AI tapers differently based on event priority:

A Events get a full 3-week taper with exponential volume reduction while maintaining intensity. The goal is peak freshness (positive TSB) on race day. You can't maintain peak form indefinitely, so this is reserved for your most important 1-2 races per year.

B Events get a 1-week mini-taper with reduced volume to sharpen up, plus opener workouts the day before. Your overall training plan stays largely on track for your A event while giving you a performance boost for the B race.

C Events have no taper and no special preparation — you train through them as quality workouts. Think of them as a particularly tough training session.

Multi-day events (stage races, tours) — the taper happens before the first stage, and your plan stays in Race Week mode throughout the entire event. The AI accounts for the full duration when calculating your taper timing and target fitness.

Your dashboard shows your current training phase and adapts the phase timeline based on event priority, so you can always see where you are in the progression.

Question 25

Does it use periodization (base/build/peak)?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the AI structures your training in phases based on time until your goal. For race events, early phases focus on building aerobic base, middle phases increase intensity and specificity, and final phases sharpen fitness before tapering. For training goals (like General Fitness, Off-Season Base, or Speed/Power Block), the AI uses goal-specific phase models — some use progressive build only, others maintain steady load. The weekly plan shows your current training focus and adapts the phase progression to your schedule.

Question 26

Does IntervalCoach provide nutrition advice?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Pro members receive personalized nutrition guidance with every workout:

Pre-workout — What and when to eat before training, based on workout intensity and duration.

During workout — Carbohydrate and hydration targets per hour for longer sessions.

Post-workout — Recovery nutrition timing, with protein and carb recommendations.

For race week, you'll also receive carb-loading guidance starting 3 days before your event.

Question 27

How does nutrition advice adapt to each workout?

Accepted Answer

Nutrition recommendations scale based on workout intensity and duration. A 45-minute recovery ride gets simple fueling advice, while a 3-hour endurance ride includes detailed carb targets (30-60g/hour) and hydration guidance. High-intensity interval sessions emphasize glycogen stores and pre-workout timing. The advice also considers your sport — running has different fueling strategies than cycling due to GI sensitivity.

Question 28

Can I do workouts both indoor and outdoor?

Accepted Answer

Yes! The workouts themselves are identical — the same intervals and targets work on your trainer or outside. The difference is in how you sync: indoor platforms like Zwift pull workouts directly from Intervals.icu, while for outdoor rides you can sync to your Garmin or Wahoo head unit. Set up your preferred sync method in Intervals.icu settings.

Question 29

What if I miss a workout or want to skip one?

Accepted Answer

No problem! The AI doesn't directly track 'completed vs not completed' — instead, it checks your current fitness state every day. If you miss a workout, your body stays fresher (higher TSB), so the next recommendation naturally reflects that. You don't need to 'make up' missed sessions. The missed workout stays on your Intervals.icu calendar, but your daily email adapts to how your body is actually doing. Consistency matters more than perfection.

Question 30

How do I tell the AI about a busy week or days I can't train?

Accepted Answer

Add a 'Holiday' or 'Note' event in Intervals.icu on the days you'll be unavailable. The AI detects these and adjusts your weekly plan around them. Use keywords like 'holiday', 'vacation', 'trip', or 'busy' in the event name. This works well for family commitments, travel, or any period where your normal schedule won't apply.

Question 31

How do coaching memories and custom instructions work?

Accepted Answer

Both coaching memories and custom instructions are used across all surfaces: daily workouts, weekly plans, JustTrain, and Coach+ chat. They influence every workout and coaching decision, not just the feature where they were created.

Custom instructions are written by you in Settings. Think of them as standing orders for your coach, like "keep weekday rides under 90 minutes" or "I prefer 2x20 over 4x10 for threshold work."

Coaching memories are created automatically by the AI in two ways: during Coach+ chat conversations (when you mention a preference, injury, or constraint) and during post-workout analysis (when patterns are detected from your ride feedback). You can review and delete them in Settings.

Since both are used everywhere, it doesn't matter where you store information. Custom instructions are best for things you want to explicitly control. Memories are for things the coach picks up over time from your conversations and training patterns.

Question 32

Can I modify or move workouts?

Accepted Answer

Yes! You can edit upcoming planned workouts directly in IntervalCoach — change the sport, duration, TSS target, intensity, move them to another day, or delete them before they're generated. Once a workout is generated and on your Intervals.icu calendar, you have full control there too: drag workouts to different days, edit intervals, adjust duration, or delete them entirely. You can also move your goal event date in Intervals.icu. IntervalCoach reads these changes and adapts future workouts accordingly.

Question 33

Can I add my own workouts or placeholders?

Accepted Answer

Yes! There are two approaches:

Named events — Add an event in Intervals.icu with a name starting with 'Ride', 'Run', or 'Swim' (e.g., 'Ride - Group ride 90 min'). Include duration in the name for accurate load planning.

C events — For regular group rides or club rides, add them as a C-priority event. The AI won't generate a structured workout on that day, keeps the day before easy, and plans recovery afterward. You can make C events recurring for weekly club rides.

Both approaches are automatically picked up by IntervalCoach and factored into your weekly plan.

Question 34

Can I set multiple events or goals?

Accepted Answer

Yes! You can add multiple events in Intervals.icu and mark them as A, B, or C priority. The AI considers all events when planning your training phases and taper. See 'What are A, B, and C events?' below for details on how each priority affects your training.

Question 35

What are A, B, and C events?

Accepted Answer

Event priority determines how the AI structures your training:

A Events — Your most important season goals where you want to perform at absolute peak fitness. Pick 1-2 per year. If you have multiple A races, they should be at least 12 weeks apart to allow full peaking for both. If two A races are within 12 weeks of each other, consider making one a B race. The AI builds a full periodization plan (Base → Build → Peak → Taper → Race) with a 3-week taper to maximize freshness on race day.

B Events — Important races where you want to perform well, but not necessarily at your peak. Excellent for testing race tactics, nutrition strategies, and pacing. B races build valuable mental racing experience and confidence you can carry into your A events. You'll get a 1-week mini-taper with reduced volume to sharpen up, plus opener workouts the day before to activate your legs.

C Events — Races strictly for practice, experience, and fun. You simply train through them — they hold a similar value to a key hard workout. No taper and no special preparation. If possible, schedule them like you would a tough workout: following an easy or rest day. The AI removes scheduled workouts on that day but treats the event itself as training.

Question 36

How long until I see results?

Accepted Answer

Your CTL (fitness) number updates in real-time after every workout — you'll see it rise immediately on the dashboard. Physical adaptations typically take 4-6 weeks to feel in your body. For event-specific peak fitness, plan at least 8-12 weeks of structured training. The dashboard shows your progress and projected fitness trajectory toward your goal.

Question 37

Does IntervalCoach differentiate between cycling disciplines like road, MTB, and gravel?

Accepted Answer

Currently, IntervalCoach treats all cycling as a single sport type. Workouts are generated based on your fitness data, training phase, and available time — but not optimized specifically for MTB or gravel disciplines. When you set a goal event, the AI analyzes the event type (endurance, racing, gran fondo, etc.) to adjust target fitness recommendations. Multi-day events like stage races and tours are fully supported — see 'Does IntervalCoach support multi-day events?' below.

Question 38

Does IntervalCoach support multi-day events like stage races and tours?

Accepted Answer

Yes! IntervalCoach automatically detects multi-day events in two ways:

1. Multi-day calendar events — If your event in Intervals.icu spans multiple days (has a start and end date), it's detected as multi-day automatically.

2. Consecutive same-name events — If you create separate events for each stage (e.g., "Tour de Wallonie - Stage 1", "Tour de Wallonie - Stage 2"), IntervalCoach groups them together by recognizing the shared name.

Once detected, multi-day events get special treatment:

• Race Week extends across the entire event duration, not just the first day
• Taper timing is calculated based on the first stage
• CTL targets are adjusted upward (15-25%) for the cumulative fatigue demands
• Date ranges are shown throughout the app (dashboard, calendar, training plan)
• Post-event email is sent the day after the last stage, not after each day

Just set your stage race as an A or B event in Intervals.icu and IntervalCoach handles the rest.

Question 39

When is a new weekly training plan generated?

Accepted Answer

Your weekly training structure (which days are hard/easy/rest and TSS targets) is generated every Sunday. You can choose the exact time in Settings — the default is 8pm your local time. Then each day, one workout is generated for 7 days from now and placed on your calendar — so your week fills in gradually rather than all at once.

You can edit the upcoming plan before workouts are generated: change the sport, duration, TSS target, intensity, move sessions to different days, or remove them. If you need a completely fresh plan (for example, after changing your schedule or adding a race), go to the Training Plan page and hit 'Rebuild Plan' to regenerate immediately.

Question 40

Can I train twice a day (morning and evening)?

Accepted Answer

Yes! In Settings → Training, you can configure up to 3 sessions per day. When you set multiple sessions, the AI generates separate workouts for each — for example, a morning run and an evening ride. Each session gets its own structured workout with the right intensity and duration.

Question 41

I changed my sport preferences but old workouts are still on my calendar

Accepted Answer

When you change your sport preferences (for example, switching from cycling + running to cycling only), new workouts will respect your updated settings. However, workouts that were already on your Intervals.icu calendar from before the change aren't automatically deleted — IntervalCoach respects existing calendar events.

To clean up: delete the old workouts for the removed sport from your Intervals.icu calendar, then go to the Training Plan page and hit 'Rebuild Plan' to regenerate the week with your new preferences.

Question 42

Why am I getting running emails when I didn't run?

Accepted Answer

If you receive 'Analysis: Running' emails for activities that weren't actual runs, your watch is auto-detecting movement (like walks, gym warm-ups, or moving around the house) and syncing them to Intervals.icu as runs.

Where to check — Open Intervals.icu and look at the activity list. You'll likely see entries labelled as runs that you don't recognise. That's what IntervalCoach is analysing and emailing about.

How to fix —

1. On your watch — Turn off auto-detection for movement activities. On Garmin: Settings → Activity Tracking → Auto Activity Start. On Apple Watch: Settings → Workout → Auto-detect Workouts. On Whoop: similar option under Workout Detection.
2. On Intervals.icu — Delete or reclassify the auto-detected activity. IntervalCoach will stop analysing it.

IntervalCoach can only analyse what your device reports. If an activity shows up in Intervals.icu as a run, we treat it as a run — we don't second-guess the sport type.

Question 43

Why does my Form number differ from Intervals.icu?

Accepted Answer

IntervalCoach and Intervals.icu display Form differently. Intervals.icu shows the raw TSB value (CTL minus ATL), while IntervalCoach shows Form as a percentage of your fitness: (TSB / CTL) × 100.

For example, with CTL 58 and ATL 88: Intervals.icu shows TSB = -30, while IntervalCoach shows -52%. Both are mathematically correct — the percentage shows how fatigued you are relative to your fitness level, which is more meaningful across different fitness levels.

Question 44

Do I need an Intervals.icu account?

Accepted Answer

Yes, IntervalCoach uses Intervals.icu as the data source for your training history and fitness metrics. Intervals.icu is free and connects to Strava, Garmin, Wahoo, and other platforms. Create an account at intervals.icu before signing up.

Question 45

Which sports are supported?

Accepted Answer

IntervalCoach generates structured workouts for cycling (road, indoor/Zwift, gravel), running, and swimming. Cycling workouts are optimized for power-based training, running uses pace and heart rate zones, and swimming workouts include technique drills and interval sets. Strength training is supported as a scheduling option — you can mark days for strength in your weekly schedule, and the AI works around those sessions — but IntervalCoach doesn't generate strength workout content.

Question 46

What data do you need?

Accepted Answer

We need access to your Intervals.icu account which provides your training history, power/pace curves, and wellness data (HRV, sleep, recovery). The more historical data available, the better the AI can personalize your training.

Question 47

Why is my activity data missing or showing zeros?

Accepted Answer

Data quality depends on how your device syncs to Intervals.icu. Not all sync paths deliver the same data:

Best: Direct device sync — Garmin, Wahoo, Coros, and Zwift sync .fit files directly to Intervals.icu with full power, HR, cadence, and GPS data.

Strava sync — Strava's API Terms of Service prohibit Intervals.icu from sharing Strava-sourced activity data with third-party apps like IntervalCoach. If your activities only reach Intervals.icu through Strava, we can't access them. Fix: connect your device (Garmin, Wahoo, Coros, Zwift) directly to Intervals.icu and keep Strava connected. Intervals.icu will replace the Strava version with the original — no duplicates. You can also use the 'Import All Strava Data' button in Intervals.icu to import your full Strava archive (these imports are not subject to the API restrictions).

Summary only: Fitbit, Google, Whoop — These APIs only provide summary data (duration, distance, average HR) without per-second data streams. TSS and zone analysis require per-second data, so these activities show up but with minimal metrics.

Apple Watch — Use the HealthFit app to export .fit files directly to Intervals.icu for full data.

If you're seeing missing data, check your Intervals.icu activity page first. If the data is incomplete there, it's a sync issue at the source — IntervalCoach can only use what Intervals.icu receives.

Question 48

Why is my resting heart rate or HRV showing incorrect values?

Accepted Answer

Dashboard metrics like resting heart rate (RHR) and heart rate variability (HRV) come directly from your Intervals.icu wellness data. IntervalCoach doesn't calculate these values — it reads what your device synced.

If values look wrong:

1. Check Intervals.icu — Go to the Wellness page in Intervals.icu and verify the values there. If they're wrong in Intervals.icu, it's a sync issue from your device.
2. Check your device — Some watches report daytime HR as resting HR, or auto-detect activities that skew the reading. Make sure your device is measuring RHR during sleep or first thing in the morning.
3. Third-party apps — If you use HRV4Training, Oura, or similar apps that sync to Intervals.icu, check that the data format matches what Intervals.icu expects (for example, some apps use a 1-10 scale while others use 0-100).

Once the values are correct in Intervals.icu, they'll automatically be correct in IntervalCoach.

Question 49

Is there a mobile app?

Accepted Answer

Yes! IntervalCoach is available as a native iOS app on the App Store. It includes your daily briefing, dashboard, activity details, Coach+ chat, training plan, and push notifications. Android users can use the web app at intervalcoach.app.

Question 50

Do I need a separate account for the iOS app?

Accepted Answer

No. The iOS app uses your existing Intervals.icu account. Just tap 'Sign in with Intervals.icu' and you're in — all your training data, settings, and subscription are synced automatically.

Question 51

Can I subscribe via the iOS app?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You can subscribe to Coach+ Pro or Max directly in the iOS app via the App Store. Subscriptions are managed through your Apple ID — you can change or cancel anytime in your iPhone's Settings > Subscriptions.

Question 52

Is my web subscription available on iOS?

Accepted Answer

Yes. If you already have a Coach+ subscription via the website (Stripe), it works automatically in the iOS app. You don't need to subscribe again. Your tier and all features carry over.

Question 53

Is there an Android app?

Accepted Answer

Not yet. IntervalCoach currently has a native app for iPhone only. Android users can use the full web app at intervalcoach.app, which works great on mobile browsers.

Question 54

When do I receive workout emails?

Accepted Answer

Daily workout emails are sent at your preferred time, which you can set in settings. Weekly summaries arrive on Sunday evening. You can enable or disable different email types in your notification settings. All times are based on your local timezone.

Question 55

How are my power and heart rate zones set?

Accepted Answer

IntervalCoach pulls your FTP (cycling) or threshold pace (running) from Intervals.icu, then applies standard Coggan-based training zones as percentages of that value. For cycling: Z1 (Recovery) up to 55%, Z2 (Endurance) 56-75%, Z3 (Tempo) 76-87%, Sweet Spot 88-94%, Z4 (Threshold) 95-105%, Z5 (VO2max) 106-120%, and Z6 (Anaerobic) above 121%. Note that if you've customized your zone boundaries in Intervals.icu, those custom settings won't carry over — IntervalCoach uses its own zone definitions.

Question 56

How do workouts get to my Garmin or Wahoo?

Accepted Answer

Workouts are uploaded to your Intervals.icu calendar. From there, enable the sync to your device: Intervals.icu connects to Garmin Connect, Wahoo, TrainingPeaks, and more. Once synced, structured workouts appear on your device ready to execute. Check Intervals.icu settings for sync options.

Question 57

What AI technology powers the coaching?

Accepted Answer

IntervalCoach uses Google's Gemini AI models for workout generation and analysis. We use Gemini 3 Flash for quick tasks like readiness assessment, and Gemini 3 Pro for complex analysis like weekly planning and post-workout insights. The AI is specifically trained to understand cycling and running training principles.

Question 58

How much does IntervalCoach cost?

Accepted Answer

IntervalCoach has three tiers:

Free — Fitness dashboard, 3 workouts per month, and weekly training plans.

Pro — €3/month or €30/year (save 17%). Daily adaptive workouts, post-workout analysis, Whoop integration, and 20 Coach+ AI chat messages per month.

Max — €8/month or €80/year (save 17%). Everything in Pro plus 200 Coach+ AI chat messages per month for athletes who want deeper coaching conversations.

New users get a 14-day free trial of Pro.

Currency at checkout — Prices on the site are shown in EUR. At checkout Stripe automatically converts to your local currency (USD, GBP, AUD, CAD, etc.) at the current exchange rate. The amount you pay is equivalent to the EUR price — it's not a different tier, just displayed in the currency of your card. Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Alipay are also supported.

Question 59

What's the difference between Pro and Max?

Accepted Answer

Pro and Max include the same training features: daily adaptive workouts, weekly plans, post-workout analysis, nutrition advice, and Whoop integration. The difference is Coach+ AI chat:

Pro — 20 Coach+ messages per month. Enough for occasional questions about training, race prep, or workout modifications.

Max — 200 Coach+ messages per month, plus the option to buy top-up packs that never expire. For athletes who want to use Coach+ as their primary coaching interface — asking daily questions, getting detailed race strategies, discussing nutrition plans, and more.

Question 60

What is Coach+?

Accepted Answer

Coach+ is an AI chat feature that lets you have real-time conversations with your personal AI coach. Unlike the automated daily workouts that adapt to your data behind the scenes, Coach+ lets you ask questions, request explanations, and get advice in a conversational format — all grounded in your actual fitness data, training history, and goals.

Question 61

What can I ask Coach+?

Accepted Answer

Coach+ has access to your full training data and can help with:

Training advice — "Should I do intervals or endurance today?" "My legs feel heavy, what should I do?"

Performance analysis — "How has my FTP progressed this season?" "Am I training enough in Zone 2?"

Race preparation — "Help me plan my pacing for a hilly 100km ride" "What should my taper look like?"

Nutrition guidance — "What should I eat before a 3-hour ride?" "How many carbs per hour for my race?"

Workout modifications — "Can you make today's workout shorter?" "I only have 45 minutes, what should I do?"

Plan changes from chat — Ask Coach+ to rebuild your weekly plan, build a custom workout from natural language ("5x5min at 105% with 2min rest"), or add and manage race events — no need to leave the chat.

Multiple conversations — Run up to 30 conversations in parallel. Each one gets an AI-generated title and conversation starters are context-aware, suggesting prompts based on your latest workout, upcoming race, or rest day.

Persistent memory — Coach+ remembers your coaching instructions ("focus on threshold", "avoid VO2max mid-week") across conversations. These memories actually influence daily workout selection and your weekly plan, not just future chat replies.

Question 62

How do Coach+ message limits work?

Accepted Answer

Coach+ message limits reset monthly. Only your messages count toward the limit — the AI coach's responses are free. Pro includes 20 messages per month and Max includes 200. You can see your remaining messages in the chat panel. If you need more messages, you can upgrade from Pro to Max anytime in Settings. Max users can also purchase top-up packs (100, 200, or 500 messages) that never expire — they carry over indefinitely.

Question 63

What are Performance Benchmarks?

Accepted Answer

Performance Benchmarks show how your fitness, power, and pace compare to similar athletes. When you enable benchmarks on the Analytics page, you'll see P50 (median) reference lines on your CTL, eFTP history, power curve, weekly TSS, and running pace charts. You can filter by age group and sex to compare against a relevant peer group. Benchmarks are computed nightly from thousands of active athletes. This is a Max-exclusive feature.

Question 64

How are benchmark peer groups determined?

Accepted Answer

Athletes are grouped by sex (Male, Female, All) and age bracket (18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65+). Your default peer group matches your own age and sex from your Intervals.icu profile, but you can switch to any group using the filter dropdowns. Cohorts with fewer than 50 athletes are marked as small samples. All athletes contribute to the benchmark data regardless of their subscription tier.

Frequently Asked Questions

About IntervalCoach

Training & Intensity

Getting Started

Pricing & Subscription

Integrations

Privacy & Security

Frequently Asked Questions

About IntervalCoach

01What is IntervalCoach?

02How does the AI coaching work?

03How are workout intervals created?

04Why AI coaching instead of a human coach?

05How does IntervalCoach compare to apps like TrainerRoad or JOIN?

06What's the relationship between Intervals.icu and IntervalCoach?

07What languages are supported?

08What does the Analytics page show?

09What does the Training Plan page show?

10What does the Calendar page show?

11What are Training Milestones?

12Can I share my training publicly?

Training & Intensity

13How does IntervalCoach determine workout intensity?

14Can I use IntervalCoach without a race goal?

15How is my target CTL determined?

16What is CTL, ATL, and TSB?

17Where can I learn more about training terminology?

18What's the difference between the weekly plan and daily workouts?

19What's the difference between JustTrain and daily email workouts?

20How does the AI decide when I need rest?

21Where does my recovery status come from?

22How does wellness data (sleep, HRV) get imported?

23What if I'm sick or injured?

24Does IntervalCoach handle tapering for events?

25Does it use periodization (base/build/peak)?

26Does IntervalCoach provide nutrition advice?

27How does nutrition advice adapt to each workout?

28Can I do workouts both indoor and outdoor?

29What if I miss a workout or want to skip one?

30How do I tell the AI about a busy week or days I can't train?

31How do coaching memories and custom instructions work?

32Can I modify or move workouts?

33Can I add my own workouts or placeholders?

34Can I set multiple events or goals?

35What are A, B, and C events?

36How long until I see results?

37Does IntervalCoach differentiate between cycling disciplines like road, MTB, and gravel?

38Does IntervalCoach support multi-day events like stage races and tours?

39When is a new weekly training plan generated?

40Can I train twice a day (morning and evening)?

41I changed my sport preferences but old workouts are still on my calendar

42Why am I getting running emails when I didn't run?

43Why does my Form number differ from Intervals.icu?

Getting Started

44Do I need an Intervals.icu account?

45Which sports are supported?

46What data do you need?

47Why is my activity data missing or showing zeros?

48Why is my resting heart rate or HRV showing incorrect values?

49Is there a mobile app?

50Do I need a separate account for the iOS app?

51Can I subscribe via the iOS app?

52Is my web subscription available on iOS?

53Is there an Android app?

54When do I receive workout emails?

55How are my power and heart rate zones set?

56How do workouts get to my Garmin or Wahoo?

57What AI technology powers the coaching?

Pricing & Subscription

58How much does IntervalCoach cost?

59What's the difference between Pro and Max?

60What is Coach+?

61What can I ask Coach+?

62How do Coach+ message limits work?

63What are Performance Benchmarks?

64How are benchmark peer groups determined?

65Why don't I see Performance Benchmarks?

66Can I switch between Pro and Max?

67Can I cancel anytime?

68What happens after my trial?

Integrations

69Does it work with Zwift?

70Does it work with MyWhoosh?

71Can I connect my Whoop?

72Do I need to connect Whoop to both Intervals.icu AND IntervalCoach?

73Can I connect Apple Health?

74Should I use Apple Health or Whoop?