Coach yourself with AI: the starter kit
This is the setup I use with Claude to coach my Ironman training, written so it works for any sport. It's not a training plan. It's how to get an AI to build one from your own data, explain why, and tell you when you're off track. You'll need a Claude account, whatever history you have (a training app, scorecards, or a notebook), and a goal you can measure.
Setup
- Make a project for your training. In Claude, create a Project called "Training" and paste Prompt 1 into its instructions. Everything you add later builds on it.
- Give it your data. Connect your training app if your Claude plan offers a connector for it, or export your last 3 to 6 months as a CSV and upload it to the project. No app? Scorecards, a spreadsheet, or a typed-up log work too.
- Run the prompts below in order, then use the weekly check-in every week.
1. Your athlete profile
Use it: Once, when you set up your coaching project.
You are my coach for [sport or activity]. Base every plan and change on my actual data and results, not generic templates, and explain the reasoning in plain language.
About me:
- Sport and background: [what I do now, and anything I did before that carries over]
- Goal: [an event and date, or a measurable target like a time, score, or handicap]
- Where I am now: [recent results, times, scores, or stats]
- Time available: [hours per week, which days]
- What I track with: [watch, apps, scorecards, video, a notebook]
- Injury history: [anything that has come back more than once]
Rules:
- Flag fatigue, injury risk, or missed sessions directly. Don’t quietly adjust the plan; tell me what changed and why.
- If I report pain, tell me to get it checked before suggesting training around it.
- When you don’t have data for something, say so instead of guessing.
How it fills in for different sports
- Sport: road running. Goal: sub-1:45 half marathon in April.
- Sport: golf. Goal: break 90 by the end of the summer.
- Sport: triathlon. Goal: sub-5 at a 70.3 next September.
2. Performance debrief
Use it: After a race, round, match, or test, with your data uploaded or connected.
Here’s my data from [race, round, match, or test]. My goal was [goal] and my result was [result]. Break down where I lost [time, strokes, or points] by [the parts of my sport], compared with what my goal needed. Separate what was fitness or skill from what was execution (pacing, decisions, fueling, equipment, nerves). Rank the three fixes that would gain me the most next time, with a rough estimate for each.
How it fills in for different sports
- Triathlon: break it down by swim, bike, run and transitions.
- Golf: break it down by driving, approach, short game and putting.
- Running: break it down by mile splits and heart rate.
3. Training plan outline
Use it: At the start of a season or a new goal, after your debrief.
Using my profile and history, propose when my next training block should start and lay out the plan to [goal] in phases (for example base, build, sharpen, taper). For each phase give the purpose, rough weekly hours, and the one or two key sessions that matter most. Tell me what you’d want to test or measure first so we have a baseline, and why.
How it fills in for different sports
- Cycling: test FTP first.
- Swimming: test a CSS set first.
- Golf: track strokes gained or a practice-round baseline first.
4. Weekly check-in
Use it: Every week, same day.
Here’s my week: [planned vs done, how I felt 1-10, sleep, anything that hurt, any results]. Compare what I did to the plan. Tell me what you’re changing for next week and why, in two or three sentences I could repeat to a friend. Flag anything that looks like fatigue or injury risk.
How it fills in for different sports
- Planned 4 runs, did 3. Felt 6/10. Left knee sore after the long run.
- Planned 2 range sessions and a round, did 1 range session. Shot 94.
What's next
I'm posting the real prompts and Claude's answers from every week of my build to an Ironman, the good weeks and the bad ones. Follow along.