Coach AMA
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Coach AMA is closing

Keep your coach. Run it yourself.

The same training science, the same plan rules and the same intervals.icu calendar, running on your own computer in Claude Code (or Codex). Setup takes about 10 minutes, and your AI does most of it. You don't need to have been a Coach AMA athlete.

What you keep

Structured workouts written to your intervals.icu calendar (and on to Garmin, Wahoo or Zwift), morning readiness checks, debriefs, 10-day plan upkeep, weekly and monthly reviews, race planning and strength sessions.

What changes

The coach doesn't message you first. You open it when you want it: "morning" over coffee, "debrief" after a ride. It runs in a terminal or desktop app instead of Discord.

What you need

A free intervals.icu account with your watch or bike computer connected. A Mac or Linux computer; on Windows, use WSL. We recommend Claude Code, which needs a Claude Pro or Max plan and can also read your Strava. Codex works too and comes with ChatGPT plans (pricing). No API keys, no per-message billing.

Your data

Coach AMA athletes can download their profile, plan, what the coach learned about them and their chat history from the dashboard. It stays available until 8 November, then everything is deleted.

Set it up

Your AI does the technical part. You do the things that need your logins: install the app, copy one key and, if you were a Coach AMA athlete, download your data.

  1. 01

    Install Claude Code

    On a Mac, use the Code tab in the Claude desktop app. Otherwise, in a terminal:

    curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

    Prefer Codex? It works too, without the Strava connector. On a Mac, use the Codex app. Otherwise:

    curl -fsSL https://chatgpt.com/codex/install.sh | sh

    Windows: run wsl --install in PowerShell, restart, open Ubuntu from the Start menu and use the terminal commands there. Sign in with your Claude account (or ChatGPT for Codex).

  2. 02

    Coach AMA athletes: download your data

    Sign in at coach-ama.com/dashboard and choose Download your coaching data. Leave coach-ama-data.zip in your Downloads folder, where the AI finds it. On Windows, tell the AI it's in your Windows Downloads folder (inside WSL that is /mnt/c/Users/YOUR-WINDOWS-NAME/Downloads). Your new coach then starts where Coach AMA stopped.

    New here, or missed the download? Skip this step. The coach gets to know you in a short first session.

  3. 03

    Open an empty folder and paste this

    Make a folder called coach and open it in the app. Or, in a terminal: mkdir -p ~/coach && cd ~/coach && claude (or codex). Then paste:

    Set up my endurance coach. Download the coach kit from https://github.com/4nd3rs/coach-ama-kit into this folder, then read AGENTS.md and follow routines/setup.md step by step. Do the technical work yourself and only ask me for what you need.
  4. 04

    Answer its questions

    The AI downloads the kit, asks for your intervals.icu API key and checks the connection, checks that your training history arrived, imports your Coach AMA data if you have it, explains how to get workouts onto your device, and offers to start your first session.

    For the key, open intervals.icu/settings, scroll to Developer Settings and generate an API key. Treat it like a password: it can read and edit your calendar.

    When the AI wants to run a command, it asks first. Approve it.

Prefer to set it up by hand?

Download the kit from github.com/4nd3rs/coach-ama-kit into ~/coach. Then:

cd ~/coach
cp .env.example .env

Open .env in a text editor, paste your intervals.icu key after INTERVALS_API_KEY= and save. Then check the connection:

bin/icu check             # should say "ok: connected …"

Coach AMA athletes: import your data. This finds coach-ama-data.zip in ~/Downloads:

bin/import-data

On Windows (WSL), point it at your Windows Downloads folder instead, with your Windows user name in place of YOUR-WINDOWS-NAME:

bin/import-data "/mnt/c/Users/YOUR-WINDOWS-NAME/Downloads/coach-ama-data.zip"

Then start claude or codex in that folder. Codex blocks network access by default. If it can't reach intervals.icu, add this to ~/.codex/config.toml:

[sandbox_workspace_write]
network_access = true

On Windows, run all of this inside WSL. The kit's README covers the rest.

Optional: connect Strava (Claude Code)

If your activities reach intervals.icu through Strava, intervals.icu can't share their power, heart rate or duration. That's Strava's licensing rule. With a paid Strava subscription, Claude Code can read them directly through Strava's official connector. It's read-only.

Easiest: on claude.ai, open Customize → Connectors, add Strava and connect. It's then available in Claude Code when you're signed in with the same account.

Or ask the coach to set it up. It runs this command, and you approve the Strava login:

claude mcp add --transport http strava-mcp https://mcp.strava.com/mcp

Revoke access any time in Strava → Settings → My Apps. Strava trial accounts get access once the trial converts to a paid subscription.

Talk to it

In Claude Code, type the commands. In Codex, say the same thing in words ("run the morning check"). Or just talk the way you did on Discord.

TypeWhat happens
/first-sessionThe coach gets to know you and books your first 10 days.
/morningReadiness check plus today's session, adjusted if your recovery says so.
/debriefReview of your latest session. Add a note: /debrief legs felt heavy.
/planKeeps the next 10 days booked and in line with your plan.
/weeklySunday review: hours and load per sport, what next week is for.
/monthlyAn honest 4–5 week audit and what changes.
anything else"Move Thursday's intervals to Friday." "I'm sick." "I signed up for Vätternrundan."

Before it creates, moves or deletes a workout, the coach lists the change and waits for your OK. It only touches its own workouts (named [Coach], or [AMA] from Coach AMA), never your club rides or your own entries.

Good to know

  • Its memory is the athlete/ folder. Plain text you can read and correct. Back it up; if you lose it, the coach forgets you.
  • Your data goes to Anthropic (or OpenAI with Codex) under your own account. That includes Strava data if you connect it. Coach AMA is not in the loop. Revoke access any time by deleting the key in intervals.icu.
  • Workouts not reaching your device? intervals.icu → Settings → Connections → your device → enable Upload planned workouts.
  • No power or heart rate on activities? They came from Strava, which intervals.icu can't share. Connect your watch or head unit directly in intervals.icu → Connections, or connect Strava in Claude Code (above).

Stuck? Ask the coach to "run the setup check". The kit's README covers troubleshooting and scheduled morning notes. Thanks for training with Coach AMA.