Workout Builder Syntax Quick Guide

R2Tom · 3 March 2026 06:05

Intervals.icu Workout Builder Syntax Quick Guide

Use this as a short cheat sheet when writing workout lines.

1) Basic line format

Most steps follow this pattern:

- [duration OR distance] [target] [optional cadence]

Examples:

- 5m30s 60% 90rpm
- 1km 70% HR
- 500mtr 5:00/km Pace

2) Duration and distance

Time

Hours: 1h
Minutes: 10m, 5m
Seconds: 30s, 90s
Combined: 1h2m30s, 5m30s
Short form: 5', 30", 1'30"

Distance

Metric: 500mtr, 2km, 10km
Imperial: 1mi, 4.5mi

Important

m means minutes (not meters).

For meters, use mtr.

3) Targets

Power

FTP percentage: 75%, 95-105%
Absolute power: 220w, 200-240w
Zones: Z2, Z3-Z4
MMP: 60% MMP 5m, 50-60% MMP 3m
Custom zones: CZ1, CZ2-CZ3

Heart rate

Percent of max HR: 70% HR, 75-80% HR
Percent of threshold HR: 95% LTHR, 90-95% LTHR
HR zones: Z2 HR, Z2-Z3 HR

Pace

Percent of threshold pace: 60% Pace, 78-82% Pace
Pace zones: Z2 Pace, Z2-Z3 Pace
Absolute pace: 5:00 Pace, 5:00/km Pace, 3:00/100m-4:00/100m Pace

Pace Note

Absolute pace is written as mm:ss per distance unit.

Common units: /100m, /100y, /km, /mi, /500m, /400m, /250m.

If you omit the distance unit, the sport default from settings is used.

4) Cadence (cycling)

Add cadence after the target:

- 10m 75% 90rpm
- 12m 85% 90-100rpm

5) Ramps and freeride

Use ramp for gradual change (not case-sensitive):

- 10m ramp 50%-75%
- 15m ramp 60%-90% 85rpm
- 10m ramp 60-80% Pace

Special:

- 20m freeride = ERG off.

6) Repeats

Two ways:

In a header/title line: Main Set 5x
As a standalone line before steps: 5x

Examples:

Main Set 4x
- 2m 95%
- 2m 55%

5x
- 30s 120%
- 30s 50%

- 5m 50%

Note

Leave one empty line before and after every repeat block (Main Set 5x or 5x).

Nested repeats are not supported.

7) Text prompts (step cues)

Any text before the first duration becomes the cue text.

- Warmup 10m 60%

Main Set 6x
- 4m 100%
- 5m 50%

- Recovery 3m 50%

What happens:

Warmup appears as the cue.
Main Set 6x produces cues like Main Set 1/6, Main Set 2/6, etc.
Recovery appears as the cue at the end in the last interval.

8) Timed text prompts inside one step

Use this when you want prompts at exact seconds during a single step.

Syntax:

- [prompt at 0s]   [time1]^[prompt1]   [time2]^[prompt2] ... <!> [duration] [target]

Example:

- First prompt at 0s    33^2nd prompt at 33s    <!> 10m ramp 25-75%

Link to the Announcement

Rules

Prompt times are seconds from the start of that step.

<!> is required when timed prompts are used.

9) Formatting Text Inside Workout Steps

You can add simple text formatting to make your workout script clearer and easier to read. Intervals.icu ignores these elements when parsing the workout, but they help you organize notes, highlight important parts, or add structure.

Use standard Markdown:

Titles:

# Title H1
### Title H3
###### Title H6

Bold and italic emphasis:

**bold**
*italic*
***bold italic***

Using links:

[link](https://example.com)

Using tables:


| Item       | Description        | Value |
|------------|--------------------|-------|
|  A  | First  | 123   |
|  B  | Second | 456   |

Visual separators

---

These separators help readability.

Vuetify classes are also allowed, like:

<p class="text-red">This text is red</p>
<span class="d-none">This text is hidden</span>

Example


## Great Workout
#### Overview 
| Step       | Description            | Value |
|------------|--------------------|-------|
|  1  | Warmup  | 100   |
|  2  | Main Set | 170   |
|  3  | Cooldown | 100   |

---

[This is a link to your external app](https://example.com)

---

1. **first** Warmup 
2. <span class="text-red">***second***  Main set</span>
3. *Third* Cooldown

<span class="d-none">Some Text that is hidden</span>

--- 

- Warmup 5m 100w
- Mainset 10m 170w
- Cooldown 5m 100w

This is the result of the above example: