![\"Garmin](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/DSC_3200.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo Josh Ross\/Velo)\nThe setup<\/p>\n
Before I dive into this article, I want to describe some of the tools I am using. It actually matters a lot in this case and I think part of why writers who aren\u2019t necessarily athletes haven\u2019t been as successful in making AI work for them.<\/p>\n
First is the AI. I\u2019m using Google Gemini Pro. That\u2019s a paid account with access to the latest version of the Gemini LLM model. I made that choice because I have a Google Pixel 10 Pro XL and the purchase includes a year of Gemini Pro. After using Gemini Pro for the last few months I would absolutely start paying the $20 or so it costs per month.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know if you\u2019ll get similar results with competing systems. This isn\u2019t an investigation into which LLM is better or worse. I suspect they are similar and I don\u2019t really care anyway. Gemini works for me because I\u2019m heavily invested in the Google ecosystem and it has access to other Google products which I find helpful sometimes.<\/p>\n
What I do think is important is the distinction between free and paid. I previously bounced around between the free versions of various AIs and found them all equally annoying. With a paid subscription you get a better model as well as fewer limitations on text length. If you think you can make it work with the free options, great! But this is what I am using and have found success with.<\/p>\n
The other supporting character here is Garmin Connect and Garmin hardware. Again that\u2019s not necessarily because I think it\u2019s the only option but you do need the breadth of data it offers. I have a Garmin watch that tracks my heart rate, and the details associated with that. I don\u2019t wear it on the bike but it completes the full picture of my training off the bike. I also have Garmin power pedals and a Garmin heart rate strap. Garmin Connect combines all that data into a single data stream. I suspect there\u2019s other ways to manage that but Garmin is definitely the easiest option which is why I use it and recommend it.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve never used Gemini to give me specific workouts or plan my training overall. I also didn\u2019t start my interactions about cycling training with a question about training. Instead, what started this journey was a lingering health issue I\u2019ve had for years. Honestly, it was a bit of desperation.<\/p>\n The problem is that in the Pacific Northwest, the transition from summer riding to winter is roughly like a cliff. In late August, the days are long, sunny, and beautiful. Then everything changes in an instant come September. It\u2019s cold, wet, and dark at 4:30, seemingly overnight. Well \u2026 at least that\u2019s how it feels.<\/p>\n In terms of cycling, what that means is that I go from summer to winter training in an instant. My summer training is long zone 2 rides in the 7-9 hour range on the weekend and fooling around with intensity for fun during my mid-week ~1.5 hour rides. Then the season changes and I am on Zwift doing 1-hour midweek rides with 3-hour weekend rides all at much higher intensity.<\/p>\n When this shift happens, I somehow never get the memo that I have actually changed things. If I can do a 9-hour ride no problem then a 3-hour ride should be easy, right? Except it\u2019s obviously not, and what happens is that I end up feeling terrible when I make the shift.<\/p>\n This year was the same, but I\u2019d been chatting with someone (shoutout Cheesecake for breakfast Zwift ride) about low testosterone in cyclists. The conversations reminded me of when I was younger and had an eating disorder. At the time I didn\u2019t know I had an eating disorder and it was only later that I realized it had been severe enough that I suppressed my testosterone production with a lack of fat and cholesterol.<\/p>\n This year, I suddenly realized that I was feeling very similar to that time in my life. It felt hard to get on the bike and while I could perform when I had to it was hard to motivate. I was also tired and miserable off the bike. The discussion convinced me it was finally time to get tested. I was ready to schedule the appointment, but I wanted to check the logistics first.<\/p>\n My first interaction with Gemini about cycling was not about training but about how to handle testing for low testosterone. I wanted to know if I was looking to see how low my testosterone got or what the baseline was. I also wasn\u2019t sure how to handle the fact that I ride five days a week. I asked:<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a cyclist who rides about 9000 miles a year. I\u2019m also 45 and worried my testosterone is starting to drop. Is it better to get tested the day after a big ride or at a time when I am less depleted?\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019ll save you the minutiae, but Gemini asked me more clarifying questions about why I was worried about testosterone. I explained and it asked to see my HRV data. We talked about my training and based on the discussion, the system suggested that it was likely I was under-eating and over-training.<\/p>\n Of course I was. This is classic stuff and I should have known better. My mistake was the lack of recognition about the shift I make in training in the fall. It just didn\u2019t click that I was suddenly upping my intensity a lot and that had ramifications. It should have clicked.<\/p>\n I am an expert in these things, but I\u2019m also human and I made a mistake. It wasn\u2019t hormone issues related to being old that were plaguing me. Instead, I was fueling for Z2 summer rides while doing threshold winter work. Gemini was able to point that out.<\/p>\n From there the conversation shifted into the meat of what Gemini does for me now. Nearly every morning I wake up and share a screen shot from Garmin Connect with Gemini. For a while that was HRV status, although it\u2019s shifted to other metrics lately, and I worked with Gemini to fix the hole I\u2019d dug for myself.<\/p>\n A big part of that shift was nutrition. Not so much on the bike nutrition. That part I find pretty easy as long as I am paying attention. Instead, I worked with Gemini to design better off-the-bike meals and the system allowed for a flexibility that was impossible when I was trying to navigate calories years ago.<\/p>\n In those years when I had an eating disorder the only way I could manage my fueling was by being incredibly rigid and weighing everything. Now I can tell Gemini what my wife has planned for dinner, or what I have planned based on family input, and Gemini will offer suggestions based on my training. I even took a picture of a shared platter of food near Christmas and it suggested what to have more of and what to stay away from.<\/p>\n It understands how to make those suggestions because I share a screenshot of the Garmin Connect stats page at the end of every ride. I also often tell it the food I ate during that ride and what I expect to do for the next ride. It understands that as I write this on Saturday I am taking the day off of the bike but I will be doing a longer outdoor ride tomorrow and it makes suggestions based on that.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t let Gemini completely lead what I eat, but rather I ask for tweaks. I ask Gemini if I can have a pint on a Friday night and it offers a suggestion based on my training and current status. If you are curious, it mostly says no, but this week it was fine. Gemini regularly says add more protein to a meal or more carbs to another. It helped me design a better breakfast of overnight oats with Greek yogurt because I tend to ride when I get off work in the evening rather than in the morning before or after breakfast. Tweaks and suggestions based on my lead.<\/p>\n In terms of the rides, as I said, I don\u2019t ask it for interval targets or specific training suggestions. I understand that I want a hard ride once during the week and that I will either do a 3-hour zone 3 or 4 ride on Sunday or a more mellow, but longer, outdoor ride. As those things shift and morph I share Garmin data and ask it things like \u201cshould today be the VO2 Max workout or should I wait for another day?\u201d I use it heavily to interpret what Garmin is suggesting based on training status and it also does a lot of work around my nutrition during the day before or after specific types of rides.<\/p>\n The result has been pretty amazing. I wasn\u2019t trying but I lost a bit of weight. I drink way more water and I understand why I sometimes crave sugar before bed (salt and carb intake). I have an easier breakfast routine with a better meal that helps set the stage for the day. I recover better from big efforts and, most importantly, I don\u2019t feel constantly tired anymore and I am back to having fun on the bike.<\/p>\n Part of my having fun is getting back to Zwift racing. In the past I\u2019ve loved using Zwift races instead of VO2 max intervals but this year I was feeling so bad that I didn\u2019t do it much. It\u2019s hard to motivate for that kind of intensity when you feel rundown. Now that I\u2019m back on track it was time for an intense workout this week.<\/p>\n I started by asking Gemini if a Zwift race would be a good swap for a VO2 max interval workout. I knew it would be but I was curious about the response. When it was a resounding yes, I looked for a race that was happening at the right time.<\/p>\n Zwift is notoriously terrible at having good options for evening on the West Coast so the first thing I tackled with Gemini was what event to do. Tour de Zwift 2026 is happening right now and that meant I saw two options that would work for me. There was a non-race option (trust me it\u2019s still a race at the front) with a 21.8-mile length that seemed best or there was the race at 15.3 miles.<\/p>\n I asked Gemini about those choices and it responded with a depth of understanding. Gemini understood that one of the hardest parts of a Zwift race is off the line and it also understood that the longer distance would require some pacing. Instead of the 21.8-mile option I would have done, it suggested a warm up then the shorter distance because it would be more intense.<\/p>\n Next I used it to analyze the course. One of the most important things you can do in a race is understand the course but I rarely check the details. This time I sent the course name to Gemini and asked it when the best time to attack would be. At the time I thought that would be the end of the advice but remember how I said I rarely check the details of the race?<\/p>\n Yeah, once again that lack of course analysis was an issue. This was a flat course with one small rise in the middle and a climb to the finish. During the race the entire field ended up glued together.<\/p>\n I talked to Gemini and told it that there was one strong rider generally at the front and I was holding that wheel but the rest of the group was packed together and talking about attacking on the hill. It suggested that I needed to make sure I was near the front then hold the wheels and don\u2019t attack. When the group crested the peak I was supposed to attack.<\/p>\n That did not happen. Instead I told it that I held a 197 heart rate to stay in the group and that group had stretched but not broken. Gemini then shifted the plan to try and recover on the flat before the end and attack at a different point on the final climb. It also said that if I got dropped I needed to just keep pedaling to the end.<\/p>\n This was obviously prophetic. I got dropped on the final climb and finished close to the last position. I shared a screen shot of the finish screen with Gemini and said \u201cI got destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n The way Gemini responded was even more interesting than the suggestions during the race.<\/p>\n \u201cThe \u2018Lightweight\u2019 Trap<\/p>\n Your Numbers: You pushed 3.6 W\/kg.<\/p>\n The Winner\u2019s Numbers: They pushed only 3.4 W\/kg.<\/p>\n The Reality: You were working harder pound-for-pound than the guy who won the race.<\/p>\n Why You Lost: The winner pushed 278 Watts raw power. You pushed 226 Watts.<\/p>\n On a course like Turf N Surf, which is mostly flat or shallow (3%) gradients, Raw Watts rule. The \u2018Pain Cavern. isn\u2019t steep enough to give a lightweight climber (like you) the advantage. The big motors (278W+ riders) just rolled over the shallow gradient using momentum and raw power, while you had to fight to keep up with less absolute power.\u201d<\/p>\n I also loved that Gemini broke down some of the numbers in comparison to my training goals.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Physiological Victory<\/p>\n Forget the \u201919th Place\u2019 result for a second. Look at what your body just did:<\/p>\n Average Power: 226 Watts for ~38 minutes.<\/p>\n FTP Context: Your FTP is 236W. You just rode at 96% of your FTP for nearly 40 minutes.<\/p>\n The Heart Rate: You mentioned hitting 197 bpm.<\/p>\n The Verdict: This was not a \u201cfailure.\u201d This was a massive Threshold\/VO2 Max breakthrough. You held near-threshold power for the entire duration of the race.\u201d<\/p>\n I then went on to share a screenshot of the Xert<\/a> (another of my favorite analytics tools) breakthrough that occurred. I didn\u2019t up my FTP in that breakthrough but rather my peak power. Gemini explained what that meant in a way I\u2019d never really understood. It also talked about how my performance was a validation of the numbers that Xert was providing. I appreciate that because I always second-guess myself. The final pieces were upping my max HR in Garmin (more complicated than it should be) and it suggested nutrition for the rest of the evening. It also used that data to inform decisions later in the week.<\/p>\n As you can see, it doesn\u2019t matter that I didn\u2019t win. That wasn\u2019t the point, even if winning would have been fun. What I loved was having someone to bounce my ideas off of in real time and getting explanations of things that helped expand my overall understanding.<\/p>\n I\u2019m often positive when I share these kinds of things. I\u2019m sharing because it has been helpful to me and I think it will be helpful to others as well. There are some definite limitations, though.<\/p>\n The biggest thing I advise against is using AI to tackle big problems with no guidance. You have to be the expert then use AI as a research partner that expands your abilities. I referred to hubris earlier because you have to be arrogant enough to believe you can out-smart the AI. That\u2019s important.<\/p>\n You have to be the expert who judges the output, not a passive student waiting for answers. It doesn\u2019t matter how much of an actual expert you are because you can learn along the way by asking questions. Just don\u2019t turn over a big problem to AI and say go for it.<\/p>\n My interactions started with a small and specific question. I didn\u2019t ask it to create my training plan for the next six months and I don\u2019t think that\u2019s a great use for it. There are specific solutions for that such as CoachCat<\/a>, TrainerRoad<\/a>, or an actual coach. If you need that kind of help then start there and maybe try asking AI what kind of breakfast makes sense before a specific workout.<\/p>\n You really need to break everything down into small and specific pieces. If it gives you something more general, and you don\u2019t understand, then ask follow-up questions and read from a variety of sources. Ask informed questions along the way.<\/p>\n Always remember that AI is going to be most successful when you understand both the questions and the answers. It\u2019s good at pattern recognition but you want to be in a position where it\u2019s offering guidance. Don\u2019t operate on blind faith.<\/p>\n Aside from that, I find it also becomes weirdly attached to certain details. I once mentioned I was testing a specific bike and it started working that bike into every conversation. I asked it about a specific climb after that and it referenced the bike despite the two things having no connection.<\/p>\n Cadence is another thing that it loves to bring up. I should probably do some investigation into modern best practices for cadence in training but at this point I don\u2019t care. I pay attention to power and heart rate and let cadence be what it is. Gemini loves to bring up that it thinks my cadence is low constantly and it\u2019s pretty annoying. I told it to stop and it still continues to be a topic of discussion.<\/p>\n In terms of interaction there is also a problem. This is something a lot of tech companies are working on but right now, there\u2019s not a great way to interact with Gemini. Typing works well enough but if you have a typo it can sometimes cause it to get stuck on that detail when it was just a typo.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nThe way it started<\/p>\n<\/a>(Photo Josh Ross\/Velo)
\nHow it progressed<\/p>\n<\/a>(Photo: Josh Ross\/Velo)
\nI used Gemini as a \u201cDirecteur Sportif\u201d during a Zwift race<\/p>\n<\/a>A nearly flat race probably isn\u2019t my best option for a win. (Photo: Zwift)<\/p>\n<\/a>(Photo: Josh Ross\/Velo)
\nAI has limitations<\/p>\n