Whether you're training for a race, prepping for a season, or just trying to get consistent with workouts, Grug Notes can help you build a personalized schedule—one that actually fits your life.
In this walkthrough, I'll show you how I built a 20-week paddling program for the Maui to Molokai OC1 race. The same approach works for running, cycling, swimming, or whatever you're training for.
You could do this in ChatGPT directly, but Grug Notes wraps that intelligence in a system that helps you get better results. It gathers more context, builds a detailed plan, double-checks the results, and puts it right into your daily notes so you see what's on each morning.
Click the chat button at the bottom right and pick a model. For training plans, I recommend the OpenAI model (GPT)—it's slower but gives more detailed, thoughtful programming. Gemini Pro is also excellent.
Tell it what you're training for. Be specific about dates, goals, and experience level. The AI will ask follow-up questions, but don't wait—volunteer everything relevant upfront:
In my case: 25+ years of paddling experience, but minimal training since 2019. Two days a week currently available, with a 4-year-old who needs to fit into the picture.
Once the AI has enough context, ask it to turn the discussion into a concrete calendar. This kicks off what I call the Big Brain Agent—it summarizes your conversation, generates a detailed phase-by-phase breakdown, then creates individual workouts for each day.
This takes a few minutes. Let it run.
After generation, a verification step checks the whole plan against what you specified. Sometimes it catches inconsistencies and makes corrections.
When it's done, you'll see individual day blocks. Hit Apply All to load the entire schedule into your notes. Each day's workout will show up on your home page on that day—open Grug Notes on your phone and your workout is right there.
For something you're investing months into, it's worth having another model review the plan. Start a fresh chat, switch to a different model (I used Gemini), paste in your background info, and ask: "What do you think of this schedule?"
You can also use the 'Copy All' if you want to paste it into ChatGPT or Claude.ai directly. And there is a calendar view for you to easily review the whole program once you are on the "Prompt Page" for your program.
The AI is good at this stuff now. It's not a replacement for a coach if you're chasing podiums, but for building a realistic, personalized schedule that respects your life? It's a solid tool.
Don't use a fast 1-credit model for training plans. Use GPT (OpenAI) or Gemini Pro (Google)—they're slower but give much more detailed, nuanced programming.
If your plan is still in the chat, it's not in your notes yet. Hit Apply All to save every day to your schedule.
View your whole program in a calendar layout to see peak days, rest weeks, and periodization at a glance. Print button included.
The AI now remembers context from previous chats. Getting a second opinion is easier—just start a new conversation with a different model and it'll already know what you've been working on.
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