Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been one of the absolute hottest topics of 2023. It’s been mentioned in a variety of contexts, from helping scientists to develop new medical treatments, to putting Hollywood on strike for months, and generating comments on social media. I’ve found the idea of it incredibly worrying, largely due to the speed with which it’s been adopted, and the significant bias that’s been built into it and doesn’t seem to be going away. I knew that it wouldn’t be long before the idea of AI being used as a fitness coach appeared in my world, and it’s now happened, so let’s think about whether you should swap your human personal trainer for an AI one…
Speaking of bias, here’s mine
Yep, as a qualified, real life, trying-to-make-money personal trainer, I’m bound to hate on the idea of AI taking my job. Because I’m human. And I like my job. I put effort and money into training to do it for a reason. So yes, I’m mostly biased against AI as an exercise instructor. But I’m also going to be constructively critical about it so that you can make the decision which suits you best (something that I don’t think AI can do either).
Who’s using AI as a personal trainer?
The first time I saw the idea being put into practice was via this Women’s Health article. I recommend you read it, because I do agree with the majority of it. I like the honesty of it. I appreciate that the person testing it out was open about the fact that they got bored of the suggested programmes, and that was going to be one of the assumptions I’d have made about the system.
One of the supposed main draws of AI as a fitness planning option is that platforms such as Chat GPT are free of charge to users, whereas personal trainers like myself aren’t. Finances are tight for many people right now, and watching your budget is always smart anyway. But fitness isn’t just about outlay, it’s about value for money. Because, ultimately, you can spend on a plan (or spend time finding one to download), but you also have to invest time into putting it to use, and if said plan doesn’t work for you, then you’ve wasted time. If you’ve spent money on it and it either doesn’t work for you or you don’t implement it, you’ve wasted time AND cash. Plus, ultimately, we all love a freebie, so to think that you can make a financial saving is a huge draw. But there are other options there…
Free of charge fitness plans aren’t new
Social media has reached critical mass thanks to a few key genres snowballing in popularity. One of them is fitness, because it’s visual, relatable, and can cover so many topics within the broader scope. Whether it’s “What I Eat In A Day” Reels, or TikToks of suggested body part exercises, plus things like kit reviews, supplement recommendations, confidence tips, and equipment hacks, fitness content rolls on and on for months on end, and users lap it up.
And that’s the fucking problem.
Our old friend the algorithm loves to give the people what they want – it’s about keeping you engaged, because that’s how they make money. What it isn’t about is quality. It doesn’t care whether or not someone with their booty pointed towards the camera is qualified to coach. It doesn’t care whether the nutrition advice offered is fact or fiction. It doesn’t care whether you’re selling a misleading product or a genuine one. It just cares that you’re still scrolling, and so do a lot of the people making the videos.
Positives of AI-generated fitness plans
As mentioned, they’re free and easy to access. AI does also seem to willingly regurgitate some good information, just as search engines do. The facts I’ve seen it spit about sets and reps for a specific purpose tally with my own learning. But that’s where we slide towards problematic. Because that’s all it’s doing – regurgitating the personal trainer textbook. Good personal trainers learn the rules… then break them. We adapt those rules to fit the person stood in front of us. “Personal” is the true key word in the job title, it’s all about tweaking the method to suit the client. And that’s something that AI and fitfluencers can’t (yet) do.
Assistive vs generative technology
Someone I know gave me a great frame of reference for use of tech versus use of personalised service – think of the difference between assistive and generative technology.
There are so many positives to AI, and one of the massive ones is inclusivity of needs. Technically, many of us have been using AI for much of our lives – things like spellcheck and predictive text are AI features, just as drugs to help with erectile dysfunction are gender affirming care. The tone switches when we look to AI to generate a solution to a problem, rather than simply smooth the process. It just isn’t quite smart enough to problem-solve in the way that a person is.
My car is a great example of this – it has a sensor which goes off and actually slams the brakes on if it spots an obstacle (usually another braking vehicle) in my path. The annoying thing is that it does this regularly on the approach to a turning near my home, where other vehicles slow down and turn off as I continue to sail past. Every single time it’s happened I’ve known that my judgment is fine, because I can see what’s actually happening and read the road. The car can’t, because it’s just a distance sensor, not a camera and full computer.
Should you use AI to plan your fitness routine?
At the moment, this is a good option for inspiration for those who already know a fair bit about fitness, and are confident in what their goals are. People who don’t need encouragement. People who don’t need to have their form checked and adjusted. People without any other injuries or health contraindications. Which, in my opinion, is a very small number of people.
Personal training may cost less than you think – my face-to-face sessions are £42.00 per hour at the time of writing, and you are welcome to book and pay for one at a time. Let me know if you’d like more information!