The first time that I stepped into a gym, and got my membership. I remember receiving a list with strange names with a number of sets and repetitions next to them, a training schedule. This had been made by a personal trainer, someone who had a lot of knowledge and experience in the field of training. However as I started exploring and testing with Generative AI, a question began to intrigue me: Could GenAI’s capacity for creativity and content generation disrupt the way we approach fitness (Cremer et al., 2023)? In particular, to what extent is GenAI able to create individual customized training schedules? Thus, potentially shifting the need for personal trainers.
Experiment
To test my theory, I decided to start an experiment in which I act as a potential user, assuming that I have no previous knowledge about gym routines nor of any exercise techniques.
1. Creating the initial schedule
The first prompt was to ask ChatGPT to come up with a schedule that would suit my fitness goal, in this case increasing strength. I mentioned a certain height, weight, and the availability of equipment. The results are shown in figure 1.
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2. Adapting and Testing
Next was the step which could make or break the experiment, being GenAI’s capability of succesfully adjusting the schedule. To test this, I introduced ChatGPT to a hypothetical progress I had made and asked it to update the schedule. (see figure 2)
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3. Safety
With the prompts shown in figure 1 and 2, ChatGPT already added some tips to prevent injuries. These are shown in figure 3.
In my opinion the results show a well working, free, automated schedule-maker. That, in contradiction to for instance personal trainers, can be easily adjusted, simply by typing a couple of sentences and clicking twice. Using ChatGPT this way, and for instance using YouTube to provide ample instructions and examples on how to do the exercises correctly, the personal fitness industry could be disrupted. The question then arises, whether or not this new way of working will help and support personal trainers in their daily work. Or whether the availability of an easy, free, automated schedule-maker (ChatGPT) will make their users want to try and become fit on their own. Of course a counterargument can be made that the role of a personal trainer is in most cases not only to provide schedules for the clients to adhere to, and to check the movements. It is often also to motivate and help clients beyond just the exercises. This is a drawback of the GenAI personal trainer, as there is limited motivational support nor physical presence. However in combination with for instance YouTube, or even a robotic personal trainer in the future (Benitez-Eves, 2019), I think the generative AI workout partner could be a real threat for the industry. Please let me know your thoughts and experiences! Do you make use of a personal trainer? And would you be willing to switch to ChatGPT, trusting it with your scheduling?
References
Benitez-Eves, T. (2019, March 14). Sony Is Creating a Robotic Personal Trainer. Muscle & Fitness. https://www.muscleandfitness.com/athletes-celebrities/news/sony-creating-robotic-personal-trainer/
Cremer, D. D., Bianzino, N. M., & Falk, B. (2023, April 13). How Generative AI Could Disrupt Creative Work. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2023/04/how-generative-ai-could-disrupt-creative-work
Cool experiment with using ChatGPT for workout planning! It’s definitely interesting to see tech dive into the fitness world like this. While AI can whip up some neat, quick schedules, the personal touch and real-time adaptability of a human trainer still seem crucial, especially for beginners or those with special needs. Wondering if the future could be a mix of both tech and personal trainers to get the best of both worlds?
Thanks for this insightful experiment! I personally never used a personal trainer and probably never will. I definitely agree that AI can replace personal trainers for 2 facts that you mentioned: (1) it is free (2) it provides great exercices based on the prompts. However, I believe it will replace personal trainers on a very small scale because people using personal training aim for the motivation that those trainers bring during a session which ChatGPT cannot.
Based on your experiment, i instantly realised that ChatGPT could highly impact Training Applications. I have used a training app once before, and as you can imagine there was a freemium version which i did not pay. The free version was very limited and i believe that ChatGPT provides more recommendations that this App gave me.
When doing working on your blog did you think about this aspect? I believe it would be a nice experiment to dive into.
Thanks again for this blog!
Thank you for this very interesting and original blog post! The prospect of using a Generative AI like ChatGPT as a “fitness companion” certainly piqued my interest. Because my approach to gym-going is quite casual, a personal trainer is not something I would consider spending my money on. However, the use of Generative AI for a laid-back but still very effective approach to fitness scheduling – shown by your experiment – makes it definitely worth to looking into. I have tried quite a few apps to make a schedule and track my performance, but since Generative AI has made my life so much easier in a lot of areas, why not apply it to sports.
Besides going to the gym, I play a lot of tennis and have done so since the age of five. Three years ago, I quit training as I wanted to focus on studying and thought I could still play a lot in my free time (which of course did not happen). I recently started playing again and I want to get back to my old level but do not have time to train at certain hours every week. Using Generative AI to make a training schedule based on the time I have and the areas I want to improve could be the perfect solution for my current situation.
As you mention in your blog post, the motivational support and physical presence of a personal trainer cannot be recreated by an AI, however when you go to the gym with someone else who uses Generative AI as personal trainer, you can give each other the support that is missing. The same holds for tennis, which is played with at least two players of course.
The balance between technology-driven sports assistance and traditional personal training is a fascinating aspect and I am looking forward to trying this interesting approach. Thank you for sharing this enlightening experiment and stimulating an engaging discussion!
Firstly, very interesting blog! I like your topic as I have used chatGPT to craft gym schedules myself. Like you, I was impressed by the tool’s ability to generate diverse gym schedules, tailored to my preferences. Complementary to letting AI create gym schedules, I also used the tool to make food schemas to reach my fitness goals. Something you might find intriguing!
I further agree with your statement that an AI workout partner could disrupt the traditional role of personal trainers. The ease and customization offered by genAI are unmatched compared to traditional gym-provided training plans. However, I do agree with you that personal trainers are also there for motivational support, which is challenging for AI to recreate. That said, the future is unpredictable. Perhaps one day I might swap my gym buddy for a robotic personal trainer and look back to this very article.
Thank you for sharing your insights.