Walking into a gym for the first time can feel daunting, with several intimidating machines, weights, and fitness equipment that can leave you a little overwhelmed at the start . As someone who had never gone to the gym until the summer of last year, I was quite lost on what exercises I should be doing or even how to use half of the machines I saw when I first entered. With ChatGPT getting a lot of traction last year, I thought of running a casual experiment just to see how helpful it could be as a ‘virtual’ gym trainer, since I definitely wasn’t going to pay for an actual one, and it really helped a lot more than I expected.
My initial interactions with ChatGPT were to help me build a simple workout plan based on my fitness level and the gym equipment that was available at the time. Being pretty much a beginner in this, I wasn’t looking for anything too complicated, just something that would break down the basics for me without making me feel lost. GPT was great with this, suggesting easy to follow routines that introduced me to the most common gym machines and free weight workouts. It would also explain the proper form when using such machines and the muscle groups they targeted, giving me a better understanding of what, why, and how I should be doing things.
What sets it apart from a Google search that usually gives generic routines or advice, is the ability to constantly refine things based on the information I gave it about myself. I would let it know things about myself like for example, my goals and how much time I had on days, which it would adapt to and set plans based on this. There were some days when I barely had the time, where I’d tell it that I have max 30 minutes for a session, and it would modify the routine taking into account the workouts I have already done in the week and what exercises to prioritize that day. It literally felt like I had a personal trainer on standby.
However, unlike an actual trainer, ChatGPT can’t track my progress, like how much weight I would be lifting or how well I’m performing each set. If it had a way to keep tabs on my progress without me needing to input such kind of information all the time, it could be a gamechanger in this space. This is why I feel the camera viewing ‘vision’ capability that OpenAI has shown in their tech demos but not officially released yet (OpenAI, 2024), could really make an impact here. Right now the AI model is limited to analyzing uploaded images, but the potential to integrate live camera feeds or at least video uploads would be huge. I can imagine pointing the phone camera to show your form as you perform each rep and have it analyze and offer corrections or track form improvements over time. This would literally make it an interactive, intelligent trainer and not just a source of workout advice.
As it stands, ChatGPT gave me what I was looking for in terms of a plan, guidance around things, and the flexibility to make adjustments for me, but it’s not hard to think about where it could go next. The potential is clear, and with some added capabilities, all I can say is that personal trainers and coaches need to watch out.
References
OpenAI. (2024, May 13). Live demo of GPT-4o’s vision capabilities [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKp36MmRlXA
Great post! As a student-athlete myself, I can relate to the importance of having guidance in the gym. While I’m fortunate to have a personal trainer, I can see how using ChatGPT as a “virtual trainer” would be especially valuable for those without access to in-person coaching. The flexibility it offers in adapting workouts to time constraints is a game-changer, especially for busy students who may struggle to stick to a routine.
From my own experience, in-person coaching on form has been one of the most essential parts of training. Real-time feedback is invaluable, helping prevent injury and ensuring that each movement is effective. Your vision for ChatGPT providing real-time form correction is exciting and could be a game-changer in this space. Maybe if the technology is developed we may even see the gym equipement having an AI coach already integrated!
I really see the potential here, because I also had a similar experience myself.
Recently I joined the gym and since I made a new start I also wanted to track my calorie intake. Of course, as a begginer I had no idea how to manage to maintain a good diet while also doing exercise and see actual results. Then I gave as input to ChatGPT my exercise program. I put every machine I used and for what specific exercise, as well. The I had a recommendation of meals and the respective quantities for each day I went to the gym. It really helped me! I think you should also try it and since it also helps you already with your workout plan, you could add more value to it by balancing your diet easily!
Super interesting post! I personally started using ChatGPT for my meal plans but haven’t thought about making a personalized gym plan so this can be very useful, especially since personal trainers can be expensive. Therefore, I believe that personal training will be more accessible to more people because of GenAI. The idea that ChatGPT can personalize workouts based on the goals you have and fitness level as well as the time you want to spend at the gym is very interesting. I also believe that it has potential for further advancements such as real-time feedback which would make this more effective. Will definitely try this out!
Really insightful and inspiring experience with GenAI. I am definitely a gym guy and I am aware of how it feels for the first time to get into a gym on one’s own without any experience and instructions. It is really helpless and a good start can play an important role the workout. What stands out to me is how adaptable ChatGPT was in customizing workouts based on your feedback, offering a more tailored experience than a generic Google search. However, your point about the lack of progress tracking is impressive. AI could truly upgrade and even revolutionize one’s fitness if it had real-time tracking function, especially with tools like camera integration to monitor form and adjust routines. I noticed the running machine in campus gym can be linked to the apple watch and monitor the body data and status, so I was thinking combine different appliance and devices can make GenAI work better. This might bridge the gap between AI advice and hands-on coaching.
Great post, kudos! It’s really interesting to hear about how you used ChatGPT to build a more personalized training plan. As you point out, there are some practical limitations. The AI cannot easily know how many reps or sets you take, and how these felt. I’ve also tried using it to create a training plan, but found it annoying that I had to make the adjustments all the time before getting the level of detail I wanted. I think the core issue is that there is no good way to capture your workout data for traditional strength training.
I had a different experience using ChatGPT as a professional running coach. I plan to run a marathon next year and decided to build an AI tool to support me with the planning. Because it is way easier to collect way lots of nice data by running with a fitness watch, you can give the AI more to work with, yielding better outputs. I’ve been able to get training plans that are quite detailed. Wrote a blog about it if you are interested 😊
https://digitalstrategy.rsm.nl/2024/10/11/using-generative-ai-as-my-marathon-training-coach/
I completely relate to this post! I’ve also used ChatGPT to create a personalized workout plan, and it was surprisingly effective. I asked it to create a weekly plan with four workout days, focusing on all muscle groups and tailored to the equipment I have at home. It gave me a structured plan that fits into my schedule, and like you mentioned, it’s flexible. ChatGPT’s ability to adapt based on your specific needs, like time constraints, is a huge advantage. I agree that if it could track progress and analyze form, it would be a real game-changer for fitness enthusiasts.