I want to share a story about how I once used AI to create a fitness plan — and actually reached my goals.
About a year ago, I started caring more about my body shape. I wanted a lean and muscular body, so I decided it was time to follow a proper strength training routine. My first thought was to hire a personal trainer to guide me, but as a student, that idea quickly hit a wall: money. Personal coaching is expensive. Then I thought — maybe AI could be my trainer instead. That’s when I turned to my digital coach, ChatGPT.
One of the biggest skills I’ve developed through using generative AI is the ability to ask good questions. In the AI era, the quality of your question basically determines the quality of the answer. So instead of jumping straight to “Give me a fitness plan,” my very first instruction to ChatGPT was: “To help me reach my goal, what information do you still need? Please ask me.”
Yup — I asked the AI to question me first.
ChatGPT then threw about ten questions at me across three areas: training, diet, and sleep. Things like “How often do you train? What’s your main goal? Any injuries?” for workouts; “Is your diet regular? Any foods you avoid?” for nutrition; and “How many hours do you usually sleep? What time do you go to bed?” for recovery. These specific questions really helped it tailor its answer, and soon it generated a full plan for me — covering training, diet, and sleep.
Then came the plan execution stage. During that time, I constantly went back to ChatGPT to solve random problems I ran into. For example, I’d ask, “How should I pick the right weight for chest exercises? Go heavy or stay at moderate weight with more reps?” Or “If I’m still hungry two hours after a meal, should I eat more or hold back?” On days when I didn’t feel like training, I’d even ask it to act like a strict coach — or sometimes a gym buddy — to push me.
Over time, I realized that AI wasn’t just a one-time plan generator. It became more like an always-on companion coach. It didn’t just tell me what to do — it explained why. Like when I complained about squats being too tiring, it reminded me: “Legs are a large muscle group — training them boosts your metabolism and helps with overall muscle growth.” That hits harder than just hearing “Don’t skip leg day.”
I also learned how to co-iterate with AI. I didn’t just stick to the first plan. Every two or three weeks, I’d review my results — weight change, arm measurements, strength progress, even my motivation level. I’d report all that to ChatGPT, and it would help me adjust: switch from a 3-day split to 4-day, increase carbs, add supersets or pyramid sets to make workouts fun again.
After about 4–5 months, I gained nearly 10 kg, my arms grew a few centimeters, and the best part? I could still see my abs even with the weight gain. My friends started asking if I had hired a pro trainer. I’d joke, “My coach is available 24/7 and doesn’t charge me. He lives in my phone.”
Looking back, I gained way more than just a better body. I truly understood that AI’s value isn’t in replacing people — but in empowering them. It didn’t lift a single dumbbell for me, but it saved me time, cut confusion, gave me structure — and taught me two powerful skills: how to ask the right questions, and how to iterate based on feedback.
Those two skills go far beyond fitness — they’re now helping me in studying, life, and even planning my future career.
Amazing how you have given ChatGPT the role of a personal trainer!
The concept of having certain physique amibitions but not the money for real-life personal training, is I think very relatable for many scholars. In september, I have re-entered the gym and I’m really loving it. In the beginning, just working out gives already that satisfactory feeling. But after some weeks, you want to see progress and the only way to achieve that is by discipline and knowing that what you are doing is the right way in achieving your goals. I’m lucky that I often work out with experienced friends that know how to do certain exercises and which ones to do for certain muscle groups.
But when it comes to nutrition I’m more on my own, as my friends differ in weight, height and other aspects. At the moment, I’m not really watching my diet but I’m willing to change that, especially if my personal assistant offers services at no costs. If I’m able to develop an abstract plan and interact with AI in a natural way, I really think this can help me (and others) in working towards ambitions.
The only thing that concerns me a little bit, is the information you give to the AI model. Information such as weight, height and other characteristics can be quite sensitive for people. While the companies behind chat models state the information is not used for other purposes, there is always a risk that it may be leaked or accessed by unauthorised parties. But those risks are anywhere nowadays, so for me personally that is not a very big deal-breaker.
That was a really interesting post and I can relate to it a lot. I have been using ChatGPT myself during my recovery from a football injury. Besides seeing my physiotherapist I also use AI to help me create workouts focused on rebuilding strength and flexibility without putting too much pressure on my ankle. It feels like having an extra coach who is always available and patient when I need advice or motivation.
What you said about AI being more of a companion than just a tool really fits my experience. I also learned that the way you ask questions changes everything. When I shared more about how my recovery was going or how certain exercises felt the AI started giving much better suggestions. It works really well together with my physio and helps me stay consistent and understand my body better throughout the process. I enjoyed reading your blog, it was very relatable.