My Instagram feed is inundated with adverts purporting to show people who ditched their personal trainer for an artificial intelligence (AI) app and got amazing results. Do you think I should ditch my trainer for an AI app to get better results?
No. We know what you’re thinking: “The author is afraid of being disrupted by technology and is acting out defiantly.”
To humour you, I asked Meta AI to “tell a joke about a fitness and wellness author afraid of being disrupted by AI”. Here’s the unfiltered answer:
“Why did the fitness author bring a ladder to the conference on AI disruption? Because they wanted to take their fears to a ‘higher level’ and not get ‘benched’ by the machines! Hope that made you sweat (from laughing)!”
Perhaps, on reading that mind-bending wit, you’ll reconsider your outrageous question. As far as I see it, there are two types of apps: those that integrate technology to build something special, and those that claim they can replace a human entirely.
Apps certainly can enhance your training. The best apps — and these aren’t the ones that purport to “replace a real trainer for better results” — integrate technology well with a huge data set of sound fitness knowledge, build strong communities and leverage a growing pool of data to produce personalised programmes based on inputs they receive. I wrote that, but it sounds like AI-generated marketing material.
Humans can empathise with humans. Well, some humans can empathise with humans. The rest go into politics and crime. AI, machine learning, natural language processing, predictive modelling — these all rely only on data, algorithms and the sorts of things I sometimes wish the City of Johannesburg would rely on instead of bumbling from one emotional failure to the next.
Generative AI, like ChatGPT, Gemini, Meta AI and Grok are not training apps. They will “design” generic, and — most often — flawed, workout regimens if you ask them to. They’re not the same as actual training apps that personalise, attempt to provide real-time feedback or predict plateaus as you progress. Despite this, I wanted to run a little experiment with generative AI to make a point about stone-cold data.
I asked four of them to generate an image of a personal trainer. Gemini wanted me to upgrade to a paid version, while ChatGPT said it could not generate images yet. Meta AI, prompted three times, provided two lean white men and one ripped Asian man, two in their 20s and one in his 50s. X’s Grok AI engine provided four options with one prompt and all four were traditionally masculine white men.
The biases in the data sets are easy to expose. They’re linear.
AI-generated blog posts can be spotted a mile away. Sure, you can prompt the generative AI engines into producing better outputs, and the more this happens, the more they learn and the better they’ll become. But algorithms are still not as nuanced as people, I’ll add the word “yet” for all the AI evangelists.
FitnessAI has told me on my Instagram feed that it is 50-90 times cheaper than a personal trainer, is more convenient, relies on many millions of inputs, and is instant. I’m sure that’s all true. I’m also 100% certain it won’t ask how I’m feeling and then not believe me, which could become dangerous if I am not fully present during my squats. If I tell a human trainer I am “fine” she may well understand my body language and tone, and adjust accordingly.
Despite this, training apps are important. Reputable apps such as Nike Training Club, Strava and Peloton integrate technology to enhance user experience. This means more people doing more exercise. This should be welcomed.
Beyond those names, there are strength apps that seamlessly connect you to elite coaches, and many other fitness apps that are anchored on sound exercise and diet knowledge. Virtual communities build competition and help with enjoyment. Data and tracking help people visualise their personal journeys.
On the other hand, if you have a good, informed trainer who you can afford, and you’re not getting results and believe an app will change that, it’s time for a reality check. In the same way that you’ve been ignoring your human advice, you can turn off your device or uninstall the app. Accountability starts with you.
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