Why hire a personal trainer or pay for a monthly gym membership when you can enlist artificial intelligence (AI) to create a free exercise programme that will get you into shape? Millions of people are now relying on fitness advice at their fingertips in the form of AI-generated workouts in a global AI fitness and wellness market recently valued at \u00a37.3 billion. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s an industry that is becoming more refined by the month, with a booming number of AI personal coaching paid-for apps such as Aaptiv, FitnessAI and Fitbod providing training programmes based on your detailed goals and fitness levels, and customising each session from feedback about how you felt and performed in your previous workout. Many of them can be synced with fitness trackers for even more tailored advice. But it is the free AI platform ChatGPT that is among the most popular, with a growing number of people asking the chatbot for free fitness advice. So can we really rely on AI to get us into shape?<\/p>\n
When researchers from the University of Connecticut and other institutions asked ChatGPT to provide workout recommendations for specific groups, including those with hypertension, type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis, they found the advice often didn\u2019t reflect standard medical guidelines. In 53 per cent of cases the recommendation was to seek a doctor\u2019s approval before exercising, which the scientists said was unnecessary and might deter people from being active. In their verdict of the findings, which were published in JMIR Medical Education last year, the scientists said that consumers and health professionals should be cautious about relying solely on AI for exercise recommendations.<\/p>\n
\u2022 How I got into the best shape of my life at 45<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Ash James, director of practice and development at the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP), agrees that AI should be seen as a tool to support not replace personal trainers and qualified medical practitioners. \u201cAI tools such as ChatGPT are trained on massive datasets from the internet, books and academic literature, but they do not \u2018know\u2019 facts or have clinical judgment in the way a fitness or healthcare professional does,\u201d James says. \u201cThey work by predicting what text is likely to come next based on patterns in the data they were trained on and, while they can be very useful, they sometimes need human input.\u201d In other words, the advice should ideally be interpreted and fleshed out by real-life experts. <\/p>\n So what happened when I put ChatGPT to the test? Here\u2019s what I found:<\/p>\n Can AI help you to get shapely arms?<\/p>\n Can ChatGPT deliver a programme for shapely and strong biceps and triceps for those of us that want arms like Michelle Obama? I\u2019ve interviewed enough personal trainers to know that weights are essential to transform the shape of arms and that endless triceps dips alone are not going to combat bingo wings. What\u2019s needed is a mix of movements to prompt the calorie burn needed for arms to become leaner: progressively heavy weights and commitment to arm-specific routines on three to four days a week. <\/p>\n So what did ChatGPT suggest when I asked how quickly I could change my arms as a 56-year-old weight-training novice (which I am not)? Encouragingly, the response was realistic \u2014 I could, I was told, expect to get stronger in three to four weeks, see noticeable definition within eight weeks, but for \u201cMichelle Obama-level arms\u201d I would need to work at it for at least three months \u201cdepending on how much you need to reduce fat covering them\u201d. <\/p>\n \u2022 Lost weight lately? 21 rules to keep it off \u2014 by the experts<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n ChatGPT prescribed a 12-week plan that was not at all comprehensive \u2014 it suggested twice-a-week light weights initially \u2014 although the exercise range was good. What it lacks, of course, is the ability to check and correct poor form that might lead to injuries. For that you need the human touch and a personal trainer to observe at the gym. Once you\u2019ve mastered the moves, the AI routine can be followed, but you\u2019d need to ramp up the weights more than it suggests as you progress.<\/p>\n Treat AI marathon training plans with caution<\/p>\n Standard training programmes for marathon runners are 16 weeks in duration. If you have entered a spring marathon, such as London, this means you can start a plan in January and be ready to toe the line in April. The more running you have done beforehand the better, but even beginners can follow a get-you-round schedule to complete the 26.2-mile event in about four months. <\/p>\n In terms of basics, the AI plans don\u2019t differ much to those provided in online programmes or apps, all incorporating the basics of easy, steady and longer runs with gradual progression of miles over the weeks. <\/p>\n As a qualified running coach, my concern with the AI plan when I asked for a programme for a complete beginner is in the detail (or lack of it). I was alarmed to find that AI provides six-week marathon plans for beginners, albeit with the proviso that they are \u201caggressive\u201d and that ideally you need longer to prepare. Running too far or too quickly too early on is a fast route to overuse injuries such as shin splints, which will hamper your progress before you really get started. If you haven\u2019t run before, it\u2019s best to start with a run\/walk combo for time rather than distance, which wasn\u2019t recommended by AI \u2014 even when I prompted it with appropriate fitness level and goals for a novice. <\/p>\n