The AI Personal Trainer
- ladieswhocrunch
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
"I'm going to ask ChatGPT to give me a postnatal programme," says Harriet Wright, co-founder of Branch, the network for women returning to work as a new parent.
"Sure, let's see what comes back and perhaps we can discuss it as part of our webinar?" I replied.
My expectations were low. Truthfully, I was hoping it would be comically bad to prove my millennial instinct correct..."silly computer, you can't possibly match my expertise and coaching insight!"
What followed was, upon first glance, exceptionally good. I'm thinking, sh*t, there's all the right things here.
Here's Harriet's input:
And this was AI's response:
The programme focused on three clear areas ("core integrity, glute activation, upper/lower body strength") and there were sensible progressions across the four week period.
The tone of voice was disarmingly human too; lots of reminders to "focus on control" and "listen to your body". It was better advice than you'd get from most influencers, flogging their "method to get your body back" 🤢
But Harriet wasn't convinced. "I don't know what half these exercises are...what if I get injured doing them incorrectly?"
And when I looked through it for a second time, I also spotted a few gaps.
For example, there wasn't any guidance on mobility.
Week one of the programme included wall push ups, but there wasn't any prep. Carrying, feeding and playing with two kids over a three year period = stiffness in your shoulders, neck and lat muscles. I would start with releasing that, before going anywhere near press ups.
Secondly, there was no reference to pelvic floor engagement, which is such a fundamental part of building core strength. Although everything in ChatGPT's programme was low impact, there wasn't any direction on essentials like diaphragmatic breathing.
Perhaps you could rewrite the prompt and ask for these things. But Harriet's point was that she needs accessible guidance, not a puzzle to solve.
As AI evolves and improves, there's no doubt it will be able to replace my fitness programmes.
Having said that, running LWC for the last five years has taught me there'll always be nuance and no amount of coding can adapt to that.
NB x
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