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Nov 19

‘I asked ChatGPT to create me a week-long workout plan here’s … – Women’s Health UK

Exercise Programs Comments Off on ‘I asked ChatGPT to create me a week-long workout plan here’s … – Women’s Health UK

Ever since I caught the fitness bug in 2017 a welcome side effect of a bid to take up a healthier lifestyle and a real left turn after a lifetime of avoiding breaking a sweat I've been a workout-class fan. Over the course of a standard working week, my routine looks like a mix of

Like a lot of people, though, I've become curious about how the mainstreaming of AI could impact how I move. In the fitness space, a cursory scour of the internet shows that people have been asking ChatGPT OpenAI's chatbot for 4-week strength-training plans and marathon schedules. On the nutrition side of things, it's already created a meal plan for one WH writer.

So, with all the hype, I decided to put it to the test. Can this non-human response generator give me a satisfactory week in workouts? Scroll on to find out.

As always, this is indicative of my experience alone. Any new fitness regime especially one involving lifting weights should be supervised by a qualified fitness pro.

It's normally best to give ChatGPT as detailed prompts as possible, and I check this assumption with Sana Shirvani, film and TV cast personal trainer. She agrees: 'I dont believe you can get a successful workout plan from AI unless you give it the correct and specific prompts.'

Initially, I don't want to give away that much personal data, but I end up telling it a decent amount - my age, weight, activity level, height, injury history, even daily work routine - anyway, to get the most tailored strength training plan.

I ask ChatGPT twice for a workout: the first time, for 'a strength training 45-minute workout' for a week; the second time, in an attempt to get something more specific, the nonetheless equally vague 'six-day general strength-training workout that will allow me to go up in dumbbell weights by the end of it'.

Honestly, I'm frustrated by the programs I get. Both seem basic. The movements are essentially the same: two upper-body days, and two lower-body, although the six-day plan adds in another full-body sesh and separates upper and lower into subcategories (push versus pull, quads and hamstrings versus glutes and calves).

While it sort of makes sense that both workouts should be strength-focused, there's no clarification around which weights I should use, what increments I should go up in, or how quickly I can expect to go up.

Shirvani also disagrees with the structure: 'For a client who's new to strength training, I'd begin with full-body sessions. I wouldn't want to fatigue them too much in one area, as they can easily lose motivation at the start and get bored of the program quite easily. We want to avoid injury or overstrain on a certain muscle group.

I also think people feel the pressure of a body-split program a lot more. If you miss a day, you've missed a body part that week, which isnt going to be beneficial towards your overall results. This might stress you out and make you feel overwhelmed.'

It's only when I press ChatGPT further on weight specifics that I get more advice, which I sort of appreciate even though it still feels a bit minimal:

Shirvani notes: 'If you're looking to start training, AI can generate generalised plans, aiming to hit all muscle groups, similar to the plan you've got from Chat GPT.

'If you apply some form of progressive overload, you will most likely get stronger. To elicit fat loss, you can essentially complete any kind of general training program.'

Aimee Victoria Long, celebrity trainer, echoes her: 'AI could be useful for an individual with a good foundation and knowledge of doing resistance training. They can build out a basic programme, and if you follow it consistently, youre likely to see results.

'However, the programmes are very generic e.g. two sets of this exercise for 10 reps, then three sets of this exercise for three sets.'

'The problem is, if you have an injury, or you are trying to elicit a specific response from your training, I dont believe AI can do that just yet at a high standard,' says Shirvani. When 'the results start to plateau, you will need a different stimulus.'

'Yes, there are those who just need the basic information, and they're able to get on with it, in which case, they could benefit from using AI, but for the majority who struggle, you'll need more specific, human intervention.'

Long concurs: 'You may hit a plateau and then you should look at using different rep schemes of lifting such as cluster sets, drop sets, giant sets or negative reps. Chat GPT doesnt quite have that level - yet!'

Shirvani notes, 'I always demo exercises, whether that be in person or, if they're an online client, [with] a recording of me demoing the exercise going through any coaching cues. They find this extremely helpful.

'There's a big difference for someone who isnt experienced in the gym, to be able to see and listen to the coaching, rather than reading it off the screen, in terms of execution.'

As a PT, Shirvani insists that she'd always 'be in communication' with a client, to adapt a session.

'For example, if someone doesn't enjoy doing a Romanian deadlift, there are a few different exercises I could prescribe, utilising the same muscle groups and movement patterns.' ChatGPT, of course, cannot have this ongoing, real-time conversation.

Long adds, 'Where ChatGPT loses out to having a trainer is that it cant correct form, it cant ask you for feedback like, Are you feeling your glute engaging as youre performing a split squat?, and it cant assess if youre using the correct resistance.'

It seems ChatGPT knows it can't do what a human can, even recommending getting a coach or trainer in its disclaimer note.

Long notes: 'My client pointed out that half the time she may not feel like training, but when I knock at her door at 6am, she has little option other than to do it. Having a trainer provides accountability far more than an app on your phone that you can just ignore.'

I end up sticking with the six-day program, which Shirvani calls 'a very basic bodybuilding split, where most of your rep ranges are leaning more towards hypertrophy.'

I should've told Chat GPT in the prompt that I didn't want to use gym machines, only free weights. Sigh. I ask it for alternatives to the leg press and it comes up with, among others, Bulgarian split squats, which I do instead.

To modify the workout, I ask ChatGPT about adding some cardio in. It recommends: 'On your rest or active recovery days (Day 3 and Day 6), you can engage in cardio activities such as running, cycling, swimming, or using gym equipment like the elliptical or treadmill. Aim for 30-45 minutes of moderate to high-intensity cardio.' Accordingly, I insert my normal cycling session.

Shirvani doesn't approve: 'That means you're training seven days a week at a medium intensity. I wouldn't prescribe that. You aren't getting proper rest. If you want to incorporate cardio, I'd change your strength training programme just to three to four days and include one day of zone 2, steady-state cardio.

'Zone 2 training is beneficial for many reasons', mainly because 'you'll be able to recover a lot faster than [from] a high-intensity cardio session. As you increate your stamina and endurance through training, you can begin to include some more higher-intensity training too.'

Double dumbbell bent-over rows

I substitute the face pulls for rear delt flys, once again at ChatGPT's recommendation.

By the end of today, I am beyond bored. I don't like performing these isolated, repeated movements that aren't incorporated into a multi-exercise workout, and on my own.

In an attempt to change it up, I ask ChatGPT if there are any ways to alter the plan and it comes up with a variety of suggestions, like changing the rep and set scheme, incorporating drop sets, introducing new exercises or changing the order.

It doesn't look like any of these are going to drastically change the fundamental issue - the solo workout - and I don't want to change the training program totally. I've only got a few days left, so I decide to power through.

After all, as Shirvani says, 'You should be sticking to the same or a very similar programme for about six weeks in order for adaptation to take place and for you to see change, so I wouldnt necessarily change the whole programme and go completely off piste.'

Slightly dodgy plank with hips slightly raised

ChatGPT recommends Romanian deadlifts as an alternative to leg curls.

I do another cardio workout.

A lot of this echoes what Shirvani and Long have already pointed out.

After giving it a good selection of stats, I was surprised that ChatGPT didn't come back with anything more tailored or creative. Perhaps my prompts weren't detailed enough, but I got the feeling it churned out that same kind of stock bodybuilding workout and modifications regardless of who was doing the asking.

Reading a workout description without videos or even pictures may be difficult if you aren't familiar with the movements; I only knew how to do them because of instructors' demos in workout classes or from following videos when I used to workout online. Even then, I had to double check on YouTube.

Plus, when I was took more rest than necessary sometimes or was feeling tired, I would've appreciated the encouraging environment created by o

I've grown accustomed to, and been so spoiled by, not having to do the thinking in a workout class, but I missed the variety of the exercises set by the instructors and the company of others. Doing hammer curls in silence in an empty studio felt almost lonely.

Granted, ChatGPT's workout style probably wasn't all that different from other - very elite - people training solo in the gym, and they weren't complaining about the solitude.

I guess it showed me that I'm not disciplined enough, and am still at the level where I need the group setting to motivate me and keep me accountable (as Long said).

This is why I've never been able to stick to a YouTube workout channel or app program - I need real people. But that's just me and the digital approach may suit others very well. One ChatGPT user even managed to shed 26 pounds (about 11kg) using its beginner's running plan.

Though this isn't specific to ChatGPT, working out on your own, at your own pace, without distractions, and doing one movement repeatedly does make you more attuned to making sure you're doing them all well.

Although ChatGPT didn't tell me how to do the exercises - another drawback - I searched on YouTube and videos on websites.

During exercise classes, I did feel stronger as a result of this program, and I'd probably increase in strength if I did it for the full six weeks it recommends. Shirvani confirms this, saying you should follow a program for 'four to six weeks minimum' in order for 'real adaptation to take place'.

Shirvani thinks that 'Chat GPT and AI will completely change the landscape of the fitness industry in the future. AI systems will improve over time, giving more personalised workout plans, and incorporating lifestyle, availability, injury history.

'The part that cant be replicated is the support, advice and encouragement a personal trainer can give you. Having someone to support you and help you build confidence goes a long way.

Long thinks along the same lines. While AI 'will definitely have an impact on the fitness industry', it cant have 'that rapport and personable side that trainers have with their clients.'

While ChatGPT can give you a workout, it can't replicate an immersive and uniquely branded gym, studio or class environment. It can't confirm where you're meant to be feeling a movement, or share a pained look with you as you wince together through those final reps.

Unlike an instructor or PT, it can't create pace or energy, count you down to your next round, or tell you to push a bit harder.

Ostensibly, it ticks the main box, but falls very short of filling all the gaps in between that actually amount, significantly, to the fitness culture and lifestyle, and for me, means that it can't be a realistic substitute.

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'I asked ChatGPT to create me a week-long workout plan here's ... - Women's Health UK

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