AI is already changing the way we live and work—including in fitness. Here are the benefits of artificial intelligence for gyms.

ChatGPT dropped like a bomb in late 2022, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg in terms of AI.  Artificial intelligence is already transforming industries, cutting costs, and saving tons of time—including in the fitness industry. Leveraging AI and machine learning gives gyms, trainers, and athletes access to sleeker, more personalized training experiences, and what’s not to love about that? 

At Trainerize, we specialize in helping trainers become smooth operators, and we’re in tune with all the latest advances in AI for gyms. No gatekeeping here, either—we’re happy to share what we know. Here, we’ll start with an overview of AI and athletics, explore some pros and cons of fitness AI, and then talk about running AI-driven fitness businesses. Let’s dive in!

AI in the fitness industry: how is it used?

The athletics industry is all in on AI. You won’t notice AI tools lying around next to the barbells and other fitness equipment, but it’s already powering back offices and increasing operational efficiency. AI makes it easier to handle sign-ups, automate scheduling, and collect feedback. When you’ve got good data integrations, it can also provide valuable business insights based on your information about your members. 

AI fitness apps are changing how personal trainers support clients, too. Tools powered by artificial intelligence make it easy to create personalized training plans, engage 1:1 with training clients, and deliver custom services… without all the work of customization. LIke, with a little info about users’ fitness goals and experience levels, you can quickly set up workouts based around their goals. “I want to build muscle” will get turned into a fine-tuned chest day routine in seconds. 

Our team’s in on AI, too. A recent interview with Trainerize’s Vice President of Design—Trevor Chong—encapsulated Trainerize’s approach. “What’s a profile of a client that’s going to churn or cancel? AI can recognize these patterns, find those correlations, and identify opportunities for trainers to offer additional help to clients before it’s too late,” he explained. 

That’s major. 

The pros of AI in fitness

AI fitness comes with a whole range of advantages—for trainers and clients alike. Here’s a few that really stand out: 

• Personalization: AI makes it easy to create custom workouts based on your clients’ fitness goals, workout styles, and fitness levels. That tailored service keeps them coming back… except you’re automating those personalized training programs, not working from scratch. 
• Motivation: Manual feedback and check-ins are time consumers. AI makes it easy to track clients’ progress, provide feedback in real-time and hype up their achievements. All that helps them stay motivated and in the gym. 
• Accessibility: AI-powered fitness apps make wellness expertise available to more people. You can deliver nutrition plans to clients before you even see them, and help folks workout from the comfort of their own homes. 
• Efficiency: Automating the boring parts is smart. AI takes operations grunt work off your plate, streamlining everything from membership management to scheduling, feedback collection, and check-ins. Plus, it can even deliver insights for better business strategy.

The cons of AI in fitness

AI fitness has many advantages, but there’s a few weak points. Here’s the ones that can’t be stated strongly enough: 

• Lack of Human Interaction: Bleeps and bloops just don’t hit the same as coaching from a real trainer. AI can’t replace the motivation, encouragement and personalized attention an actual trainer provides. Social reinforcement can’t ever be replaced.  
• Privacy Concerns: Some folks are cautious with their data. AI-driven fitness apps are usually data-powered, and some (not many!) clients might not be as comfortable with that. 
• Cost: Bringing AI into your fitness business requires investment. There’ll be time and labor costs for setup, and then recurring costs for software tools. (But this will usually pay off in time saved later on.) 

Running an AI-driven fitness business

To run an AI-driven fitness business, you’ll want to use AI quietly and focus on the fitness part. Nobody’s ever searched for “AI-powered gyms near me,” ‘cause that’s just not something people care about. AI can improve your operations and make your services absolutely shine, and that’s where you should put it to work. 

Running an AI-driven fitness business requires careful planning and an understanding of AI’s strengths and limitations. You’ll need to start by identifying tasks and processes that AI can enhance—whether they’re in personal training, business operations, or customer service. From there, you’ll be able to pick AI tools that simplify those tasks and deliver better support to your clients.  

Once you’re set up, you’ll need to make sure your AI systems are user-friendly and offer real value to gym-goers. Assuage the data privacy wonks by adopting tight security measures and clear, transparent privacy policies. And stay in the loop! Artificial intelligence is moving fast, and if you blink, you’ll miss out on valuable innovations that could help your business get that elusive extra edge. 

So, what’s next?

Now that you’ve got a solid primer on AI fitness, you’re probably ready to start putting it to work in your training practice. And luckily, Trainerizes makes it easy to implement AI quietly and effectively, delivering everything from business insights to meal recommendations. Shhhh—we even have a sneaky little ChatGPT integration powered by Zapier. So let’s cut down your workload, keep your clients happy, and make your training practice run like clockwork.