I asked an AI for a training plan, and a human coach saved me from a back injury

Shortly after taking on this challenge and assembling a team of colleagues, I began to worry about whether I would be able to accomplish it.

Despite being a regular spinner and attending a few Pilates classes, I was nervous about lifting weights because I couldn’t do some of the most basic movements: push-ups, burpees, squats, planks, push-ups, and jump combinations.

I pasted my workout into the AI ​​chatbot and entered my concerns. How realistic is this challenge for someone starting at my fitness level with only 8 weeks to prepare?

The answer was relief.

“This is absolutely possible,” Bott told me cheerfully. It provided me with “honest station-by-station ratings”, most of which matched my own ratings. That said, push-ups would be my “biggest challenge.”

“It takes eight weeks to go from zero push-ups to doing continuous reps with fatigue. This is tough, but achievable if you prioritize,” he advises.

The weight section wasn’t too intimidating, Bott said. The 12.5kg dumbbell for the devil’s press (burpee with dumbbell lift) was described as “light”, the 35kg deadlift as “mild to moderate”, and the sandbag squat as “very achievable”.

It was exactly what I wanted to hear.

I asked the bot to build a program around my schedule. I have a membership to Saint Studio in Dublin and knew I would be able to attend one of their Hyrocks style classes on Monday and a hybrid strength and conditioning class on Tuesday. I wanted to do yoga classes and other restorative activities on Thursdays and book 5,000 weekends.

Given the difficulty of push-ups and burpees, I asked her to create a plan where I could do both exercises two to three times a week in addition to my fitness classes.

Within minutes, the chatbot created an eight-week plan built around these constraints, along with a five-week progression of push-ups and burpees.

Now it’s time to join forces and do the hard part.

What worked and what didn’t work

The most helpful AI assistance was the plan for getting ready for push-ups and burpees. Exercises like incline push-ups, high planks, chair squats, and standing burpees are low-impact and don’t require gym equipment, making them easy to tackle even on busy days.

I did incline push-ups while waiting for the kettle to boil at work, and chair squats while watching Netflix at night. By the time of the competition, I felt more confident in both movements.

However, weight was another matter. A week after the event, I had only lifted 10 kg in the Devil’s Press. The AI ​​bot advised that squatting with a 20 kg punching bag was “very achievable”, but the reality was different.

Every time I tried to weigh more than 8kg, my lower back hurt. My coach at Saint Studio, Ryan Baronet, knew something was wrong. One night, he stopped me after class and gave me detailed instructions on how to do a squat. He quickly identified the problem. It was that I wasn’t training the right muscles.

Once I corrected my form, I couldn’t even lift lighter weights because I was a beginner and my muscles weren’t trained.

If I relied solely on the AI, I would probably keep trying to push through the discomfort and end up hurting my back.

For Baronet, this is one of the main issues they have with AI chatbots.

“Right now, you can’t correct a person’s form,” he says. “One coaching tip is, “Put your weight in your heels and stick your chest out.”

“But that still doesn’t mean you’re doing it right,” I said, finishing his sentence, which in my case was exactly the problem.

“There are nuances in mobility and injury history,” he added.

When I showed him my AI-generated 5-week push-up/burpee plan, he admitted he had no problem with it, but said he didn’t need an AI chatbot to deliver it.

“I’ve been coaching for 16 years, and this is stuff you could find on the internet 10, 15 years ago,” he says.

At least this is probably based on a routine that other personal trainers have built, so anyone should be able to do it safely, right?

“I don’t know what that’s about,” Baronet counters, but more worryingly, “I don’t have an opinion on what a good team or push-up should look like.”

One study I read highlighted the sycophantic nature of AI chatbots. AI chatbots emphasize what we want to hear.

In my case, I thought I might have been too enthusiastic about my ability to take on this challenge and reach the required weight in just 8 weeks of training.

“100%,” Baronet said, adding that this is one area where the use of AI can be a concern for those with less experience.

“I’ve had to say many times over the years to clients and potential clients that we need to be realistic here.”

Dr. Gary McGowan, a fitness coach, physician and physical therapist, agrees that AI’s sycophantic nature is a cause for concern.

“The information provided is biased based on the prompts provided. For example, if you want to justify why a certain exercise or a certain food is best for you, you can create prompts to help you get the answers you need.”

responsibility gap

The biggest problem I found with the use of AI chatbots was the lack of accountability for them.

For eight weeks, I attended Saint’s classes consistently, encouraged by the wrist hoop to push my limits. It is a repeated record of the highest “strain” or perceived effort during a group class.

Also, when I was supposed to run a 5K on my own or participate in an at-home strength training session prepared for me by the AI, I often made excuses and didn’t complete the full workout or fail to bail completely.

A 2025 systematic review by the Center for Positive Health Sciences at the Royal College of Surgeons of Dublin in Ireland found that while engagement and retention rates were generally higher for AI, human, and AI-human hybrid methods, satisfaction was generally higher with human coaching.

“Participants reported feeling a stronger connection to human-delivered coaching, including hybrid interventions,” the authors said.

McGowan says, “Most of the difficulties people have with nutrition and exercise are not due to lack of knowledge, but difficulty in implementation.”

“I have always conceptualized personal fitness coaching as being about support, guidance, and accountability, not just knowledge.”

Community is also an important factor, he says.

“The community aspect of fitness is invaluable, which is why, cost aside, people often choose non-personalized exercise classes over personalized fitness programs.”

gym community

While training for this challenge, an AI chatbot was installed on my fitness wearable Whoop to provide training suggestions and recovery advice for the event.

After a week, it prompted me to reduce effort and prioritize sleep, and gave me a “red flag list” of things to avoid the day before: new foods, new shoes, new supplements, and “sitting for long periods of time without resting: standing/walking about every hour.”

Luckily, on the day itself, my plan from push-ups to burpees seemed to pay off, as I completed over 50 reps for both challenges. In terms of weight, the adrenaline that day allowed me to push my limits with a 12.5kg devil’s press and a 35kg deadlift. And what about squats? I took Baron’s advice and skipped that section (my knees still have memories of trying to overcompensate with kneeling push-ups and burpees).

With the challenge over and my muscles still sore, I asked my coach if he was considering the role of AI in fitness training in the future. “Will AI do the heavy lifting for people? Maybe. Will it give people faster, cheaper, faster access to advice? Maybe. But fundamentally, I think people want talent, and always will.”

An AI chatbot cannot replace the accountability and community I found in a physical studio. But what it can do is help you plan and give you a little encouragement, if not more than a high-five from a struggling buddy in the gym at the end of another grueling high rock class.

• Nicole Glennon attended Battle Cancer in Dublin with the Celsius media team. She had free membership to Saint Studio in Dublin for the duration of her training.