Better Workouts With Machine Learning: How Does AI Do It?
If you’ve ever had a personal trainer put together a workout routine for you, you’ll know that sometimes they might not be as personal as you think.
Personal trainers typically build workouts based on learned fitness guidelines and personal experience. While this isn’t always a bad thing, it can sometimes lack an individual touch.
By leveraging the power of Artificial Intelligence and machine learning, a new generation of workout plans are being drawn up which are highly customized and targeted to the trainee. These AI workout apps sift through vast databases of existing workout plans and user data to craft customized and highly effective fitness plans.
With the right combination of AI, ML, and fitness data, the journey toward optimal health and fitness is becoming more tailored and precise than ever before, let’s learn how. 👇
How Does AI Build Better Workouts With Machine Learning?
AI builds better workouts with Machine Learning by analyzing vast databases of exercises and personal user data to create highly customized and effective data-driven fitness plans, tailored to individuals.
How Does Machine Learning Build A Workout?
Without going too deep into the technicalities of machine learning, let’s take a look at how ML utilizes existing workout databases and workout data to create highly optimized and customized fitness programs.
ML algorithms analyze extensive databases of diverse workout plans – think about all those websites and magazines containing hundreds of different workouts – machine learning reads these and remembers them all. Alongside this, data is collected on human performance too, which for example relates reps and sets to muscle gain or fat loss.
Machine Learning identifies patterns and correlations within this data, enabling it to suggest workouts that have proven effective for individuals with similar profiles.
As fitness apps or wearables powered by AI and ML begin collecting and analyzing your data, the technology operates behind the scenes, continually learning and adjusting.
As you manually log each session, the ML algorithm starts to paint a picture of your fitness profile considering sets, reps, weight used, exercises done, etc. This continuous feedback loop allows the ML algorithm to constantly learn from your progress.
Machine learning takes this new data and recalibrates the personalized workout plan accordingly. The more data you feed into the system, the better the algorithm becomes at creating workouts that are uniquely suitable. It’s a dynamic process that is constantly adjusting as you progress and smash new PBs in the gym.
Why Are AI Workouts Better?
Don’t get me wrong, good human personal trainers still have their place, but unfortunately, they can be hard to find.
While personal trainers bring valuable human expertise to the table, they can get lazy. This results in the PT prescribing the same workout for every client they talk to, a one-size-fits-all approach. This leads to obvious sub-optimal training conditions, especially if you’re new to the gym.
In contrast, AI and ML algorithms are immune to laziness. They continuously analyze vast datasets, ensuring your workouts remain optimized and effective.
AI and ML-powered workouts are dynamic, which means they change as you do. Traditional fitness programs can sometimes be static, leading your body to get used to the stress of weight training – and this slows progress over time.
AI and ML combat this by providing variations, keeping your workouts fresh and your body and mind challenged.
The memory capacity of AI and ML is unmatched. They remember every detail from vast amounts of data and never forget. This capability allows for high levels of customization and personalization.
Another neat feature of AI and ML is that it can identify and compensate for gaps in your training. Suppose you’ve been unknowingly neglecting your rear delts – the algorithms might identify this area is lacking and adjust your workout routine to include more rear delt flys.
This goes beyond what most humans can keep track of, unless they are paying special attention to every client.
Finally, AI and ML provide data-driven insights, offering an objective perspective that can be free from human bias. This allows for precise and calculated tracking of progress, enabling you to make better decisions when adjusting your routine.
What Can’t AI Do?
I’ve given PTs a hard time in this article so far and it’s important to recognize the limitations of this technology, and appreciate the unique strengths that human PTs still offer.
For beginners, PTs are invaluable for helping you get the form right for each movement and helping you avoid preventable injuries. A PT’s experience and hands-on guidance helps beginners build a firm foundation to build upon over time.
The human touch of a PT is unmatched by any machine. PTs provide motivation, encouragement, and accountability – they can read emotions, push you when needed, and ease off when you’re at your limits. While AI can suggest workouts, it doesn’t share the human touch of achieving a personal best or empathize when a session feels particularly tough.
PTs are also readily available for any queries or concerns. While AI can provide data-driven insights, it might not answer why you’re feeling particularly fatigued one day or why a specific exercise causes discomfort. A human PT can listen, observe, and respond with advice.
Moreover, there are certain practical aspects, like spotting during heavy lifts, where AI falls short. If you’re aiming for a personal best on your bench press, you’ll want the reassurance of a human spotter – something that AI obviously cannot offer.
The value of human PTs still stands strong. The optimal approach might be a combination of both – the data-driven precision of AI, blended with the human touch and nuanced understanding of a PT. Fitness is not just about the most advanced technology, but about finding the best tools to help hit those goals as fast as possible!
Wrapping Up
So there you have it, a discussion on why AI and machine learning can build better workouts.
By analyzing vast databases of workouts and individual user data, AI and ML can craft fitness plans tailored to unique personal profiles and goals. AI-built workouts offer continual learning and adjustments, addressing gaps in training and reducing the risk of fitness plateaus.
However, while these advancements are certainly novel and much improved on bland copy/paste workouts, they do not yet render human personal trainers obsolete. PTs offer a vital human touch, invaluable for beginners learning correct form, for ongoing motivation and accountability, and for their ability to answer questions and spot during heavy lifts.
In essence, the future of fitness may lie in a combination of both – the data-driven, continuously learning technologies of AI and ML, alongside the empathy, motivation, and hands-on experience of human trainers. Together, these tools can help each of us find our best path toward health, fitness, and personal achievement!
