Login | March 16, 2026
Can AI help with your workouts?
PETE GLADDEN
Published: March 16, 2026
It comes as no surprise that more and more individuals are using AI technology to assist them with their fitness goals.
Yet amidst this rush to enroll AI as a fitness coach there are a few important caveats to consider before undertaking this important decision.
Enter the American Heart Association (AHA), which is offering some pros and cons on this issue in its January 5, 2026 online article (https://www.heart.org/en/news/2026/01/05/whats-the-best-way-to-use-ai-in-your-workout), “What’s the best way to use AI in your workout?”
So first of all the AHA says that using AI to assist in fitness training still resides in unknown territory, this because AI technology continues to advance in leaps and bounds.
What’s more, according to Dr. Laura A. Richardson, a clinical associate professor of kinesiology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and one of the several in-the-know interviewees of this piece, deciding whether or not to use AI to assist one with fitness goals ‘“Really depends on the context of their health.”’
And it’s with that factor in mind that the AHA has offered several important guidelines to consider if you’re contemplating using AI to assist with fitness programing.
Let’s first look at those instances where the AHA believes AI could be beneficial in assisting with a fitness program.
1) If you’re an apparently healthy individual who’s been cleared by your doctor to exercise and you’re just getting into fitness with the objective of obtaining a program appropriate for your ability level.
2) All of the above plus you don’t have the means to engage the help of a personal trainer/coach.
3) If you’re already engaged in a fitness program but due to staleness, plateauing or lack of enthusiasm you’re looking to AI for alternatives to diversify your routine.
Now on the other side of this discussion are the negatives of using AI to construct your fitness program.
And according to Dr. Richardson one of the biggies involves the use of chatbots, which tend to generate accurate but ‘“cookie cutter”’ info.
‘“You definitely are just getting a machine-generated response,”’ Richardson says.
And to amplify that point, Richardson refers to a study published in a 2024 issue of JMIR Medical Education, a peer-reviewed journal that focuses on technology, innovation, and digital tools in health professional education, that determined AI-generated exercise recommendations “were about 90% accurate in terms of matching widely established facts but only about 40% comprehensive.”
‘“We don’t want to take someone who’s unfit or sedentary and just have them jump into the deep end, either,”’ Dr. Richardson added.
So with that said, here are several instances where the AHA recommends not using AI-generated workout routines.
1) If you’re recovering from a heart attack or other cardiac issues, suffered a physical injury and/or have an underlying disease such as diabetes, etc.
In these instances you should check with your health care professional first, because as good as AI presently is, it still cannot come close to replacing a medical professional’s advice.
2) AI can’t monitor you (your physical reaction), nor your form and technique in real time like a personal trainer can.
What’s more, AI just can’t motivate you and hold you accountable like an experienced personal trainer can.
3) AI can’t make rapid adjustments, like sensing you need a rest, and/or that you need to change the volume, intensity or frequency of your workouts.
4) AI still poses safety and accuracy concerns, in that people can be far less mindful about what they’re doing when using AI as opposed to being under the watchful eye of a personal Trainer.
Now Dr. Richardson does admit that AI is most helpful to people in the middle of the fitness spectrum.
But for folks who reside at the opposite ends of this spectrum, the low-fitness beginners with underlying health conditions and the elite athletes with specific needs, this is where having human oversight is much preferred.
Finally, Richardson stressed that whether the conversation concerns using a chatbot for fitness advice or using fitness apps to track your workouts, the crucial thing to keep in mind is that exercise technology is available to help you feel better.
‘“The more we move, the better we are,”’ she said, and “‘the more fit we are, the longer we live!”’