3 Ways AI Will Disrupt Fitness (And What Smart Trainers Will Do About It)log Post
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People are already surrendering to the inevitability of AI.
Either by choosing to ignore it altogether (pretending to be ignorant) or by sitting back and waiting to see what happens.
They're failing to see that, right now, they have a choice to make.
One that will be chosen for them if they don't act quickly.
AI is here.
AI isn't going away.
AI is slowly taking over.
But don't give up.
Don't surrender.
Adapt.
Fighting against AI won't help you thrive.
Those that leverage it strategically will win.
Let's explore three major ways AI is reshaping Fitness, and more importantly, how forward-thinking professionals can position themselves to lead rather than follow.
The 3 AI Disruptions Reshaping Fitness: Your Adoption Blueprint
While no one has a perfect crystal ball to predict AI's full impact on the fitness industry, certain patterns are already emerging.
What follows isn't an exhaustive analysis—rather, it's a focused look at the disruptions I'm actively witnessing and those my experience suggests will gain significant momentum.
These three developments stand out not just for their technological implications, but for how they're already beginning to reshape client expectations, business models, and the fundamental ways we deliver fitness services.
They represent both immediate challenges and strategic opportunities for forward-thinking professionals.
As you read through these disruptions, consider them not as fixed predictions, but as signals of where we are heading—each developing at its own pace, but all requiring thoughtful preparation today:
Trust Is Plummeting
People have edited photos in Fitness for years.
But now were are at a whole new level.
AI generated images, videos, influencers, and content at scale, is now a real disruption.
In an industry driven by aesthetics, we are extremely vulnerable to the ever-improving content-producing capabilities of AI and its ability to deceive people.
I have written previously about an issue I termed 'The Verification Vortex' in Fitness and how this will continue to negatively impact people's trust in what they see online.
As trust falls, buyer journeys will lengthen - meaning that the amount of effort needed to acquire new clients will increase massively.
Posting on Instagram won't cut it.
People won't even know if the content is real.
For example, the Instagram account screenshotted below was recently highlighted for its use of AI generated before and after pictures…
An expert in the field shed light on the fact that every photo featuring a female was AI generated - that's 6 images just in this one screenshot.
This account is still active and has amassed over 100k followers…and counting!
As people become more aware of this type of activity, they will no longer trust what they see on social media unless platforms can effectively distinguish between 'real' and 'fake'.
For Fitness Business Owners it means a different approach will be required.
One where people share their body of work away from social media.
People may still discover you on social media platforms.
But the connection and trust will most likely grow elsewhere.
Your job is to build those 'other places' that people can interact with you and delve into your world in an easy fashion.
It's one of the reasons I started using Fitness OS.
I can build digital assets that help me attract an audience, communicate with them directly, build relationships with them, and offer solutions to their problems.
I can use software (the right way) to create a more human, touch-based approach, to marketing, lead generation, and sales.
You and other Fitness Professionals will need to do something similar.
Key Takeaway: Use technology to create more authentic connection, not less.
Fitness Professionals Remain Useful But Only If You Adapt Your Role
People won't need a person to analyse their movement and create a program around it.
People won't need someone to calculate their calories and create a meal plan for them.
People won't settle for exercise instruction and check-ins as a key part of the service.
Expectations will shift.
Meaning your role will have to.
As AI improves and seeps into different areas of our lives that overlap with health and fitness, some of the basic functions of an Instructor, Personal trainer, or Coach become obsolete.
Anyone in the Fitness Industry who relies solely on 'instruction' as a core component of their business will be in trouble. That's not the key reason people seek 1-1 support and it will be even less valuable, very quickly.
The people that seek 1-1 support, or even group-based programs, will do so for reasons that are more tightly aligned with connection, empathy and nuance.
This will become your superpower.
The soft-skills associated with your role will grow in importance.
The specific knowledge around instruction will diminish in importance.
…a good mixture of both is still advisable.
Key Takeaway: What people perceive as valuable in a Personal Trainer or Coach is changing faster than ever. AI can support you in acquiring industry specific knowledge more quickly, giving you chance to focus more of your effort on the human side of the role.
Competition Will Empower People To Ask What Your Underlying Philosophy Is
Apps, trackers, and other services will increase the competition PTs and Coaches.
In order to stand out, people will need a clear reason to buy into you.
You will need to publicly share your core philosophies and frameworks for how you approach health and fitness, so that people can decide whether or not you align with their values.
This acts as a form of intellectual property.
Without this, even the most basic forms of 'personalised' AI fitness solutions will out-compete you.
If my watch can tell me how hard to push it today, my AI app can recommend a specific workout suited to my needs, and my AI coach can recommend some meal guidelines for today - what do I need you for?
We touched on this a little in the previous point but there are other components too.
People will seek professionals who have clear philosophies around health and fitness - not in a way that boxes the professional in - but one that acts as a framework for how they approach the specific components of health and fitness.
Clients will want nutrition advice from that coach, based on their philosophy.
Clients will want training guidance from that coach, based on their philosophy.
Clients will want lifestyle interventions from that coach, based on their philosophy.
We already see this with influencers who take extreme views on certain approaches and then amass an audience around that one central theme.
The 'extreme view' approach works…but it's restrictive.
It boxes the influencer in and leaves them vulnerable to 'slip ups' if they say something unfavourable to how their new-found cult sees the world.
A better approach, and the one required, is to build a central philosophy and then create frameworks around that.
For example, in my work as a Fitness Business Coach, my central philosophy is…
"Build a high-profit, low stress Fitness Business"
To help me deliver on that philosophy, I have developed my 'Business Breakthrough Framework' which acts as a visual representation of the five core areas Fitness Businesses need to address if they wish to achieve the core philosophy.
The framework acts as my 'approach' to a central philosophy that I hope my audience will share with me A.K.A. Business should be high-profit and fun.
If audience members share this philosophy with me, I become a clear option for them as someone to collaborate with if they ever need help or as a key person to 'follow' for advice related to their specific worldview.
AI apps, trackers and program can give you endless data and outputs.
However, I feel the buy-in and adherence from a client perspective will still be higher with a PT or Coach, assuming they are able to find someone they can align with based on their health and fitness philosophies and how this aligns with the way they want to show up in the world.
In Summary…
We don't know how AI will impact the Fitness Industry.
But it will and it already is.
The great coaches that prioritise human connection, community, and relationship building with clients don't need to worry. AI will present many opportunities to extend this mission beyond your current capabilities.
For the coaches who dream of sitting back and doing as little as possible, keeping people at arms-length and providing nothing more than exercise prescription and calorie targets - you're in trouble. You must adapt. You will be replaced.
If you've made it this far, I am going to assume you are in the former category of Coach and take a huge interest in the human side of your service. If my assumption is correct, then here are a few key action points specific to you…
> Take AI seriously - do this by embracing it and seeing how it can enhance what you already do. Play. Learn. Experiment.
> Be even more Human - do this by leveraging AI and automation to handle the repetitive, admin side of your work. Leaving you room to do what you do best.
> Seek help - Use resources, like this article, YouTube, Podcasts, and conversations with other reputable professionals to get a head start. If need be, reach out for additional help if you need specific advice or business support.
Our industry has always been fast-paced and evolving endlessly.
But things are speeding up.
Be open to change, be willing to adapt, continue to learn, and you'll always grow.
