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This time last year, I had cut 16 minutes off my four-mile run time, was lifting weights three to four times a week, and had lost 10 pounds after six months of consistent training. i felt Wonderful. Then life happened.
A year later, I haven’t run more than 5km in three months, have gained 10 pounds back from stress, and have been plagued with injuries, illnesses, and other health concerns. Much of this was due to factors beyond my control. Frustrated, a month ago I decided to lock in while I tested three fitness AI coaches and plans: Fitbit’s AI Health Coach, Peloton IQ, and Runna. I’ll try them while training for a 5km race to see if I can improve my time, which dropped from 31 minutes last year to 38 to 40 minutes.
To recap, I ran a 5K race last week. I improved my time by a full five minutes. after I asked all three AIs to hike.
I’m not against AI coaching in health and fitness apps. The data log is often enormous. As a lifelong successful person, it is a constant journey to recognize and accept your limitations. Having a wise guide to check me when I’m being unrealistic or falling into a negative mindset is – in theory – a good idea. However, the reality is never that simple.
The specialty of these coaches is that they can demystify training. And Personalize it to your individual circumstances. When you set up these trainers, you tell the AI a certain goal of yours – lose weight, improve fitness, run a distance within a certain time, or some variation of that. With a chatbot like Fitbit’s AI Coach, you can tell it other details, like “I’m starting new medications” or “I’m at risk for a shin sprain and I have access to a Peloton bike.” Theoretically, this helps the AI better customize its recommendations.
For example, Fitbit’s AI suggested that since I’m coming back from a two-week illness, I should incorporate a light bike ride, walk, and steady-state Zone 2 run to ease into things. It created a program with three workouts per week. not bad.
However, the Peloton IQ was a little more loose-fitting. It took me three workouts to unlock the AI insights, and meanwhile, the suggestions were based on previous workout history from four years ago. Meanwhile, Runna’s AI-generated plans were more or less based on a survey. After a few workouts, depending on the pace, it may adjust or give advice to your goals. If you are sick, traveling, or injured, it is your responsibility to let the app know.
First of all, these AI features don’t hold you accountable. It’s very easy to make your way to extended rest. If you want tough love, you have to do this Tell AI is what you want. Still, if the AI gets in your way, you can always disable it in Settings. Let’s say you’re feeling a little tired but can still exercise. You tell the AI, “I’m tired today.” You may need to hear, “Just walk out the door, see how you feel, and leave quickly if necessary.” Instead, you’ll probably hear, “Oh, it’s okay, be gentle with yourself and take an extra day of rest!”
I consider myself disciplined, but I’m human. On my bad days, I manipulated Fitbit’s AI to free me from trouble. It never called me out on my bullshit. With Runna, it is very easy to leave and resume a program. I could ignore Peloton IQ’s weightlifting suggestions if I didn’t want to suffer from muscle soreness the next day. There are no consequences except a guilty conscience. That too can be rationalized. Sometimes, the idea of explaining yourself to an AI coach seemed like so much work that it was more tempting to avoid it altogether.
This is much harder to do with a human coach, doctor, running group, or accountability buddy. Whenever I’m in trouble, I can expect my spouse to stare at me and say, “You Know You always feel better after running. Just go for 15 minutes.” If I want to skip a race in cold weather, my best friend will remind me why I signed up for it. I don’t want to be scolded at my next doctor’s appointment. Yes, this causes some concern. But I don’t want to disappoint these people. It motivates me to perform for myself. AI may be able to read my metrics, but it’s not intelligent enough to understand when I might need a push or a break psychologically.
Another problem is one I’ve written about before: clarity of advice.
It’s okay if you are a beginner. At the beginning of a fitness journey, any information is helpful. But when you’ve been at it for a while, it’s usually just repackaging things you already know. Runna’s insight about my pace was that I am inconsistent. I start off too fast and it tires me out by the end. I have known this for the last 10 years. Fitbit’s AI often told me to aim for eight hours of sleep per night and try a bedtime routine. I have known this since childhood. The Peloton IQ was occasionally helpful in strength training form, but that’s it.
Plus, AI often needs help. Fitbit told me I should keep running on the treadmill because of the cold weather. I don’t have a treadmill, And I hate running on them. If the temperature is below 30 degrees Fahrenheit I would prefer to run outside in the cold or ride an indoor bike instead of running. It acknowledged my preference and then scheduled another treadmill run.
After two weeks of alternating between bullying AI and following its recommendations, I ran my annual 5K on Thanksgiving. My legs felt heavy. my tunes were playing Nothing for me, and I was busy with How What was I doing? There was about a week and a half until my race and this would be somewhat of a benchmark. Every 30 seconds, it felt like I was being interrupted by an AI voice telling me whether I was behind or ahead of pace.
I had to take walk breaks three times, got cramps halfway through, and hated every second of the race. I posted a sad (for me) 41 minutes.
My postmortem AI analysis of the race left me scratching my head. Overall, the insights from the three instructors can be summarized as follows: Well, nothing in your metrics indicates that you were not well rested. did you eat already? Remember, you want to fuel before you run. Also, you were inconsistent in speed. Try to conserve energy early on so you can finish strong. Sleeping seven to eight hours a night can help, too! Do you want to keep in mind the side effects of your medication? Are you looking to rearrange your lifting schedule to effectively shorten your runs?
That’s when I realized I was looking at AI Needed Trust my gut. My gut told me I was overwhelmed with all the data. I was spending so much time training various AI tools how to train me that I started to dread my workouts. I deleted my Runna plan. I removed my Fitbit and put the test on hold. And while I still used Peloton for classes, I ignored the AI features. I readjusted my mindset from improving my 5K time to simply enjoying the energy of race day.
On race day, I barely looked at my watch the entire time. I didn’t know what my splits were, but I was proud that despite the hilly route I didn’t need to take a walk break. According to my Apple Watch, I finished in 36 minutes. That was five minutes faster than my turkey trot, and with a faster average speed than all the other runs during my AI fitness test. It wasn’t a perfect race, but it felt like it Good run.
It’s about improving your health. A big part of this is a mental battle between who you were and who you want to be. The AI is unable to truly invest in that journey because it doesn’t really know you. In the end, it’s still up to you to know what’s best for you. Sometimes, he tells the AI to shut up.
