We Asked 8 Experts: Is ChatGPT now better at programming than you are?

Download the PDF accompanying this article.

Summary: In this episode I ask eight experts to rate the quality of ChatGPT generated training programs. I explore how AI-driven programming frees up hours for PTs by automating routines, preserving personal style, and allowing you to shift your focus to empathy and human connection. 

5 things you’ll learn in this episode

• How to use ChatGPT prompts to create programs for a wide range of fitness goals.
• Ways to systemise programming to make your work more time efficient.
• How you can balance AI collaboration with your personal coaching voice.
• Techniques to preserve your unique style and ensure the highest quality of programs for your clients.
• The importance of human connection and soft skills in an AI-driven programming future.

Download the PDF accompanying this article.

TRANSCRIPTION:

One of the biggest uses of time for a PT, gym owner or online coach is programming.

The problem is, all the hours we spend programming doesn’t actually get us anywhere. It doesn’t move our business forward.

I’m not saying it’s not important – because it really is. I’m saying that this type of work would be classified as working ‘in’ your business. It’s something you need to do as a bare minimum to keep your head above water. Like replying to emails or invoicing, it’s a non negotiable to be able to serve your clients and members.

And because it’s a non negotiable, it’s not something you can eliminate from your monthly task list.

For a previous episode of The Business of Fitness Podcast, I tracked every minute of work time for a year. So many of the business owners I mentor spend WAY too much time on programming. One of my recommendations that came out of this was around what we should aim to do with the time where we’re doing unbillable hours, working in the business. Programming fits in this category.

In that episode of the podcast, I said:

‘For this use of time, we want to build systems to automate the tasks in this category as much as possible. There is no direct financial return for the hours we spend working in the business, so we obviously want to turn the dial down here. The asterisk on this is that no one should be able to tell we’re spending less time on admin. The whole point of systemisation is to be able to automate processes so they are still done as well as, or actually probably better than they would be if you were grinding through each individual step yourself.’

So how do we do that for programming?

I wondered, can we use an AI agent like ChatGPT to create programs that are even better than what we could do ourselves – without losing our unique programming style and philosophies, and the personal voice that only we can bring to programming?

I’ve done an episode of The Business of Fitness Podcast previously where I interviewed ChatGPT, but now I want to focus on programming.

I spoke with eight of Australia’s leading health and fitness professionals – each an expert in their field, to get their opinion on the quality of AI generated exercise programs.

Now before you disregard using AI to help write exercise programs, let me make one very important point around using AI for programming (or using AI for anything really).

It’s the concept of ‘garbage in, garbage out’.

This is a computer science phrase that basically means if you write poor quality code, you get a poor quality program. Think of it like an elite athlete fuelling their body with junk food. If you use poor quality fuel, you get poor quality performance.

When we’re talking about using ChatGPT for programming, the ‘garbage in’ refers to bad prompts.

If you use specific, detailed, well constructed and well constrained prompts, you’ll be amazed at the world class quality of the programs you can create.

It’s important to note – ChatGPT is not doing the programming for you. It’s doing it with you. It’s a collaboration between you and AI to produce a higher quality program for your clients. Your role changes from being a solo programmer, to being a prompt engineer who uses your knowledge of exercise science to work in collaboration with technology.

You’ll see I go pretty deep into some exercise science in the prompt examples I’m going to share – it just shows that it helps to know how to drive if you’re behind the wheel of a supercar – otherwise it won’t perform like it can.

Until recently, I didn’t feel like ChatGPT was advanced enough to offer the quality of programs that our clients need and deserve.

But with recent upgrades, that has all changed.

I’ve used ChatGPT o1 which was released in December 2024. This is an updated version of GPT-4o that has an improved capacity for complex tasks and logical reasoning.

So I’ve engineered some ChatGPT prompts to help us explore the power of AI as a collaborative programming partner.

The potential of this is almost limitless, and growing by the day, but for this example, let’s look at how we might work with ChatGPT to create eight different programs:

• A hypertrophy program.
• A high intensity interval training program.
• A powerlifting program.
• A pre-season sports strength and conditioning program.
• An Olympic Weightlifting program
• A running program.
• A hybrid program.
• A CrossFit or functional fitness program.

I’ve also create a PDF you can download with all of these prompts, so you can use and modify them to suit your purposes. I’ve included the full programs that each of these prompts generates. You can find the link to download the PDF here.

So let’s go through these eight prompts. For each, I’ll also discuss some of the key elements of the program that ChatGPT generates, as well as some of the sample workouts.

Let’s start with the hypertrophy program.

Prompt:

I would like you to help me create a 12 week hypertrophy training program for an intermediate level exerciser. Use a push-pull-legs split. Four sessions a week, each lasting between 45 and 60 minutes. Build the program around compound lifts. These lifts should comprise 60% of the program, with the remaining 40% being isolation. 50% of the program should be in the 8-12 rep range, 25% should be in the 3-6 rep range, and 25% should be in the 20-25 rep range.

The program should indicate how many reps and sets of each movement to complete, as well as movement speed and the amount of rest between each set and/or each exercise. Use a 1-10 rate of perceived exertion scale to determine intensity.

There should be a progressive overload through the 12 week program. To ensure this progressive overload, number each session, and indicate in future sessions where the exerciser should refer back to previous sessions that they should be increasing intensity from.

Assume full access to pin loaded equipment and free weights.

It’s important that the program has enough consistency and repetition of exercises over the 12 weeks to create a training effect through the principle of specificity, but also important that different exercises are used to keep the program interesting. It’s more important that the compound lifts are repeated throughout the program, and it’s ok to have more variation in the isolation movements.

Where appropriate, use the following hypertrophy techniques as part of the program: drop sets, stripping, negatives and accentuated eccentric training, tempo training, supersets, giant sets, post-exhaustion, partial reps and forced reps.

You can check out the full program ChatGPT generated here.

To get some feedback on this and on this program, I spoke with the head coach of Total Physique Performance, Tim Williams. Tim is an experienced hypertrophy expert who specialises in bodybuilding comp prep.

Hear Tim’s thoughts on episode 64 of The Business of Fitness Podcast.

Let’s move to a high intensity interval training program. Here’s my prompt:

Create me a 12 session high intensity interval training program that can be completed on an exercise bike, rower, ski erg or treadmill. Don’t indicate which option to choose, just make the program suitable for whichever I like.

Over the course of the program, the aerobic threshold, the lactate threshold and the anaerobic threshold should all be trained. The purpose of the program is to improve the ability to use the phosphocreatine, glycolytic and oxidative energy systems to produce energy over varying time domains.

For the aerobic threshold intervals, follow the following guidelines. Interval length should be 10 mins plus. RPE should be 5-6/10.

For the lactate threshold intervals, follow the following guidelines. Interval length should be 1-3 minutes. Work to rest ratio should be 1:2 for the longer lactate threshold intervals 1:3 for the medium length lactate threshold intervals and 1:4 for the shorter lactate threshold intervals. Use active recovery, not passive recovery. RPE should be 7/10.

For the anaerobic threshold intervals, follow the following guidelines. Interval length should be