Using AI to Get Fit: My ChatGPT-Assisted Health & Fitness Journey

Over the past several months, I’ve been on a mission to get back into great shape, physically and mentally. Like many people, I’ve had health and fitness goals in the past, but this time I added a new twist: I brought artificial intelligence along for the ride. And I don’t mean a fitness tracking app or a rigid program. I’m talking about using ChatGPT—a conversational AI—to guide, coach, and support me in real-time as I fine-tuned my approach to fitness and health.

The results? Significant weight loss. Major improvements in blood pressure and cholesterol. Better strength, stamina, and recovery. And most importantly, a smarter, more adaptable strategy for long-term wellness. This article isn’t about the numbers—it’s about how I used AI to accomplish real, lasting health and fitness improvements, and how you can too.

This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase an item using an affiliate link I will receive a small commission at no cost to you. Affiliates do not influence my recommendations. Read my disclosures for more information.

Why Use ChatGPT for Fitness and Health?

At first glance, it might seem unusual to lean on a chatbot to help you get fit. But the truth is, ChatGPT became a versatile, personalized, and always-available coach. Unlike static fitness apps or generic programs, I could ask it questions specific to my goals, equipment, data, and preferences—and get instant, contextual answers that evolved with my progress.

ChatGPT became an integral part of my routine and helped me adjust my training plan, analyze heart rate data, troubleshoot soreness, plan around my travel schedule, and more.

How I Got Started

To make the most of ChatGPT, I started by providing it with relevant context, including:

• My primary fitness and health goals (e.g., weight loss, cardio endurance, muscle growth, lower blood pressure)
• The health tech and metrics I was using to track progress:
  • Polar Vantage V3 sports watch and chest strap for heart rate and training load data
  • Withings smart scale for weight and body composition
  • Withings blood pressure monitor for tracking my blood pressure readings
• A breakdown of my daily workouts—cycling, running, strength training, and active recovery, including heart rate data, distances, speeds, terrain, and how the workouts made me feel
• Challenges I faced: fueling long runs, time constraints, preventing injuries, occasional soreness, picking the right workouts, and the difficulty of staying consistent

This gave ChatGPT the foundation to act more like a virtual coach. The more I engaged with it, the more effective our sessions became.

Real-Time Adjustments and Smart Suggestions

One of the most powerful benefits of using ChatGPT was its ability to help analyze my training data and recommend smart adjustments. For example:

• After sharing my running stats (average pace, heart rate zones, and distance), it helped me refine interval, tempo, and long runs to stay in the ideal aerobic zones to accomplish the purpose of the workout.
• When I was struggling to balance strength training with cardio, ChatGPT helped structure weekly plans to avoid overtraining and optimize recovery.
• I used it to evaluate plateau periods—reviewing trends in heart rate recovery and perceived exertion—and make evidence-based tweaks to my routines.
• It provided insights into morning workout fueling and post-workout recovery meals, especially as I shifted from focusing on a diet for weight loss to more performance-based eating patterns.

Fitness Gains and Health Wins

Over the course of this AI-assisted journey, I saw clear and meaningful results:

• Significant weight and fat loss, and improved body composition
• Lower blood pressure and improved cholesterol levels
• Increased cardiovascular endurance—longer runs at faster paces with lower heart rates
• More lean muscle mass and strength
• Reduced soreness and better sleep thanks to recovery-focused planning

While I put in the effort—tracking metrics, sticking to routines, and pushing through tough sessions—ChatGPT played a key role in keeping me accountable, strategic, and focused. I was able to go from not running to running a sub-2-hour half marathon, to stay mostly injury free, and manage nigling injuries when they came up, and adjust my diet and exercise plans for changes in schedule, performance, and goals.

Editor’s Note: If you are interested in my fitness and health transformation over a year, including how I did it and the tech I used to get in great shape, check out my health and fitness transformation.

How You Can Use ChatGPT to Improve Your Health and Fitness

If you’re curious about using AI to support your own fitness goals, here’s how to get started and get the most out of it:

How to Start

• Tell ChatGPT about your goals. Are you aiming to lose weight, build muscle, manage a health condition, or train for an event?
• Share your tools and metrics. Mention any fitness tracker, heart rate monitor, scale, or health app you’re using.
• Describe your current routine. Workouts, diet, sleep habits—anything that matters to your progress.
• Ask questions regularly. Treat ChatGPT like a virtual fitness partner—check in with progress, ask for advice, and request plan updates.
• Give ChatGPT pointers to trusted information. ChatGPT can digest and understand web pages, PDFs, and other documents. Have a training plan you want to incorporate into your preferences? A race elevation chart? Upload it and tell it to use it in its responses to you.

Key Tips for Success

• Be consistent in updating ChatGPT with your workouts and changes.
• Use numbers and data when possible. Heart rate zones, distances, and durations make feedback more actionable.
• Ask for structured plans, not just one-off answers. Try, “Can you suggest a weekly workout plan?” or “What’s a good warm-up for today’s run?”
• Combine AI with intuition. ChatGPT can guide you, but always listen to your body, and ask ChatGPT to explain why it is recommending what it recommends. Also, feel free to suggest alternatives to what it suggests and ask it about its opinion.

Editor’s Note: If you’d like to learn more about how AI can help you in everyday life be sure to check out my AI articles and my AI courses at HomeTechHacker Academy.

Things to Keep in Mind

The last key tip for success, combine AI with intuition, is an important one. Chatbots sometimes hallucinate and get things wrong. There were a couple of times when it mixed up stats from some of my workouts, and I had to correct them. So make sure to pay close attention to what it is saying to you, and occasionally have it tell you what you’ve already told it to make sure it understood it correctly.

Additionally, ChatGPT is just one of the many chatbots you can use for this. As long as the chatbot has memory, this can work. Feel free to use Gemini, Claude, or whatever your favorite chatbot is.

Speaking of memory, be sure that whatever you tell the chatbot, you are okay with it knowing. You may not want to give it some sensitive information for privacy reasons.

Editor’s Note: Also, AI can be a game changer in fitness and many other ways. Check out How I Use AI in Everyday Life to Work Smarter and Live Better.

Final Thoughts

Bringing AI into my fitness and health journey has been one of the most effective moves I’ve made. ChatGPT didn’t replace expert advice or personal effort—it amplified both, giving me clarity, confidence, and creativity in how I approach my goals.

If you’re looking for a fresh way to level up your fitness, consider letting AI become your co-pilot. With the right inputs and some consistency, you might be surprised just how far—and how fast—you can go.

Have you used a chatbot in this way? How did it work out for you? Let me know in the comments or on X (Twitter).