Is AI Coming for My Job?

Short answer: No.

Long answer: Also no, but let me explain why.

With all the talk lately about AI revolutionising every industry, I’ve had a few people ask, “Aren’t you worried it’ll replace personal trainers?”

I get it. AI is getting smarter by the second. It can write customised workout programs. It can track sets, reps, percentages, and even tell you when your last PR was. It can deliver reminders, calculate macros, and log your sleep. It’s impressive. Really impressive.

But here’s the thing: personal training has never really been about sets and reps.

It’s about the Personal.

It’s in the name.

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The Devil’s in the Detail

Sure, AI can generate a solid program, but it can not feel the hesitation in someone’s hinge pattern. It can’t see the subtle shift in their hips before a swing. It doesn’t notice the guarded breath, or the way a lifter tenses when a deadlift approaches the floor. It doesn’t see the look in someone’s eyes when they’re scared of hurting themselves again.

Take a kettlebell swing or a deadlift—done right, these are some of the best tools we have for building a resilient back and restoring strength. Done wrong? They can be a shortcut to pain, setbacks, and frustration.

No algorithm can correct a subtle spinal shear. No data point adjusts for fear.

Movement Isn’t a Spreadsheet

AI speaks in data—clean, clinical, logical.

But movement? Movement speaks in feel.

A baby doesn’t learn to walk through verbal cueing. No parent pulls out a clipboard and shouts, “Feet hip-width, shoulders back, brace the core!”

Instead, a child learns by moving, exploring, failing, and trying again. They roll. They rock. They crawl, kneel, squat, fall, and rise. And only after all those motor milestones do they stand and walk.

That’s how movement is learned. Not from a checklist, but from a deep, internal sense of “this feels right.” Or more often—“this doesn’t feel quite right yet.”

And if adults are honest, most of us are missing some of those key foundations. We’ve skipped steps. We’ve layered reps and resistance over dysfunction. And no AI can rebuild those blocks unless it’s on the floor, watching you move.

Here’s What AI Can Do

To be clear—this isn’t an anti-AI rant. I use it. I value it. It’s a phenomenal tool. But that’s what it is: a tool. Not a teacher. Not a coach. Not someone who knows what it’s like to have a body that’s been through injury, fear, fatigue, or years of compensation.

AI can build the framework. But the human connection? The ability to see someone and meet them exactly where they are? That’s where the magic happens. That’s what keeps me passionate about this work. And that’s why I’m not worried.

The Human Edge

Here’s what can’t be replicated by an app:

Reading the story behind someone’s posture.

Knowing when to push and when to pull back.

Celebrating the non-scale victories—like being able to pick up a child pain-free.

Creating a space where people feel safe to move, explore, and fail without judgment.

Adjusting on the fly when someone walks in having had a horrible night’s sleep and an even worse day.

Bringing humour, empathy, and energy into the session.

That’s the personal in personal training. That’s the difference.

And that’s why I’m not going anywhere.