Who's really training you? The rise of AI PTs | Legacy Spotlight

Over the last 20 years, the fitness industry has changed dramatically.

The seeds of the online revolution were first planted in the 2000s.

Fitness coaches would send downloadable PDFs to clients and check in with them through Skype calls.

Before long, you could access almost everything you needed from a personal trainer through your phone or laptop, from workout plans and nutrition advice to regular check-ins.

Then came at home videos, sessions you followed along on YouTube or from a paywall platform, which aimed to get you toned abs in 30 minutes.

Then came fitness apps, which pushed things even further.

In a way, it combined the two, the accountability of check-ins with the trainer while also having the ease of accessing their workouts on their phone.

For trainers, that meant more clients and lower overheads.

For customers, it often meant more flexibility and a cheaper alternative to traditional personal training.

And that's how online personal training became part of the mainstream.

But now, we're entering a new phase.

Fitness content is everywhere on TikTok and Instagram.

And increasingly, the people selling us dream bodies aren't even real.

AI-generated fitness influencers are appearing across social media promoting workouts, apps and programs.

And when that's the case, it brings us to the next question.