Could AI Help You Get Over Your Fear of Working Out?

Some couples like to spend date night trying a new restaurant or attending a live show. For Paulina and Matthew Davila of Las Colinas, Texas, date nights have recently required a little more sweat.

But before they became members of Lumin Fitness, the couple rarely worked out together. Paulina likes running, while Matthew likes lifting weights. So, exercising was an activity they did separately, even on the occasions when they were at the same gym at the same time. But over the past year, working out has become a shared experience for the Davilas.

Technically, though, they're having individual experiences. Paulina trains with the "more encouraging and kind" coach, while Matthew likes working out with the "more aggressive" coach. But they're pretty much doing the same workout, at the same time and next to each other—just while wearing their own sets of headphones, getting directions from different AI trainers.

Lumin, which is billed as "the world's smartest fitness studio," is kind of like a silent disco. Except, instead of swaying side-to-side to defiant jazz (which would be more in the wheelhouse of Lumon Industries, the fictional biotechnology company featured in Apple's award-winning show Severance), participants at Lumin Fitness' Las Colinas and Cinco Ranch locations are slinging weights and doing burpees.

"It's a nice blend of cardio, weight lifting, jump roping," Matthew told Newsweek.

While participants are listening to their AI trainer of choice, there's another technology that plays an even more critical role in their Lumin experience: the studio's movement tracking system.

As members complete their exercises, the room's sensors track their range of motion, their technique, their power and their speed all in real-time, sending that data to each member's AI trainer so that each personalized coach can provide feedback throughout the workout.

"We've built one of the best movement tracking systems in the world, especially as it relates to how we're using it," Omeed Shams, the co-founder of Lumin, told Newsweek. "I would love to get that out across more concepts."

The rise of AI has fueled a race between personal trainers, gyms, tech companies and biotrackers, who are all trying to find a way to provide workout enthusiasts with better ways to optimize their health. And while the industry tries to stay ahead of the curve, many consumers are already taking matters into their own hands, pursuing ChatGPT and other generative AIs to create personalized workouts and meal plans.

"AI-based personal training, fitness classes, home training—those have been in development for years now, and I think it's going to continue to become more and more of an avenue for the fitness industry," Jason Kostrna, an associate professor in sport and exercise psychology at Florida International University, told Newsweek.

"It's going to become more and more integrated," Kostrna said. "There is a number of ways that it's going to be used, especially as it gets more experience and builds up a bigger knowledge base."

Shams said that his team has already accepted that these tech capabilities do a pretty good job at helping people reach their fitness goals. The one thing AI hasn't been able to replicate, Shams noticed, is the sense of community that comes with gyms, fitness studios and workout classes.

"It's community. It's energy. We show up to group fitness because it's like our little tribe. It's our family. People call it their 'third place,'" Shams said. "At the end of the day, in fitness, you are suffering. You have to put your body through some sort of discomfort. But we get to suffer together instead of in isolation."

A 2023 survey conducted by Peloton showed that Shams' line of thinking on community-centric exercise is especially poignant among younger people. Eager to be around others, 56 percent of Gen Z and 50 percent to Millennials prefer working out in a gym or health club setting.

"Unintentionally, it created a community and brought a community together, especially in Las Colinas," Matthew said of Lumin, adding that he and his wife "talk to [other members] every day that we go in."

How Does An AI-Staffed Fitness Studio Work?

Lumin currently offers group classes at both their Texas locations. Like other boutique fitness models, you book classes based on time slots. Once you arrive, you're shown your own 5x15 station where you can then dock your phone and put in your earbuds. This is where AI really kicks in.

"Most things people want to personalize in fitness, a lot of them are driven by audio," Shams said.

So, members are able to then select which coach they want to train with, choosing various motivational styles, from drill sergeant to cheerleader, how often they want to hear feedback from their coach and their preferred music genre, which will be synced to the workout.

Paulina said while there was "definitely a learning curve" to figuring out what to do with the different workout options at first, "now, I know exactly what to expect."

"I feel really confident going into the gym," she said.

Lumin is also rolling out solo classes, which function more like an on-demand option; they're being piloted at Lumin's franchise studios, as well as big box gyms and hotels. In this type of class, rather than having 14 people doing the same workout with a personalized trainer, there are 14 people doing 14 different types of workouts. Essentially, in the case of Paulina and Matthew, they would go from doing the same workout with two different coach selections to two entirely different workouts with separate coaches.

Lumin offers tiered month-to-month memberships: either four classes a month, eight classes a month or unlimited monthly, which can be redeemed for both group or solo classes. Members can manage their accounts through the app if they want to change their frequency levels, cancel their memberships or reactivate them. All of this is just the beginning for the kinds of customizations that Lumin could offer its client base, in Shams' view.

"Right now, most of what we have is very one-way, like the AI is seeing your form and correcting it," he said. "But ultimately, this will be a dialogue, where I am asking my trainer to modify my workout or I'm asking it to write my programming, I'm asking it when I'm at home for nutrition advice."

Can AI Make the Gym Less Intimidating?

Five years after the start of the COVID pandemic, many Americans continue to face a loneliness epidemic. With nearly one-in-four adults reporting that they feeling lonely, according to a 2023 Meta-Gallup survey, "third places"—a physical social setting outside of home and work—have become increasingly popular.

Ever since lockdowns were lifted and in-person activities resumed, Matthew said, "Mentally, we needed that third space."

But even as more people look for a third place to immerse themselves in, gyms are not always the first setting that people turn to for a sense of belonging.

"Fitness is intimidating," Shams said.

A 2019 survey conducted by research firm OnePoll found that 50 percent of Americans say they've experienced "gymtimidation." Over 30 percent also reported feeling anxious when thinking about trying to get into shape overall.

Paulina, too, had felt that way once. Matthew used to work at CrossFit, and during his time there, he was constantly trying to convince his wife to join him.

"It was intimidating because the culture of it is pretty aggressive," Paulina told Newsweek. "And I just love this culture more. I love the idea that you can do your own thing, you can move at a pace that works for you, you can choose and modify your moves, I get to choose what kind of trainer voice I have."

All of those features are intentional.

"We kind of designed this space to really help break down a lot of those barriers," Shams said. "What we've done is we've taken what we believe is the best of group fitness—which we think is a highly effective and super fun way to work out because it's community-centric—and combine it with elements of personalization."

Jamie Shapiro, a professor of sport and performance psychology at the University of Denver and certified mental performance consultant, told Newsweek that Lumin's approach could potentially help people overcome intimidation at the gym "by giving someone a program that fits with their needs and preferences."

"Since it's in a group format, there is still the possibility that someone can compare themselves to others in the class, which could lead to intimidation if the people around them are doing more intense workouts," Shapiro said. "However, being in a group while receiving individualized programs and feedback allows for that 'personal training feel' while being able to connect with others who can also encourage each other in their exercise goals."

Kostrna, the associate professor with Florida International University, agreed that Lumin could help some people kickstart their fitness journeys, since they'd be getting better advice than they'd normally receive. But he added there could also be limitations to using AI as a personal trainer.

He used the example of someone performing a squat. Both a human trainer and an AI will notice that the client's knees are caving in, and both can help to correct that mistake. But when fixing that form, a human coach could probably offer more specific cues that are based not just on the exercise itself, but also from what the client has expressed in previous discussions.

"There's a lot of different cues that a personal trainer might give that an algorithm is going to have to take time to learn," Kostrna said.

Who Is Lumin For?

The fitness industry still needs to get people comfortable conversing with AI, but Shams said by educating consumers about the value of using these technologies, the industry could find a healthy balance between human and AI.

"It's kind of this all-or-nothing mindset, of like, 'We're going to go full AI, it's going to do everything,'" he said. "But the challenge here is there are so many things that we as human beings are going to do better. And there's going to be a place for AI and there's a place for us. And so our intention, and what we're already trying to do, is find that balance."

He sees it as being a good challenge for a "stagnant" industry.

"There's 20 percent of the United States that works out regularly and 80 percent that does not. That hasn't changed much over the last few decades," he said. "I would say we're all focused on creating kind of new iterations of the same thing to serve the same people."

Despite the fact that an overwhelming majority of Americans are not exercising regularly, Shams said more than half of those individuals express a desire to do so, which shows, to him, "the market's not giving them what they need."

Research has suggested that technology could be a solution to getting those people to the gym. The 2023 Peloton survey also found that 44 percent of U.S. adults said that technology motivated them to exercise when they didn't want to.

"If this is a method that someone finds exciting and preferable to working out on their own or attending a group class with a live instructor, then it is a wonderful way to stay motivated and stick to an exercise routine so the person can experience the physical and mental benefits of exercise," Shapiro said, adding that it might not be the ideal workout for those who want to interact with people while exercising or those who like moving their bodies outdoors.

Kostrna said he's hopeful that as these capabilities get cheaper, exercise could begin to reach populations that normally don't have access to fitness experts. Even though he sees Lumin's classes as being beneficial for those who are comfortable in a workout space, he cautioned that if a new gym-goer attends a class, but fails to make a meaningful connection during that hour, because there isn't as much direct connection with a human trainer, "it's honestly hard for them to come back" and continue their fitness journey.

Beyond Lumin Fitness

Shams stopped short of comparing himself to Nils Bohlin or Elon Musk, but was idealistic that Lumin could follow in the footsteps of Volvo's three-point seatbelt and Tesla's lithium battery—advancements that not only revolutionized the automotive industry, but were also shared widely with competitors.

Volvo famously made their seat belt patent freely available in 1959 to prioritize public safety over profit, while Tesla notably announced its own open-source patent pledge in 2014 to accelerate the development and adoption of electric vehicle technologies. The Tesla patents included its lithium battery pack design and cooling systems and charging technologies.

"I'm not selfish in a sense of wanting to keep all this tech to myself," Shams said of Lumin's movement tracking system and its conversational AI program. "We've created something that the entire industry and, really the consumer, deserves. We shouldn't keep it to ourselves."

Paulina said the motion-tracking has helped ensure that she's using the proper form during her workouts, but both her and Matthew said they were eager to see those capabilities evolve more so that they could get more specific, personalized feedback.

Even if Lumin's AI needs more tweaking, the University of Denver's Shapiro said, "It's likely that AI feedback is better than no feedback."

Paulina said she's lost 20 pounds in the year that she's been working out at Lumin and Matthew described achieving his "beach body" for the couple's trip to Greece. But both of them expressed that the biggest change they've seen isn't physical.

"During the cooldown, they have a nice, little mental message for you to take with you for the day, and more of a positivity message towards yourself," Matthew explained.

"It really did boost my confidence, and it came through in my work and in my personal life, outside of just that moment at the gym," Paulina said. "I think it was a huge improvement to our mental health in general."