There's the easy way,
and then there's the easy way.
Everyone is using ChatGPT for a billion different reasons, every single day.
It’s no secret that I’m a cautious fan of Ai and ChatGPT specifically, especially in a professional method. But if you’re at all skeptic, or scared of jumping into the deep end with CustomGPTs, Agentic Ai armies, or words like ‘Anthropic’ or ‘Generative Pre-Trained Transformers’ puts you to sleep – I’ve got an easy and healthy way to dip your toes into the world of Ai.
Emphasis on healthy.
Let’s talk about making ChatGPT your new personal trainer.
I’m going to break this down into two easy paths for you. First the free, easy version. Then the paid, also easy version.
Now, before we get started, I need to issue a quick caveat. I’m not a doctor. I’m not a nutritionist. I’m not YOUR personal trainer. Use caution, double check behind the Ai, and be smart about this. Be honest with the GPT. ChatGPT is just a giant probability machine, and if you give the machine the wrong inputs, your going to get the wrong outputs, too.
And if you’re curious if this actually works, here’s a photo of me before and after I implemented my own Ai Personal Trainer!
The bare minimum for a good ChatGPT prompt are:
🔹 1. Role – Tell GPT who to be
Make it take the right position of authority, specialty, or relationship.
Example:
“Act like my elite-level personal trainer, nutritionist, and health strategist. You know my goals (muscle, endurance, aesthetics). You’re science-based, no fluff, and explain only what matters.”
🔹 2. Goal – State exactly what you want
Tell it the finish line. Don’t just “help,” be surgical.
Examples:
“Build me a four-day split I can run indefinitely at my local gym (basic equipment).”
“Analyze this bloodwork and give me five actionable steps to improve.”
“Design a meal plan with 200g protein/day, low sugar, and minimal prep time.”
“Optimize my training split for a 40-mile ultrarun in April.”
🔹 3. Context – Feed it relevant details
Think: goals, gym setup, nutrition limits, lifestyle, prior injuries, preferred style, etc.
Examples:
“Gym is 24/7, limited machines but full dumbbell and barbell setup. I run 4x/week. I train at 6:30AM. I’m 39, 155 lbs, and want visible abs and Thor arms.”
“Bloodwork from June 11 attached. I eat high protein, low carb, and track sleep with Apple Watch.”
“I’m training for aesthetics and performance — Nick Bare physique is the reference.”
🔹 4. Format – Tell it how to respond
Dictate delivery. Don’t just “give advice,” shape the container.
Examples:
“Return as a clean 4-day workout plan. Just exercises, reps, and rest — no fluff.”
“Summarize blood results in a bullet list, then give a protocol.”
“Give macros in a table. Break meals into breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks.”
“Make it readable on phone. No paragraphs. Short bullets. Action-first.”
Optional, but powerful:
🔸 Voice
Lock in your tone and how you want it to talk.
Example:
“Talk like a no-BS SEAL team coach with a degree in sports science.”
“Keep it sharp, like Hormozi meets Goggins.”
“Use short, punchy commands. Like I’m in the gym, not a classroom.”
🔸 Examples
Feed it a sample to prime output.
Example:
“Here’s the last meal plan that worked well. Keep it similar but add more variety.”
“This split worked, but I want less legs, more arms.”
🔸 Bonus – and a killer upgrade
Have Ai look for blindspots or weaknesses in your direction.
Example:
“What am I missing? Training and Nutrition, is there anything else important?”
“Give me 5 questions I should answer for you, to make this an even more effective workout plan?”
So here’s an example to shotgun this approach in one single prompt:
“[Role] Hey GPT, I want you to be my new personal trainer. You have specific experience and knowledge for middle aged women who want to feel healthy again.
[Goal] I want you to build me a four-day workout regimen. I’ll try to go to the gym four days a week, ideally for about 45 minutes a workout. I’d like a full body workout, but focus on what matters most. I want to be stronger, burn fat, and feel better when I walk and go on adventures.
[Context] I’m currently XXX lbs and want to get to XXX lbs. I have 2 hours a day I can dedicate to getting healthy, but I want to start out smart and sustainable, so don’t hurt me right away. Right now I don’t really have a diet plan, so a high-level nutrition plan would be helpful, too. I really want to emphasize that FEELING good and healthy are my main goals.
[Format] Make the workouts easy to understand, complete with reps x sets, and a reliable and smart 4-day split. Give my nutrition information in meal suggestions and macros in a table. Make it easy to copy and paste into my notes app so I can keep track of my workouts, you don’t need to make fancy excel tables or anything.
[Bonus Blindspot] What am I missing here? Am I being delusional thinking 45 minutes is enough? What am I forgetting when it comes to true good health? What two or three questions could I answer that would help you be a better personal trainer? Just add those questions to the end for me.”
Literally copy and paste that into ChatGPT.
All five paragraphs go directly into the chat. Modify the details (weight, goals, time commitment, experience, etc) and simply push return.
As a test, I ran this exact prompt (without changing ANYTHING, even the XXX weight!) and the prompt was nearly perfect out of the gate.
What went wrong:
Some of the exercises I had never heard of. Instead of throwing in the towel, ‘Ai is useless, it just gives me moderate answers.‘ In the next prompt I highlighted some of the unknown workouts, asked for clarification, or to simply pick another workout with the machines/weights I have handy. If you’re feeling really froggy, you could also take a few photos of your gym, upload those to ChatGPT the same way you typed in the prompt, and now ChatGPT knows the equipment and space you have to accomplish your goals!
I mentioned two methods to make this work.
This is by far the EASIEST way to get started immediately. But let’s say you’ve got some specifics. You have some health issues, and your doctor wants you to exercise caution. Maybe you’ve got some bloodwork details that would modify your workout or nutrition plan.
Guess what – you can upload those directly into the chat, too! If you have the saved PDFs, or even screen shots saved of your health details – you can upload those directly into the chat as well. Giving your new Ai Personal Trainer ALL of the pertinent details.
BUT – I haven’t even gotten to Method #2 yet. And that’s unlocking CustomGPTs.
One of my favorite products from OpenAi is CustomGPTs. GPT stands for Generative Pre-Trained Transformers. And CustomGPTs put the P directly in your control. You control the training data. And my next article will be all about building and modifying your long-term new personal trainer robot, armed with every ounce of health data, fine tuned specifically for your mind and body.
Still easy to do – but I’ll save that for next time.
Get out there and move, your body and mind will love you for it!