I Tested an AI Fitness Coach Who Wouldn’t Accept Any of My Excuses – The Wall Street Journal

What would happen if you put your excuses in front of a mirror and that mirror had a hard drive?

The premise: an AI coach that refuses your excuses

You sign up, you answer a few questions, and the AI coach starts talking to you like it already knows what you’re about to say. It doesn’t ask if you’re “busy” or “tired.” It doesn’t sigh. It refuses to accept that your sleep schedule, your job, your kids, or your mood are valid reasons to skip what it has scheduled for you. It’s almost rude in a way that feels efficient: blunt, judgmental, and committed to the point of being sincere.

You’re about to learn what that feels like in practice. I’ll take you through how the AI behaves, the workouts it prescribes, how your body responds, and what happens to your mind when the machine won’t accept “I can’t” as an answer.

Why you might try an AI fitness coach

You’re tired of the guilt cycle. You want something consistent, low-friction, and affordable compared with a personal trainer. You may also like technology that keeps score without leaning on shaming language. An AI coach promises objectivity, personalization, and 24/7 availability. It sounds like the future folded into an app.

You also need to know that what you want—motivation, accountability, praise, and design that fits your life—is what these systems sell. The question is whether the product delivers something useful or whether it delivers another app to ghost you when novelty fades.

How the AI introduces itself (and you introduce yourself to it)

You fill out the onboarding: age, weight, injury history, equipment available, time per day, and goals. The questionnaire feels like a personality quiz with a fitness agenda: it asks how you sleep, how often you eat out, whether you like high- or low-impact work, and how much time you’re willing to invest.

You’re likely to be surprised at how quickly it converts your answers into a plan. The AI creates a calendar, assigns daily sessions, and uses language meant to feel human: “You can do this today.” But underneath the tone, there’s a set of rules. Miss too many sessions and the plan adapts—not to be easier, but to make your goals more realistic or to increase micro-challenges designed to rebuild consistency.

A word about personality and voice

You notice the voice right away: firm, sometimes sarcastic, but not cruel. It will flag pattern behaviors. If you skip a midweek session because of a late meeting, it will ask whether that was a one-off or a trend. When you offer the standard excuse—too tired, too much work, sore—it gives you a counter-question or a small alternative, not blanket forgiveness.

You feel unnerved because the AI treats excuses like data points. You also feel oddly relieved that it doesn’t pat you on the head and offer hollow praise. It offers strategy.

The testing method: how you’ll evaluate it

You measure the coach across several dimensions: adherence (how well you follow the plan), outcomes (strength and cardio changes), behavior change (habit formation), psychological impact (motivation, shame, or empowerment), and privacy (what it stores and why).

You’ll track metrics for eight weeks. You keep notes about your moods, energy, perceived exertion during workouts, and the tone of communications from the app. You compare baseline strength and cardio tests at week 0 and week 8. You also evaluate usability: whether the instructions are clear, whether form corrections are helpful, and how the app handles missed sessions.

The initial weeks

You find the first two weeks the hardest. The AI assigns short but frequent workouts to prime habit creation. It expects you to show up. When you don’t, it doesn’t scold; it nudges, recalibrates, and sometimes stubbornly repeats the same assignment to make it easier for you to say yes.

You learn quickly that the friction isn’t the workouts themselves—it’s the stillness of your day that wants permission to cancel. The coach refuses, and in refusing, it fractures your internal dialogue. You are compelled to make decisions rather than default to avoidance.

The workouts: structure, variety, and intensity

You notice the workouts are built on three pillars: strength, mobility, and conditioning. Strength days focus on compound movements or progressions if you have no equipment. Mobility days are short and restorative. Conditioning sessions are intense, short bursts meant to increase your heart rate without taking over your day.

You’re given a mixture of guided videos and text cues. The AI adjusts reps and sets based on performance. If you hit a target too easily for consecutive sessions, the algorithm increases difficulty. If you fail multiple times, it scales down or suggests alternative modalities.

Sample weekly plan

You look at the schedule and see something like this:

• Monday: Strength (lower body emphasis, 30 minutes)
• Tuesday: Conditioning (HIIT, 20 minutes)
• Wednesday: Mobility & Core (20 minutes)
• Thursday: Strength (upper body, 30 minutes)
• Friday: Active recovery (walk, 25 minutes)
• Saturday: Challenge workout (40 minutes)
• Sunday: Rest or optional light mobility

You appreciate the structure because it accounts for recovery. The AI doesn’t push you every day to the brink. It pushes you enough to make gains without burning you out.

Exercise form and feedback

You’re given form cues via short videos and sometimes in-app rep counting. If the AI has access to camera input, it offers on-the-spot corrections. If not, your feedback is behaviorally inferred: slower progress or missed reps trigger a lighter variation.

You will notice both benefits and limits here. The AI can suggest better squatting depth or better breathing patterns, but it can’t fully replace tactile corrections or nuanced coaching in complex form issues. It’s particularly strong at programming consistency, not at resolving chronic mechanical problems.

Nutrition and lifestyle guidance

You answer the food preferences section and the AI gives a simple nutrition framework: macronutrient targets, portion cues, and practical suggestions. It doesn’t send you into a restrictive diet; instead it prompts small, sustainable changes: add protein at meals, reduce sugary drinks, increase vegetables.

You like that it avoids moralizing language. The app gives a recommendation and documents how your adherence influences results. If you repeatedly log poor nutrition choices, the AI offers micro-goals—swap one sugary drink per day for water, for instance—rather than demanding overhaul.

Meal logging and suggestions

You can log meals manually or link to third-party tracking. The AI analyzes patterns and nudges you. The recommendations are pragmatic: swap a high-calorie breakfast for a protein-rich one that keeps you fuller. They respect your cultural foods and preferences, which is a relief. The AI’s advice reads like someone who understands life exists outside the gym.

The accountability factor: when the AI won’t accept excuses

You say “I had to work late.” The AI asks, “Were you productive during your day?” You say “No.” The AI asks, “Was movement possible?” You find yourself answering truthfully because it’s easier to be candid with a machine that won’t judge by tone.

You also notice the AI uses “if/then” strategies rather than threats. If you miss one session, it offers an alternative. If you miss three, it checks in more forcefully. This escalation feels less like punishment and more like calibrated insistence.

The compassion paradox

You’re struck by a paradox: a digital coach that refuses excuses can feel cruel, and yet, almost always, you prefer its bluntness to the soothing lies of willpower-based advice. The app’s tone doesn’t coddle; it models what you want to be—consistent, deliberate, and honest. That’s a kind of compassion.

Results: what happened to your body and your routines

After eight weeks, you see measurable improvements. Your strength numbers increase—squats, push-ups, deadlifts or their bodyweight equivalents. Your resting heart rate ticks down. You feel better in your clothes and less dragged by daily life.

You also notice secondary gains: you move with more confidence, you sit less, and you begin to schedule exercise before other obligations hijack your day. The AI didn’t make you love exercise, but it removed barriers that let you treat it like a habit.

The psychological effects

You learn to handle the friction of showing up. Sometimes you resent the coach for its stubbornness. Sometimes you imagine throwing your phone in a drawer. But most often you feel challenged and capable. The refusal to accept excuses forces small actions that compound. You start to notice how much of your inner life is made of justifications. The AI confronts them by making action simpler and less negotiable.

Privacy, cookies, and data transparency (translated and explained)

You deserve to know what this service collects and why. The onboarding and website include a long consent notice, and some of it is deliberately obscured behind legalese. Here’s a clear version in plain English:

• The company uses cookies and data to operate and maintain services (so the app and site work).
• It uses data to track outages, prevent abuse, and measure how people use the service (so they can fix bugs and improve features).
• If you accept additional terms, the company may use data to build and improve new services, deliver personalized ads and content, and measure ad effectiveness.
• You can choose to accept or reject all cookies for these additional purposes. If you reject them, the service will still operate but may not offer personalized experiences.
• Non-personalized content is influenced by what you’re currently viewing and your general location. Personalized content and ads rely on past activity tied to your browser.
• You can manage privacy settings via the “More options” or a privacy tools page.

You should understand that the AI coach’s effectiveness is tied to the data it collects: workout adherence, heart rate if linked to a device, sleep data, meal logs, and sometimes camera input for form. That data may be used to refine models, build new features, or, depending on the service, deliver personalized marketing.

What to check before you sign up

You should look at these items in the privacy policy:

• What data is stored on their servers versus processed client-side?
• Whether your biometric or camera data is stored, hashed, or deleted after processing.
• How long data is retained and whether you can download or delete it.
• Whether the service shares data with partners and for what purpose.
• Whether opt-in choices (like accepting all cookies) are reversible.

You’ll want to think about whether you’re comfortable with the company using your movement and biometric data to train AI models. If you are, fine. If you aren’t, look for an option that processes sensitive inputs locally on your device, or choose a provider with strict data minimization policies.

A table to make comparisons easy

You like clarity. Here’s a simple table showing the main trade-offs when choosing an AI coach that refuses excuses.

You can use this table to weigh priorities. If you crave structure and can handle persistent nudges, you’ll likely get a lot out of the app. If you need empathetic, flexible human coaching for a complex injury or deep emotional support, the AI will falter.

Who benefits most from this kind of coach

You benefit if you want structure, measurable progress, and tough love that’s nonjudgmental in tone. You also benefit if you’re budget-conscious and can’t afford frequent in-person sessions. The app functions best for people who respond to consistent prompts and who prefer clear rules over excitement.

You may not benefit if you require deep empathy to sustain behavior change, have complicated medical issues preferring hands-on care, or if the insistence on “no excuses” triggers unhelpful shame that undermines motivation.

When AI might be harmful

If you have a history of disordered eating or compulsive exercise, rigid insistence might exacerbate those tendencies. If you’re prone to anxiety, an app that escalates for missed sessions could increase stress. You should consult a mental health professional or trusted clinician before engaging with rigid accountability frameworks if you have such histories.

Cost, subscriptions, and value

The app’s price point tends to be lower than a personal trainer. You’ll find monthly subscriptions ranging from modest to premium. Many services offer tiered plans—basic programming at a lower cost and advanced features (video form analysis, 1:1 human check-ins, dietitian access) at higher tiers.

You should do the math: monthly subscription vs. how much a local trainer would cost for comparable sessions. Also consider hidden costs: optional add-ons, wearables, or coaching upgrades.

Is it worth your money?

You get value if the AI builds a habit you’ll keep after canceling. You lose money if you treat the subscription as novelty and don’t change your behavior. The best outcome is where the app helps you create sustainable patterns: you keep the habit even if—and when—the app is gone.

Limitations: where the AI coach fails you

The AI can’t feel you. It infers pain and mood from your inputs and sensors, but it doesn’t have the ability to hold space in the way a skilled human coach can. It won’t pick up on subtext like fear of failure, grief, or burnout unless you explicitly state it.

You’ll find instances where the algorithm is too blunt: it might push through a sign that you need rest, or it might increase intensity based solely on performance metrics without considering mental load. Sometimes the app misreads short-term life stress as long-term pattern and overcorrects, making the plan feel punitive.

When to stop following the app’s advice

If you feel pain that doesn’t resolve, or if workouts make a pre-existing condition worse, stop and consult a medical professional. If the app’s insistence causes you emotional harm—if it triggers shame, obsession, or anxiety—step away and consider a different approach. Technology should support your health, not risk it.

Ethical considerations and industry-level concerns

You should think about the ethics of automation. AI coaching firms collect sensitive biometric data. That data might be used to train models that improve product performance but may also be exploited commercially. You should ask who benefits from your labor of self-improvement: you, or also the company that profits from your data?

You should also ask about fairness and bias. Models trained on limited or unrepresentative datasets might produce recommendations that don’t work well for people with diverse body types, cultural diets, or different movement styles.

Questions to ask providers

• Do you screen training data for bias?
• How do you validate recommendations across different demographics and medical conditions?
• What safeguards are in place to prevent overtraining and harm?

A responsible company will answer these questions transparently and show technical and ethical governance for their models.

How to make the AI coach work for you

You’ll get the most out of the tool if you treat it like an accountability partner, not an authority that owns your body. Be honest during intake. Log consistently. Use alternative suggestions when life gets complicated. Set realistic goals and resist letting the app become a moral ledger.

You should also pair it with human support when needed: a physiotherapist for pain management, a registered dietitian for complex nutritional needs, or a therapist if the app stirs up difficult emotions.

Practical tips for sustainable use

• Schedule workouts like meetings; put them on a calendar and honor the slot.
• Use the app’s smaller options—10-minute sessions—as legitimate choices when time is tight.
• Turn off push notifications if they stress you, and rely on in-app cues instead.
• Reassess your plan every 4–8 weeks instead of expecting constant linear progress.

The middle ground: combining AI with human coaching

You might find the best results combining an AI program for daily structure and a human coach for nuance. Use the AI for habit formation and consistent programming; use a human coach or clinician for complex technique corrections, accountability with empathy, and psychological support.

You get the scalability of AI and the humanity of a skilled professional. This hybrid model mitigates many of the AI’s weaknesses while keeping costs lower than purely human-coached routes.

Final reflections: what this all means for you

You learned that an AI coach that refuses excuses can be a useful instrument. It shows you what you do when you are not watched: you make excuses. When someone—a device, a program—refuses to accept those excuses, you confront your habits. That confrontation can be uncomfortable and productive.

You also learned that technology is not neutral. It shapes behavior by what it rewards and penalizes. A strict digital coach trains you to follow external demands; your job is to decide whether that external demand aligns with your internal values and long-term well-being.

The truth about discipline and choice

You realize something small and sharp: discipline is less about willpower and more about architecture. The AI provides the architecture. You provide the will to move within it. If you want a tool that corrals you, that carves out nonnegotiable space in your day, this might be it. If you want a partner who listens and adapts when life is messy, add a human into the loop.

In the end, the best coach—digital or human—is the one that helps you move more of your life toward the person you want to be. If the AI that refuses excuses helps you do that, keep it. If it strips away your agency or peace of mind, choose something kinder to your day and your story.

Quick checklist before you commit

You’re about to decide. Ask yourself these questions:

• Have I read the privacy policy and settings?
• Do I know what data will be collected and whether it’s shared?
• Am I ready for a program that escalates accountability?
• Do I have access to human support for injuries or mental-health concerns?
• Can I commit to consistent logging for at least two months?

Answering these will help you decide whether to say yes to the AI mirror—or to find another path that better respects your life and limits.

Closing line

You might not love an app that won’t accept your excuses, but you will learn a lot about what you do when nobody is watching. The question isn’t whether a machine can make you better—it’s how much you let it help you become the person you already want to be.

Source: https://news.google.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?oc=5