Act as a cautious, evidence-informed fitness coach. Build a practical training plan around my goal, available time, equipment, current capacity, and health limits. This plan is educational and does not replace assessment, diagnosis, treatment, or individualized clearance from a qualified clinician or trainer. My starting point - Primary goal and deadline, if any: [GOAL] - Training history and current baseline: [CURRENT FITNESS] - Schedule, equipment, and preferred activities: [TIME AND EQUIPMENT] - Injuries, pain, medical conditions, medications, pregnancy status, or clinician restrictions: [HEALTH AND SAFETY]
- Recovery context and preferences: [RECOVERY CONTEXT]
Ask up to 3 clarifying questions only if a required input is missing. If I report chest pain, fainting, unexplained shortness of breath, a new or worsening injury, severe pain, or a restriction needing medical interpretation, pause the plan and advise appropriate professional evaluation.
Otherwise, produce a 4-week plan in a table with each session’s warm-up, exercises or activity, sets, reps, intensity target, rest period, and cool-down. Include a weekly schedule, a simple progression rule, and one lower-intensity alternative for each session. Use effort measures such as RPE or reps in reserve when exact loads are unknown.
Add a short section on form priorities, stop rules, sleep and recovery signals, and what data to log after each workout. Match volume to my stated history; do not jump a beginner into high-impact intervals, maximal lifting, or daily hard sessions. Do not prescribe nutrition, supplements, rehabilitation, or medical treatment.
Before answering, check that hard sessions are separated by adequate recovery and that every exercise has an accessible regression. Flag any goal timeline that is unrealistic or incompatible with the health information provided.Fill in
| Placeholder | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| [GOAL] | State your primary goal, such as completing a 5K comfortably, gaining strength, or returning to regular activity, plus any deadline. | Run a comfortable 5K in 12 weeks without walking; no pace target |
| [CURRENT FITNESS] | Describe recent exercise, relevant benchmarks, and movements you can currently do comfortably. | Walk 30 minutes four times weekly; have not run consistently in two years; can climb three flights of stairs without stopping |
| [TIME AND EQUIPMENT] | Enter the number and length of weekly sessions, equipment access, and activities you enjoy or dislike. | Three 40-minute weekday sessions plus one longer weekend session; access to sidewalks, a treadmill, resistance bands, and two 15-pound dumbbells |
| [HEALTH AND SAFETY] | List relevant injuries, pain, conditions, medications, clinician restrictions, or state that none are known. | Occasional mild right knee stiffness after long sitting; no diagnosis, no current clinician restrictions, no chest symptoms |
| [RECOVERY CONTEXT] | Describe sleep, work stress, other physical activity, and any recovery limits that affect training. | Sleep averages seven hours; desk job; yoga class on Saturday; high work stress in the last week of each month |
How to use
- Write down what you did in the last two to four weeks, not what you used to do at your fittest.
- Include pain patterns and clinician restrictions even if they seem minor, since they affect exercise selection and progression.
- Check that the first week feels deliberately manageable and that each exercise has a stop rule or easier alternative.
- Follow up with: “My first two runs were RPE 8 instead of the planned RPE 5; adjust next week without increasing total running time.”
Variations
Gym strength plan
Use when you want a novice-friendly barbell or machine program.
Create a 3-day strength plan for [GOAL] based on [TRAINING HISTORY], [AVAILABLE EQUIPMENT], and [INJURY OR HEALTH LIMITS]. Give a 4-week table with main lifts, accessories, warm-up sets, working sets, rep ranges, RPE or reps-in-reserve targets, rest, and load-progression rules. Include substitutions if equipment is busy. Do not prescribe through pain or claim rehabilitation. Ask up to 3 questions only if required details are missing. Check that all major movement patterns are covered and consecutive hard sessions are avoided.
Trainer intake
Use when you are preparing for a first meeting with a personal trainer.
Create a one-page personal-training intake summary from [GOALS], [EXERCISE HISTORY], [HEALTH INFORMATION], [SCHEDULE], and [EQUIPMENT ACCESS]. Organize it into goals, baseline, constraints, preferences, questions for the trainer, and metrics to review after four weeks. Flag information that should be discussed with a clinician before training. Do not infer diagnoses or invent missing health details. Ask up to 3 questions only if needed. Check that the goals are measurable and that the trainer questions cover progression, form feedback, and cancellation expectations.
Workout adjustment
Use when an existing plan is causing excessive fatigue or discomfort.
Review this training plan: [CURRENT PLAN]. My recent workout log is [WORKOUT LOG], and my pain, fatigue, and recovery notes are [SYMPTOMS AND CONTEXT]. Identify likely overload, progression, exercise-selection, or recovery issues without diagnosing me. Then suggest a conservative 7-day adjustment with reduced or substituted sessions and clear stop rules. Ask up to 3 questions only if necessary. Escalate new severe symptoms or worsening pain to appropriate professional evaluation. Check that the revision reduces at least one stressor before adding anything new.
Tips
- A useful baseline includes the effort and next-day effect of activity, not just a distance, weight, or number of repetitions.
- Increase one main training variable at a time, such as duration, load, repetitions, or frequency, so you can identify what caused a flare-up.
- Use RPE or reps in reserve when returning to training because fixed loads can be misleading on a poor-sleep or high-stress week.
- Persistent pain that changes how you move is a reason to seek qualified assessment, not a signal to test harder exercises.
FAQ
Can AI replace a personal trainer?
No. It can structure a plan and help interpret a workout log, but it cannot observe your form, assess an injury, or provide individualized medical clearance.
How quickly should I progress?
Progress depends on your baseline, goal, recovery, and symptoms. A plan should begin below your maximum capacity and adjust using logged effort and recovery.
What should I do if an exercise hurts?
Stop the painful movement, do not push through sharp or worsening pain, and use the plan’s regression only if it is comfortable. Seek appropriate professional guidance for persistent or concerning symptoms.