Inspire360 Global Fitness Newsletter, June Edition, Issue 40
There's a quiet split happening in the fitness industry right now — almost like two sides of the aisle — and which side you land on could quite possibly determine whether your business is still here in five years.
And it has nothing to do with political parties.
Welcome to the great AI debate of the fitness world.
On one side we have early adopters: trainers and owners integrating AI into how they operate. They’re drafting programs, handling admin, freeing up hours, tracking data.
On the other side, there is more resistance: professionals waiting it out, hoping the whole thing is a passing fad they can ignore.
The resistance is understandable. For a profession built on human connection, on the human body, and on a physical, lived experience, artificial intelligence can feel like a threat to the entire premise of the job, if not outright incongruent with the job itself.
Some concerns across the board:
- Client perception: Will clients feel they're getting a bot instead of a coach?
- Accuracy and safety: What if the AI output is wrong and someone gets hurt?
- Over-reliance: Will leaning on AI erode a trainer's own skills over time?
But that framing may get in the way or cause your gym to be left behind, if things keep going in this direction.
The trainers using AI the right way? They’re actually allowing for more human connection. Let’s get into it.
The Adoption Gap Is Already Here
This isn't a “someday” musing or conversation: AI training is very much here, now.
According to the ABC Trainerize 2026 State of the Personal Training Industry Report, 64% of trainers already use AI regularly and find it helpful; 66% rank AI and automation as the number one trend expected to impact their business.
A separate FitBudd survey put adoption even higher, at 91%, with three-quarters of those coaches having started using AI only in 2024 or 2025.
This data is significant; these rates are dramatically higher than other hands-on industries, such as agriculture, transportation, accommodation/food services, and construction, which are hovering at 10% or less.
Our profession didn't gradually warm up to AI: it crossed a threshold, and it moved — fast. The gap between early adopters and holdouts is widening rapidly.
Where AI Actually Helps
Admin Be Gone
An incredibly valuable use of AI: freeing up your time. The eradication of time-drainers.
Content creation tops the list: content, captions, and class descriptions that eat into a coach's time.
Close behind: admin, scheduling, and the first draft of programming. AI handles the data synthesis while you make the final judgment calls.
As one industry analyst put it, AI handles the analysis and adjustments so the coach can focus on motivation, form correction, and relationship building.
The math is simple: every hour not spent wrestling a spreadsheet or the backend of a scheduler is an hour returned to the floor, to the client, and to the parts of the job that made you want to coach in the first place.
Say Hello to Enhanced Programming
The more compelling application, though, is real-time adaptive programming.
Studios like The Smart Fit Method are already doing this: AI-powered equipment reads biometric data in the moment — resistance response, fatigue levels, recovery status — and adjusts the session accordingly. The workout you get on a depleted Tuesday looks different from the one you get on a strong Friday.
But the coach is still in the room. They're reading what the data can't: how the client slept, what's weighing on them, whether the stress at work is showing up in how they’re moving.
The coach connects what happens in the session to how the client is eating, recovering, and living the other 23 hours. The AI handles the precision; the coach handles the person. That's the model — and it's a better version of both.
Why Human Coaching Matters More Now, Not Less
The same research that points to AI's surge also documents its ceiling. In the ABC Trainerize data, the coaches using AI most actively are also the ones most confident in the human advantage. And across surveys, 77% of coaches say AI can't replace human connection.
The people closest to the technology are the least worried about being replaced by it… because they can see exactly where it stops.
It stops at accountability. At the felt sense of someone noticing you didn't show up. AI will never replicate genuine rapport, real-time accountability, and the simple fact of a coach who cares about you. And accountability is, demonstrably, a huge part of why clients keep showing up at all.
So the picture clarifies. As AI commoditizes the mechanical parts of coaching — the templating, the tracking, the admin — the human parts become the entire differentiator. When everyone has access to a competent algorithm, the thing clients pay a premium for is you.
And the clients are confirming it. Les Mills' 2026 Global Fitness Report, which surveyed over 10,000 people worldwide, found that only 10% of gym-goers prefer AI workouts over a human trainer. Perhaps most surprisingly, Gen Z and Millennials — the generations most fluent in technology — showed the strongest preference for human coaches. The demand for the human touch isn't fading with younger clients. If anything, it's louder.
The Best of Both Worlds
You don’t have to pick between team AI or team human; you can be team both.
Letting AI absorb your busywork so you can connect with clients more? Amazing. Letting AI completely take over your training program? Not ideal!
In a dream scenario, AI can support you by taking the parts of the job that were never the point, never the draw. Then, you can reinvest that time into the parts that always were.
Use it to delete room for error, reclaim hours, and scale your attention. Then go do the thing no algorithm can: show up, in person, for someone who needs you to.
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Inspire360 Club Bulletin
We recently launched Inspire360 Club, a game-changing platform built to redefine health club education and unite the industry for the first time under one comprehensive, modern learning ecosystem. #GameChanged. Book a demo of Inspire360 Club at: www.inspire360.com/club
What's New This Month:
Inspire360 Club is proud to partner with ProNatal Fitness to bring “How to Train Your Pregnant Clients Like a PRO” directly to health clubs and fitness professionals worldwide. With millions of women continuing to train throughout pregnancy and postpartum — and most trainers never receiving formal education on how to coach them safely and effectively — this partnership helps close one of the industry’s biggest education gaps. Together, we’re continuing Inspire360 Club’s mission of bringing the industry’s top educators and real-world, practical education directly onto the gym floor.
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Industry Happenings:
Upcoming Events:
- ATN Innovation Summit, June 16-17, 2026, New York City, New York
- Summit in the Sun, June 25-28, 2026, Litchfield Park, Arizona
- Annual Wellness Summit, July 27-30, 2026, Nashville, Tennessee
- canfitpro GLOBAL, August 14-15, 2026, Toronto, Canada
- SCW Dallas Mania®, August 28-30, 2026, Dallas, Texas
- Fit Expo, August 29-30, 2026, Anaheim, California
- Runningman Festival, September 18-20, 2026, Rome, Georgia
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Upcoming Workshops in June & July:
- 20+ workshops from Peak Pilates
- 20+ workshops from TRX®
- 15 workshops from Merrithew
- 10 workshops from ART
- 9 workshops from Spinning®
- 4 workshops from Exos
- 4 workshops from Oxygen Advantage
- 2 workshops from CFSC
- 1 workshop from Power Plate
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Industry News:
- A new study found the reason healthy eating plans often fail.
- Equinox sets women’s health advisory board.
- ISSA introduces Menopause Coach Certification.
- Pure Barre reintroduces Pilates-inspired resistance training.
- Nike Training and The Yard Gym partner.
- The Unfiltered Longevity 100 list was released.
- Crunch Fitness launches reformer Pilates concept at 20 locations.
- Whoop trackers are set to be worn by players at the World Cup.
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Thanks for Reading!
This newsletter was brought to you by Kathie Davis, Peter Davis, Ravi Sharma, Dominique Astorino, and the Inspire360 team.
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A Note from Peter & Kathie
The industry is changing rapidly, and we are here to help you sift through all the noise and get to the good stuff. Every month, we'll bring you trending topics and the inside scoop that we believe is paramount for fitness professionals to know.
Keep Inspiring,
Peter & Kathie Davis
