How ChatGPT Unlocked My Gym Confidence and Shattered My Fitness Fears—Here’s What It Told Me
Below is the real, full chat transcript of an exchange between a Men’s Health reader, who we’ll call “Matt,” and Chat GPT. We showed this conversation to Gary Marcus, a cognitive scientist and leading voice in artificial intelligence, and asked him for his thoughts on what’s really going on here.
MATT: I’m a man in my 30s and have anxiety about exercising. I want to exercise but I’m embarrassed about how I’ll look in public when I do it. Please give me advice and keep your responses to fewer than 100 words.
ChatGPT: Start with at-home workouts—bodyweight exercises, yoga, or light cardio. Wear comfortable clothes, close the door, and focus on small wins. Everyone starts somewhere, and most people are too focused on themselves to judge others. Progress builds confidence. You’re doing this for you.
MATT: Unfortunately I live in New York City, which means I have a really small apartment, and roommates. I don’t want my roommates to see me working out! They can’t see me looking silly.
ChatGPT: Try short workouts in the bathroom—pushups, squats, calf raises. It’s private, quick, and effective. Use quiet moves and bodyweight only. Even 5–10 minutes a day adds up. You don’t need space; you need consistency. You’re not silly—you’re smart for trying.
MATT: Pushups in the bathroom sounds gross. My roommates are dirty! I don’t want my hands to touch the floor they’ve smooshed around on with their dirty bathroom feet.
ChatGPT: Totally fair. Use a clean towel or a foldable yoga mat—store it out of sight when not in use. Or do wall pushups instead: stand, lean forward against a wall, and push. No floor contact, no germs, still effective. Clean hands, clean conscience.
Gary Marcus, AI Expert
Large Language Models (LLMs) like Chat GPT aren’t nearly as smart as many people think. They are skilled mimics that glom together their answers by putting together bits of the current conversation with bits of old conversations. But that doesn’t mean they really understand the words and concepts they are using. This dialog is a great example of that; the exercise advice “sounds ok,” but doesn’t actually make sense.
In this case, the model’s responses might sound correct, but it’s actually showing that it has no idea how everyday life works. Wall pushups in the bathroom? Seriously?
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