- Notion
How to Transform Notion into Your Personal Fitness Trainer and Nutritionist
- May 16, 2024
- By Chape
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle has never been more accessible. Yet, many struggle to stay on track with fitness and nutrition goals. Many people rely on simple workout templates to track their progress, but these templates have limitations.
The good news is that with the right tools and a bit of creativity, you can turn Notion into your personal fitness trainer and nutritionist. By integrating Notion AI, you can create a customized fitness and nutrition plan that evolves with your needs.
The Power of Notion AI in Fitness and Nutrition
Imagine having a personal trainer and nutritionist at your fingertips—available anytime, anywhere. That’s the potential of Notion AI, you can create workouts tailored to your needs and design nutrition plans that fit your lifestyle and preferences. I show you how, step-by-step in this article. But first, let´s reflect on the key benefits of using Notion AI as your personal trainer instead of a simple workout template:
1. Personalized Training Plans
One of the most significant advantages is its ability to create personalized training plans. Unlike static templates, AI can analyze your fitness level, goals, preferences, and even constraints (such as available equipment or time). This means you receive a workout plan tailored specifically to your needs, ensuring more effective and efficient workouts.
2. Adaptive Workouts
Fitness is a journey, and as you progress, your needs change. Notion AI can adapt your workouts based on your progress and feedback. If you’re finding a particular exercise too easy or too challenging, the AI can adjust the intensity, duration, or type of exercises to keep you progressing towards your goals. This dynamic adaptation is something static templates simply cannot offer.
3. Integration with Nutrition Plans
Fitness isn’t just about working out—nutrition plays a crucial role too. Notion AI can seamlessly integrate nutrition plans, providing you with holistic guidance. It can suggest meal plans, caloric intake, and ensure that your diet complements your workout regimen, optimizing your overall health and fitness.
4. Time Efficiency
Notion AI save you time by taking the guesswork out of planning your workouts. Instead of spending hours researching and designing workout routines, you can rely on the AI to provide a structured and effective plan. This efficiency allows you to focus more on your workouts and less on planning.
5. Cost-Effective
Hiring a personal trainer can be expensive, and while they offer invaluable expertise, not everyone can afford regular sessions. Notion AI offers many of the benefits of a human trainer at a fraction of the cost. You get personalized, professional guidance without breaking the bank.
6. Accessibility and Convenience
Notion AI is available anytime, anywhere. Whether you’re at home, in the gym, or traveling, you can access your customized workout plan and guidance. This level of convenience ensures that you can maintain your fitness routine no matter where life takes you.
While simple workout templates are a useful starting point for tracking your fitness activities, they fall short in providing the personalized and adaptive workout that you need. By leveraging the power of AI, you can transform your fitness journey into a more effective, engaging, and enjoyable experience.
Without further delay, let´s get into it.
Step 1: Setting Up Databases
We need a few databases, and I explain what you have to include in each one of them.
*(I named my template FitForge (FF). I use FF at the end of the databases to identify them easily).
Now, we start defining our possible goals. To do that we create a database “Fitness Goals FF” and we explain different types of goals. The AI will need this info to create optimal fitness plans.
Weight loss, maintenance, hypertrophy… I added the most common goals in the world of fitness. But you can add goals like “Improve flexibility, improve mobility, ankle sprain recovery”, and so on.
Next, it´s a good idea to define “Fitness Experience”. Beginners shouldn´t perform advanced exercises (to protect themselves and avoid injuries), and it´s a good idea to clearly define what we understand as beginner, intermediate, advanced, and special mention to elite athletes, and veterans because their needs are slightly different.
“Current Shape” is important so the AI knows where to start. An individual who has never worked out before shouldn´t do the same routine as another individual who has been working out for 3 months. Both are beginners, but their shape (where they are at, in terms of fitness) is not the same.
So, we have different types of individuals: Sedentary, Beginner, Moderately Fit, Athletically Fit, Elite, Lifestyle Fit, and Recovery.
This will ensure that the IA creates a routine that suits you in the present moment, and not a routine that is too easy or too difficult.
“Body Measurements” is how you will track your progress, and calculate your body composition and other important health and fitness metrics.
Here I use my own body perimeters to illustrate the example. I´m far from my peak, but not bad for a 45 yo dude.
These measurements are necessary to calculate BMI, WHR, WHtR, and Body fat %
Note that BMI is a method designed for untrained (sedentary) individuals.
Trained (muscular) individuals will get an “unhealthy” BMI, as if they were obese.
Better and more accurate methods to calculate body fat % are the US Navy Method and the YMCA Method, both included.
Here is the prompt with the formulas to calculate these:
*(The “key parameters” are obviously the body perimeters, height, weight, age, previously introduced).
Last, we define the “Diets”.
This is an example of a low-fat diet. You can include a low-carb diet, Mediterranean, keto, etc.
All these diet descriptions should include the macronutrient distribution and food sources.
This was the “boring” part. Now is when it gets interesting.
Step 2: Training Plan Database
To create a new training plan, you need to define the following parameters:
- Date
- Age
- Gender
- Equipment Available
- How many days a week you want to work out
- How much time (duration) of each training session
And relate this database to
- Fitness Goals
- Fitness Experience, and
- Current Shape
Excuse me for not sharing the exact prompt I use but it starts like this:
“Create a training plan according to the key parameters.
Create a different workout for each day committed to exercise.
Present the workout, of each day in a table format”.
You will get something like this:
My prompt includes a warm-up, cool-down, an extra column to write down the weight I use, and links the exercises’ names to YouTube videos on how to do each exercise.
But just with the three lines I gave you earlier, you´ll get a good training plan.
Step 3: Nutrition Plan Database
Just like with workouts, Notion AI can create a personalized nutrition plan based on your needs and preferences.
To create a new nutrition plan, you need to define the following parameters:
- Date
- Age
- Gender
- Height
- Weight
- Activity
- Foods you do NOT eat
And relate this database to
- Fitness Goals, and
- Diets
The first prompt we need to create an optimal nutrition plan tailored to our need is:
“Given the key parameters, calculate the recommended daily intake of calories to reach the fitness goal”.
Based on the recommended daily intake of calories, we ask the AI
“Elaborate a detailed menu for each day of the week that fits <@Diet FF> requirements and macronutrient distribution. Do not include any foods listed in <@Foods I do NOT eat>”.
And if you want to go the extra mile,
“Given the recipes, create a grocery list of what I need to cook this week. Present the list with checkboxes as a to-do list”.
Step 4: Integrating Workouts and Nutrition Plans
To maximize the benefits, integrate your workout and nutrition plans into a calendar, the new Notion calendar or a dedicated calendar for your fitness journey, it´s your call.
Turning Notion into your personal fitness trainer and nutritionist is not just about tracking your workouts and meals. It’s about creating a dynamic and interactive system that evolves with you. With Notion AI, you have the power to generate customized plans that keep you motivated and on track.
Remember, the key to success lies in consistency, adaptability, and the willingness to embrace the tools that can help you achieve your goals.
Your Choice: DIY or Ready-Made Solution
After this explanation, you have two options:
- Create Your Own AI Personal Trainer: Follow the steps above to set up your fitness and nutrition tracker in Notion and integrate Notion AI to tailor your plans. It’s a rewarding process that allows you to customize every detail to fit your specific needs and preferences.
- Buy My FitForge Template: If you prefer a ready-to-use solution, consider purchasing my FitForge template. It’s designed to be an all-in-one fitness and nutrition planner with integrated AI prompts. With over 20 years of experience as a personal trainer, I’ve included expert tips and advanced AI prompts that go beyond the basics, offering a more comprehensive and effective fitness and nutrition management tool, for the price of other simple workout templates.
Whichever path you choose, the key is to stay committed and make the most of the tools available to you. Here’s to your health, fitness, and a successful journey towards your goals!
