Boost Your Pilates Business with Generative AI
Engage More Clients, Save Time, Get Creative
When ChatGPT was first released, I honestly had little interest aside from the occasional silly exploration with friends — “Describe to me a french cabernet wine in the style of an arrogant sommelier who never drinks wine from anywhere but Napa California.” (Yeah, this is peak me…a 'wild night' involves using whatever it takes to generate a laugh. Pun intended lol).
It seemed it would be used in ways that would benefit me but that I would be quite removed from it directly. For example, a software engineer might use it to check or clean up their code.
But after some research and conversations with folks in fields like finance or who work on self-driving cars, I now think my relationship with AI is different.
Yes, it’s true Pilates instructors won’t likely be replaced by AI anytime soon. But, what it can do for ‘the business of Pilates’ is potentially very powerful.
AI is evolving right in front of our eyes in real time. It needs all our creativity to let it evolve into something useful for the field of Pilates (and beyond).
Let’s start with a really simple explanation of Generative AI and ChatGPT. ChatGPT and Google Bard are examples of generative artificial intelligence that use deep learning to generate original content, retrieve information, respond in chat dialogues, create designs and more.
One of the ways generative AI might be used in Pilates is for programming sessions. Here’s an article published by IDEA, “50 AI/ChatGPT Prompts for Fitness Professionals,” that’s an excellent way to get started thinking about writing AI prompts to develop lesson plans for Pilates sessions (This article also has a good definition of “prompts”).
Generating class ideas and customized programs for clients is only the tip of the iceberg for what generative AI might do for us.
So, I’m asking: How can we leverage generative AI in Pilates, particularly when it comes to increasing efficiency in our daily activities? How can AI help automate and accelerate a variety of tasks and processes, saving time and resources?
How is using generative AI different from “Googling”?
Generative AI tools have been trained on vast amounts of the internet including anything you could learn through internet browsing. The difference is when you search with a browser, you have to scan the results, then decide what to read. With generative AI, the chat tool is completing that evaluation and comprehension layer for you. It’s as if an assistant performs research for you and summarizes what it found.
Uses for Generative AI in Pilates
Attracting & Engaging Customers
When it comes to marketing, platforms like SquareSpace use AI to assist you in writing your website's content, including text for SEO and tags to make content more searchable. There are specific AI tools to create marketing slogans for campaigns, or to improve your writing like Grammarly. Almost every form of marketing has specific AI tools.
Planning marketing campaigns
Building website content
SEO and customer engagement
Align content with your brand strategy so that it will resonate with your market
Hashtag generation
Style creation
If you use a chatbot (Large Language Model, LLM), you might use a prompt like, “How do I market my Pilates website located in Springfield, Missouri to people who have not ever tried or heard of Pilates?”
I asked Gemini, “What hashtags should I use for a social media post about improving balance and preventing falls with Pilates?” I know I would never have thought of some of the more engaging and quippy hashtags like #ditchthewalkeruseapilates #nomorefallsjustpilatesposes #pilatesismyfountainofyouth.
I asked Gemini, “What would be a good caption for an Instagram post with a photo of a girl doing Pilates on a Reformer with a large glass of orange juice next to her?”
Here are some of response (and I have to admit there are couple I love):
Optimizing Your Schedule
Use generative to offer general suggestions for your schedule that will meet your needs and your clients, or learn scheduling best practices e.g. general trends, class type by time, seasonality.
“What are the most popular times of day for people to attend a group Pilates class?”
Or more specifically, “If I only want to teach pilates 32 hours per week, how should I design my schedule to have no more than 6 hours in a row, two days in a row off and offer clients the most popular times?”
It also could quickly generate a calendar for days you might want to be closed based on local and National holidays or events.
“Based on National holidays for the United States in 2024, what days do you think my Pilates business located in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco, California should be closed?”
Managing Your Business Efficiently
AI can streamline workflows and help you build efficient systems for your business. For example, help you create an open/closing checklist, general operating procedures, or even customer communication touchpoints.
Produce operating documents
Chatbots and virtual assistants offer 24/7 scheduling
Upsell to customers related or items of interest
Navigating Tax, Legal & Financial Matters
You should not take tax, legal or business advice from a chatbot however, its response to questions around taxes for example, may give you a better understanding and clarity around questions you would like to ask your tax professional.
Optimize business decision-making
Gain understanding of a standard business
Plan ahead to cover tax liability
Identify questions to ask your attorney or CPA etc.
Prompts might include:
“How much do I need to charge per hour to earn $60,000 USD after taxes working 30 hours per week in California as a Pilates instructor?”
“How much should I save for taxes if I earn X per month gross revenue?”
“How many people do I need to have per class to cover the overhead?”
“Is teaching Pilates in people's homes considered a business and would I need to register it as a business?”
“In San Francisco, California, what are all the documents I need to register to operate a business?”
Creating Engaging Presentations
Perhaps you need to prepare to present at a conference or lead a workshop or pitch to a potential investor in your business. You can use the topic of your presentation to ask the GPT to write the content for your presentation. From there you likely will rewrite the entire response but, that’s the point — instead of starting from a blank page, start from a first draft you can edit to make your own.
Create presentations outlines and scripts
Generating research e.g. “Can you find scientific research documents on Pilates for chronic low back pain?”
Generating Innovative Ideas
Even as an expert in your field, it can be difficult to come up with the starting point for a blog article, newsletter or social post. And, as a business owner or Pilates teacher you may feel starved for a collaborator to inspire and bounce ideas off.
AI offers you a brainstorming partner
Fuel your business with powerful new ideas
Prompts might include:
“Create an outline for a 5 minute presentation about my Pilates business, Blue Sparrow Pilates, to a business networking group.”
“If I self-publish my book on Amazon, what is the competitive landscape like and how can I choose a unique topic?”
“Are there alot of Pilates mobile apps on the market? And what are ways I can set myself apart?”
“What colors would be most pleasing to Pilates studio customers and connect with my brand Blue Sparrow Pilates?”
“How does smell affect the way people perceive a room for Pilates group classes?”
Your Partnership with Generative AI
The price of having this kind of ease is that you have to:
Check the responses for accuracy
Add your style, personality, brand and unique view point
I asked Gemini a series of human anatomy prompts and found this image of the ribs to be hilariously inaccurate (picture a rack of ribs covered in BBQ sauce).
Additionally, there were muscles that the response stated performed internal rotators of the femur but they actually are external rotators. These kinds of errors can be difficult to identify especially if you are not an expert in the subject matter.
Generative AI may have all the answers but they may not all be right. So, as users of this tool we will need to use it cautiously and review any content generated.
Additionally, our unique voices are what folks want to hear. And, it would be incredibly bland if we all just used chatbot responses verbatim. So, be sure to find ways to imbue responses with your experience, knowledge and personal style. Think of chat responses as a way to generate ideas vs. a final product. The more you explore each response, the more opportunities you'll find to think innovatively and solve problems in new ways.
(As I write this it makes me wonder how this article would be different if it were written by GPT? But I’m not going to ask for that prompt.)
I believe there are a multitude of emergent use cases that apply to Pilates, and the potential of generative AI is open for our exploration.
Tools for Content Creation
ChatGPT
Google Bard
Notion AI
Sharly AI
QuillBot
Tools for Visuals
Adobe Firefly
Midjourney
Midjourney Discord Channel
IMGLarger
Shots.so