The Gentle Exercise Plan for People Who Think They're Too Old/Tired/Busy to Start
Where 5 minutes in a chair counts as exercise and AI never judges your creaky knees.
Read time: 5 minutes
What you’ll be able to do: Create a personalized, judgment-free exercise plan using AI
The Bottom Line Up Front
You’re about to learn how to use AI to create an exercise plan that actually works for real humans—not Instagram influencers.
No 5 a.m. boot camps.
No “just push through the pain” nonsense.
Just realistic movement that fits into your actual life, whether you’re 45 and haven’t exercised since high school (👋) or 72 and worried about falling.
By the end of this, you’ll have prompts that create exercise routines you’ll actually stick to.
You Know That Voice in Your Head?
The one that says “I should exercise” right before the other voice says “but I’m too tired/old/busy/broken”?
Yeah, that voice. I definitely know that voice. I’ve known it since I was in seventh grade.
Here’s what nobody tells you: Every fitness app, YouTube workout, and gym trainer is designed for people who already exercise.
They assume you can do a plank.
They assume you know what a “rep” is.
They assume your knees don’t sound like Rice Krispies when you stand up. 1
AI doesn’t assume any of that.
And that’s exactly why it might be the exercise coach you’ve been waiting for.
Why AI Is Different (And Better) Than Every Fitness App You’ve Quit
Last week, my 68-year-old neighbor told me she wanted to work out. She started her fitness journey a few months ago by walking around our neighborhood.
But then she decided to take her exercise routine to the next level. She tried three different fitness apps. Downloaded them, opened them once, felt overwhelmed by videos of 22-year-olds doing burpees, and deleted them. 2
“I just want to be able to garden without my back hurting,” she said. “Is that too much to ask?”
No, friend. It’s not.
So I opened up ChatGPT to show her how AI could help with her fitness regimen and so, so much more.
📚 PLAIN ENGLISH DEFINITION
Prompt: The instruction or question you type into an AI tool to get it to do something.
Think of it like: Giving directions to an Uber driver - the clearer you are, the better chance you’ll get where you want to go.
Example: Instead of typing “help with exercise,” you’d prompt: “Create a 5-minute morning routine for someone with bad knees.”
Here’s what I typed: “I’m 68, haven’t exercised in years, have a bad back, and want to garden without pain. Create a gentle 2-week plan starting with 5 minutes a day.”
The AI? It didn’t judge. Didn’t suggest CrossFit. Didn’t mention abs. Not even once.
Instead, it created a plan that started with sitting in a chair and doing ankle rolls.
My neighbor actually smiled.
AI is an Absolute Beast for Fitness
Creating that simple prompt for my neighbor made me think:
What if I took this a step further and created a system of prompts that would gather information from the user and then generate a customized workout plan?
So that’s what I did.
The Magic Prompts That Create Exercise Plans for Actual Humans
Copy and paste each prompt from its grey box below, then paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, Gemini or other tools.
Prompt #1: The “I Haven’t Moved in Years” Starter
I need a gentle exercise plan. Before you create it, please ask me one question at a time about:
1. My age
2. How long since I exercised regularly
3. Any physical limitations or pain
4. What I hope to achieve
After gathering this information, create a 2-week plan that starts with just 5 minutes per day, requires no equipment, and can be done at home.Why this works: You’re being honest about where you are, not where you think you should be.
Prompt #2: The “Everything Hurts” Modifier
Adjust this exercise plan for someone who:
- Has [specific pain/condition]
- Can’t do exercises on the floor
- Needs to avoid [specific movements]
- Gets winded walking to the mailbox
Make every exercise have a seated or supported alternative.Why this works: AI doesn’t judge your limitations. It just works around them.
Prompt #3: The “Real Life Happens” Scheduler
I realistically have:
- [X] minutes in the morning
- [X] minutes at lunch
- [X] minutes in the evening
Create a flexible exercise plan where I can choose when to do my daily movement based on how I feel. Include “bare minimum” options for terrible days.Why this works: Life isn’t predictable. Your exercise plan shouldn’t pretend it is.
Let’s Get Specific: Building Your Personal Plan
Here’s exactly how to create your shame-free exercise routine:
Step 1: Start With Truth, Not Goals
Don’t type: “Help me lose 30 pounds.” Do type: “I’m 50 pounds overweight, my knees hurt, and I get winded walking upstairs.”
📚 PLAIN ENGLISH DEFINITION
Hallucination (in AI context): When AI makes up information that sounds true but isn’t.
Think of it like: That friend who’s so eager to help, they give advice about things they don’t actually know about.
Example: If AI suggests an exercise that doesn’t exist or claims a stretch fixes everything, that’s hallucinating.
Step 2: Ask for Progression, Not Perfection
Add this to any exercise prompt: “Show me how this exercise gets easier over time, and what I’m working toward. Start where someone completely out of shape would start.”
Step 3: Build in Reality Checks
Always include: “Also give me a ‘bare minimum’ version for days when I can barely get off the couch, and explain when I should skip exercise entirely.”
Step 4: Get Specific Modifications
The golden prompt addition: “For each exercise, explain what it should feel like when done correctly, what muscles I’m using, and warning signs to stop.”
What My Neighbor’s Plan Actually Looked Like
Week 1, Day 1:
2 minutes of seated ankle rolls
2 minutes of shoulder shrugs
1 minute of deep breathing
That’s it. That’s the whole workout.
Week 2, Day 7:
3 minutes of seated marching
3 minutes of wall push-ups (just 5 of them)
2 minutes of standing balance work
2 minutes of stretching
By week 3, she was doing 10-minute routines. By week 6, she was gardening for an hour without pain.
She never did a single burpee.
The Mistakes Everyone Makes (And How to Avoid Them)
Mistake 1: Being Vague
❌ “Give me an exercise plan”
✅ “I’m 57, have arthritis in my hands, and want to be able to open jars again”
Mistake 2: Ignoring Your Reality
❌ “Create a morning workout routine”
✅ “I’m not a morning person and won’t exercise before 10am. Create an afternoon routine.”
Mistake 3: Starting Too Big
❌ “Help me train for a marathon”
✅ “Help me walk around the block without getting winded”
📚 PLAIN ENGLISH DEFINITION
Temperature (in AI context): How creative vs. predictable you want AI’s responses to be.
Think of it like: The difference between following a recipe exactly (low temperature) vs. experimenting with ingredients (high temperature).
Example: For exercise plans, you want low temperature - proven, safe movements, not creative interpretations.
Your Homework (Yes, Just Sitting Counts as a Start)
This week, I want you to:
Open ChatGPT or Claude
Type one honest sentence about your current physical state
Ask for a 5-minute routine
Do it tomorrow. Not perfectly. Just do it.
That’s it. No apps to download. No equipment to buy. No gym to join.
The Part Nobody Talks About
Here’s what the fitness industry doesn’t want you to know: Consistency beats intensity every single time.
Five minutes of movement every day beats a 2-hour gym session once a month.
Walking to your mailbox and back beats reading about running.
Chair exercises beat no exercises.
AI gets this. It’ll never shame you for starting small. It’ll never compare you to anyone else. It’ll just meet you exactly where you are.
And Linda? She sent me a photo yesterday. She’s in her garden, kneeling—actually kneeling—next to her tomatoes.
“The AI never once mentioned my weight,” she said. “It just helped me move.”
What’s Next?
Next week, I’m showing you how to use AI to decode medical jargon. You know those papers your doctor hands you that might as well be written in ancient Greek? We’re going to fix that.
P.S. If you’re thinking “but I’m too [old/heavy/broken/tired] for this to work”—Linda thought the same thing. She was wrong. The only difference between you and someone who exercises is that they started. Even if starting means ankle rolls in a chair while watching TV. That counts. It all counts.
When you’re a kid, you always hear people complaining about the various ailments and injuries they’ve accumulated since getting older. But you never truly understand it until the day a short pickup game of basketball in your driveway makes it so you can’t get out of bed the next day.
There’s one fitness app I recommend to everyone, regardless of their age or physical condition.
It’s called Pliability. It’s a stretching app. When I say “stretching,” what I really mean is “holding a single deep stretch for 10 minutes at a time.”
Pliability changed my life when I was told about it a few years ago. I’d been nursing severe back injuries since my time in Iraq, and rarely did a month go by without having to visit the emergency room for treatment.
I started doing Pliability and, within 1 month, I could bend over and put my palms flat on the ground. I couldn’t even do that when I was in the best shape of my life! And I haven’t been to the emergency room for my back one time since starting it.
I highly, highly recommend this app. It’s a monthly subscription, but you will never regret paying for it.