Ferhat Kacmaz, Founder and CEO of FitBurn, discusses the current AI trend in fitness and FitBurn‘s recent transition into the AI model in this exclusive Coin Edition interview.
Kacmaz is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and fitness enthusiast, widely recognized for introducing Electric Muscles Simulation (EMS) across the Middle East and Germany. Currently, he is focusing his efforts on FitBurn: the world’s first AI-powered Burn-to-Earn fitness app.
Q: Before diving further into FitBurn, could you share some insights into how AI is transforming the fitness industry?
AI is a massive trend in general, not only in fitness or finance. After ChatGPT was introduced and people became aware of it, they saw many ways to improve their life (and save time) with a personal AI assistant.
One of the shifts AI has brought is that, unlike Google, where you search for a string and get random answers, you get your answers as if you’d addressed a real person. It is still improving, but soon we will see AI assistants in every sector. Business models will change, and I think that soon — in 5 to 10 years — most companies will implement AI to optimize their processes.
Q: Is there a project in the AI space you are excited about?
Like I said, I love ChatGPT. I think this is a huge step into the future — and it has the potential to improve our lives, make them easier. Of course, it will cut some jobs; we can’t avoid it. But in the end, our ‘collaboration’ with AI holds a lot of promise when it comes to efficiency.
Q: Now, let’s talk about FitBurn. FitBurn has recently transitioned to the AI model; what changes could users expect from this?
With AI’s help, our users will get a personal fitness assistant. Based on the data the app collects, it will give helpful recommendations like what kind of meal you need to eat to make the most of your training, what kind of workout (or a combination of workouts) will benefit you most, etc.
However, there’s more to our app. First and foremost, FitBurn is a community-based app. You can check in your city, see other users, check out who is doing the same type of workout as you, go to the same gym, and recommend them as your training buddy. So, it can recommend you a training partner or training buddy. There are a lot of other functions, but these two things are really improving the user experience.
Q: How exactly does the app decide what diet someone should follow — and what restrictions one should maintain?
The key metric is the heart rate: we monitor it with a pulse tracker. You can use any tracker from the market, even your Apple watch.
The AI continuously analyzes all the data from your previous workouts to see how much you’ve progressed. It will record how often you train, how long your gym sessions are, and what kind of workout you’re doing. Is it a heavy workout because your pulse and heart rate is going up, or is it something like cardio, where your heart rate is always at the same level? Based on this info, AI recommends what supplements you must take and how you might want to change your training plans to make them more efficient.
In the future, we will use more data if the user consents to it, such as quality of sleep, body temperature, etc. They can also use their phone cameras to let AI know how their body changes, so there is much potential here.
Q: I try to go to the gym as often as I can, but one of the excuses I always give is that I always tend to sleep late, and then I cannot go to the gym in the morning. How can FitBurn help in this scenario?
Our app tracks how long and well you slept and will give you recommendations based on that. Good sleep is vital to training: if you haven’t rested enough, you cannot build your muscle as efficiently. Quality matters more than quantity: it’s always better to have 4 or 5 hours of quality sleep than 10 hours of low-quality sleep. So, the AI can track all this and tell you if today is a good day to hit the gym. And if it is, getting up late is not an excuse *laughs*.
Q: I have noticed a lot of fitness influencers out there recommending specific diets to get stronger. But as we know, it’s very individual: people may have personal preferences or, say, food allergies. How exactly does your app give tailored recommendations nutrition-wise?
As you said, every individual needs a different type of workout or nutrition. Influencers often give generalized advice, which might work for you but not for me. With AI accessing the basic user’s data, e.g., how many times you go to the gym, how you sleep, what kind of workout you’re doing, what kind of nutrition you’re taking (based on the meal plan we give you), and how much effort you put in the workouts, we can provide individual training plans, workout plans, meal plans, supplements, and other recommendations.
AI models are data-powered: the more information the user shares, the more precise and detailed the recommendations will be. If you choose to share your preferences — for example, if you are vegan, have some allergies, or, say, you don’t eat tomatoes, you can feed it to the AI, and it will tailor your meal plan.
Q: What are FitBurn’s plans for the nearest future?
Our next step is implementing and testing the AI and making as many improvements as possible. Unlike algorithms, AI needs time and data to learn; as we’ve seen with different versions of ChatGPT, an AI model is never at 100% in the beginning.
That’s our ambition: to have the most advanced AI technology in fitness. Of course, with more gadgets, better watches, and pulse trackers coming into the market to track metrics like blood sugar and blood pressure levels, we expect our AI model to develop, too.
Q: As an expert, could you share your thoughts about the future of AI and fitness?
At the moment, we cannot predict what exactly the future will hold, as we don’t know yet what kind of technology will arrive. The tech sphere changes and develops so quickly. But the introduction of AI to fitness unlocked great potential. The more fitness gear and technologies improve, the more data we can get, and the better the AI models will be. Whatever technology comes later, we will use it to create the best UX possible.
Q: What advice would you give to new users as they enter this industry?
In general — not just in the fitness industry but in the broader blockchain and cryptocurrency space — users should be aware of scams and Ponzi systems, where the projects offer rewards but have no real structure behind them. Such projects fall apart quickly if there’s no real use case, sustainability, or long-term plans.
You should always check who’s behind a project, what kind of experience they have, and how transparent they are with their community. Based on this information, do your own research and check. We are living in a very transparent world where you can Google and find any information about anyone. So, this is what I recommend: always check the facts.
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