Who Gets to Interpret the Workout? User Tensions with AI-Generated Fitness Feedback
For designers of AI-supported self-tracking systems, this paper identifies user tensions that must be addressed to preserve interpretive openness and user agency.
This study analyzed 5,692 Reddit comments to identify four tensions users experience with AI-generated fitness feedback on Strava, including conflicts between numerical evaluation and contextual understanding, and between fixed AI tone and diverse emotional states. The findings highlight user resistance to AI feedback that constrains personal interpretation of their experiences.
Fitness tracking platforms increasingly integrate generative AI to interpret activity data, such as Strava's Athlete Intelligence. These integrations raise questions about how athletes engage with AI-supported fitness self-tracking. We analyzed 297 Reddit threads and 5,692 comments from r/Strava following the company's launch of AI features to examine user reactions to AI-generated fitness feedback. Our findings revealed four recurring tensions: (1) numerical evaluation versus contextual understanding; (2) isolated session summaries versus ongoing training narratives; (3) a fixed AI tone versus diverse emotional states; and (4) a single AI voice versus different athletic types. Across these tensions, users resisted AI feedback that constrained interpretations of their own lived experiences. These findings shed light on the implicit challenges of integrating AI into self-tracking platforms. We conclude with implications for the design of AI-supported self-tracking systems that preserve interpretive openness and user agency.