A Multi-Dimensional Comparative Study of Exercise Psychological Experience Under AI Fitness Companion and Human Coach Paradigms

Lincoln University College100 enrolled

Overview

This study conducted a comparative analysis of subjective exercise experiences between an AI-based fitness companion and traditional human coaching among 98 university students participating in a standardized 20-minute functional circuit training session. Participants were evaluated across three psychological dimensions: Emotional Resonance (ER), Interactive Dynamics (InD), and Embodied Presence (EP). The results indicated that human coaching elicited significantly higher levels of Emotional Resonance, whereas AI-based companions demonstrated superior performance in Interactive Dynamics. No significant differences were observed in Embodied Presence, suggesting that contemporary AI systems can provide spatial immersion and body-awareness comparable to human coaches. These findings indicate that AI and human coaches offer distinct psychological strengths, suggesting that AI should be viewed as a complementary, scalable tool for exercise guidance rather than a direct replacement for human emotional support.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

100

Conditions

Psychological Stress Mental Fatigue Cognitive Dysfunction

Interventions

AI-Based CompanionBEHAVIORAL

The intervention for the AI-Based Companion group involved interacting with the BodyPark ATOM system (BodyPark Inc., Hong Kong, China), a portable AI fitness companion device. This device is equipped with a $160\^{\\circ}$ ultra-wide camera and features real-time motion analysis capabilities. During the 20-minute functional circuit training session, the system served as the digital coaching interface, providing automated real-time recognition of the targeted movements, verbal encouragement, and posture corrections.

Human-CoachedBEHAVIORAL

Participants in the Human-Coached Group were supervised and instructed by human coaches, which included several co-authors of the study. These researchers are professionals who hold national- or international-level certifications as sports coaches or referees, or who serve as professors in the field of physical education. Throughout the circuit training, they provided verbal assistance and guidance using instructional terminology and feedback that was structurally equivalent to the parameters of the AI protocol to ensure experimental consistency.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 30 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: 1. Body Composition: Participants needed to have a body fat percentage between 15% and 25% for males, and between 20% and 30% for females. 2. Physical Capability: Participants were required to be physically capable of performing the designated bodyweight fitness movements, which included squats, lunges, and planks. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Physical Health: Individuals with musculoskeletal injuries or acute physical conditions that would prevent the safe performance of standard bodyweight exercises were excluded. 2. Psychological Status: Individuals with a history of severe discomfort or diagnosed anxiety related to one-on-one fitness coaching or digital monitoring were excluded.

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Emotional Resonance (ER)

Emotional Resonance (ER) measures the extent to which participants perceive empathy, encouragement, and emotional companionship during their exercise session. This dimension evaluates the responsiveness of the coach or system to signs of participant exhaustion or form breakdown, as well as the perceived sincerity of the feedback provided, which helps to alleviate exercise-related boredom or anxiety. Theoretically, it is grounded in parasocial interaction and social presence theories, suggesting that users naturally attribute social characteristics to interactive entities, fulfilling fundamental psychological needs for relatedness and competence.

Time frame: The psychological questionnaire assessing Emotional Resonance was administered to participants immediately upon completion of the 20-minute functional circuit training session.

Interactive Dynamics (InD)

Interactive Dynamics (InD) represents the responsiveness, bidirectional communication, and real-time adaptability of the interaction process between the participant and the coach or system. It evaluates the fluidity of the communication loop, including the speed of movement correction, the naturalness of the exchange, and the system's ability to dynamically adjust guidance based on real-time performance. This construct is derived from human-computer interaction (HCI) theories, emphasizing that a seamless, low-latency feedback loop is essential for maintaining motor-cognitive immersion and optimizing exercise strategies.

Time frame: The psychological questionnaire assessing Interactive Dynamics was administered to participants immediately upon completion of the 20-minute functional circuit training session.

Embodied Presence (EP)

Embodied Presence (EP) reflects the degree to which a participant perceives an instructing agent as occupying the same physical or virtual space, facilitating bodily awareness and spatial immersion. This dimension emphasizes spatial perception, physical occupancy, and proprioceptive mapping, allowing participants to intuitively map external postural cues (such as joint angles or body alignment) onto their own internal body schema. It is grounded in cognitive psychology and spatial cognition frameworks, measuring how well the instruction facilitates an intuitive spatial-motor translation.

Time frame: The psychological questionnaire assessing Embodied Presence was administered to participants immediately upon completion of the 20-minute functional circuit training session.