The One Where AI Made Me Buy Gymnastics Rings

On this week's podcast, Abbie and I share our experiences with incorporating AI-enabled fitness apps and generative AI workouts into our fitness routines.

Photo by GMB Fitness on Unsplash

Last year, I started experimenting with creating a strength workout in ChatGPT. I wanted to switch up my routine, so I thought, “why not try this generative AI thing for something more than helping me brainstorm catchy titles and headlines during my day job?”

Here was my initial (and unsophisticated by today’s standards) prompt:

Build me a bodyweight progression workout that includes pushups, pull-ups and lower body exercises. Include how I can progress to more complex and challenging movements.

Over the course of about a month, I worked with the chatbot to design a hybrid bodyweight and barbell workout. I’d provided the app with all of my available equipment, including blast straps, which are nylon suspension training straps that I’d previously used to do pushups. Blast straps make pushups harder by taking away the stability of the floor that’s present during a traditional pushup.

After Abbie and I recorded this week’s podcast (more on that in a moment), I went back and reviewed this chat. As you can see below, while I was working with the app to develop the workout, it introduced the idea of using gymnastics rings, probably based on me owning the blast straps.

Even though I didn’t currently have gymnastics rings, I’d used them ten years before (when I was younger) and enjoyed them. Now, 44-year-old me thought, “yeah, that sounds like a fantastic idea!” With the mere suggestion of new gear to be purchased, I promptly went onto Amazon and ordered a pair of rings, because that’s what I do.

As all the back-and-forth with my generative AI friend continued over the course of a month, the app subtly suggested the option of ring dips…and my hyper-competitive brain, which always wants me to push toward more complex movements, took the challenge. I could use my new rings for something more than pushups and rows!

Fast forward another month or so, and here’s one of my prompts to ChatGPT:

I hurt my shoulder during the push portion of the workout last week and have been resting. I wonder if doing both the military press and the ring dips puts too much stress on my shoulder? I have been enjoying the dips and would prefer to keep them in the workout. Thoughts on how I could adjust the workout?

I share this embarrassing prompt with you as a lesson. As someone who is experienced with strength training, I should have known not to do ring dips in the first place, without building up my general dip strength from scratch. Tongue-in-cheek podcast title aside, it was my fault I got injured doing ring dips, not AI’s.

That said, for people who aren’t experienced, there’s still a danger here, even though these models are improving. Taking AI-based fitness advice could prove dangerous, and it’s always good to have someone who knows what they are doing—whether it’s a friend or a personal trainer—help guide you in your workouts.

I shared this story on this week’s podcast, where Abbie and I talked about our recent experiences with using both AI-enabled apps, like Runna and Garmin, and generative AI apps like ChatGPT and Claude, to help us with our workouts. We discussed the promise and the pitfalls of incorporating AI into your fitness routine, including unbiased reviews of our experiences with these rapidly-changing apps.

I’ve embedded the podcast via Spotify here, and you may visit our new podcast page to find the pod on your favorite audio player, including Apple Podcasts. Please leave a comment below, or shoot me an email at alex@practically.fit. We’d love to share your comment or question on the next episode of the podcast.