Today I put my favorite AI to work. What's my favorite AI? It's Grok, hands down. The reasons behind this decision require a separate post. Suffice it to say that I use Grok for lots of things.
Today, I asked it about all these military calisthenics social media posts I keep seeing. I knew right away that they were all hype, but I wanted to see what Grok could dig up for me. It was a fascinating conversation.
To begin with, Grok confirmed that the social media posts were hype. However, we continued the conversation with a bit of back-and-forth, finally arriving at a well-thought-out, practical bodyweight workout plan tailored to me.
I started with the following prompt:
"Good morning, Grok, I wanted to chat this morning about these social media ads I keep seeing for Military Calisthenics. Can you do a search for what these are, what it’s all about, and then give me a summary to start off?"
This is where Grok came back and confirmed my suspicion about the social media posts. But it also came back with some good information on what military calisthenics is really all about. It's all based on functional strength exercises that can be done without special equipment and help soldiers meet the official physical fitness (PT) standards.
I then gave Grok the following prompt:
"The overall concept meshes with my thoughts. I’ve been on my keto lifestyle for a little over 4 months, and I lost about 30 lbs. There is a noticeable change in my body composition, and my hip feels much better than it did 4 months ago. I think the reduced weight is taking some strain off of it. It still gets aggravated when going up and down stairs a lot, and especially when I use a ladder or step stool excessively, like when I’m doing projects around the house. With that said, I’d like to explore these military calisthenics. Maybe come up with a nice, easy progression for someone who hasn’t done them in a long time. I have done body-weight squats before, as well as attempted push-ups, but I always stall because of an issue with my left shoulder. It would have to start as a beginner, then progress my way up, slowly and methodically."
From this prompt, the conversation turned to calisthenics and how I could incorporate them despite my physical limitations. The result was a new bodyweight fitness routine that I am starting tomorrow. The routine is simple yet structured with 6 weeks of progression built in. Grok did an outstanding job.
The details of the plan aren't as important to this post as the process I used to get there. Grok helped me navigate information that it would have taken me hours or days to find on my own. It did all the searching and planning for me. Grok's responses were detailed enough for me to reason through them and see whether what it said made sense.
The more I use AI, the more I can see the benefits. The key is to use structured, detailed prompts and to think critically about the answers it gives. You don't have to take what the AI says as canon. If something does not sound right to you, challenge the AI with clarifying questions. It's up to you to make the AI work for its answers.
So tomorrow, thanks to Grok, I am adding a new piece to the workout arsenal. I am trying hard to honor 1 Corinthians 6:19–20. So, bodyweight training 3 days a week, and my slogging (slow jogging) 3 days a week. There is one recovery day built in as well. I hope this plan fits well with my current lifestyle. If not, then back to Grok for refinement.
Have you played around with AI lately? Is there something you have used AI to help you work through? I'd love to hear about it.
—Daniel