We love the gym, but the same routine and the same equipment can get pretty boring. We are always looking for ways to spice up our fitness sessions. A couple months ago, while perusing Pinterest, I came across the “deck of cards” workout. These are so fun! They are all over the Internet, accompanied by a pretty graphic that breaks it all down. Perfect.
After a short period of time, I realized that these activities were just not working for me. Something didn’t feel right. And of course it didn’t! We are all different, and what works for one person (a.k.a. the Pinterest fitness guru) may not work for me or you. I decided that instead of following somebody else’s workout regime, I would create my own— with exercises that I am comfortable with and fit my level of experience.
Here is our Deck of Cards Workout and a quick guide on how to create your own:
Step 1: From Ace to King, assign each card a simple exercise. Make some simple, some challenging, and pick exercises that target different muscle groups. You can incorporate weights or other equipment if you wish.
Step 2: Each suit will be the number of reps you do or how long you hold each exercise. You could choose 10, 20, 30, and 40 or if you’re feeling brave you could choose 25, 50, 75, and 100 (or higher!).
Step 3: Pick something crazy for when you draw a joker. This could be “repeat your last exercise” or “triple the reps of your next exercise.” Be creative!
Step 4: Blast some tunes and get moving!! (For a great workout playlist, click here)
Need some inspiration? Here is ours (and #sorrynotsorry, I was way too lazy to create a pretty graphic. I wasn’t wasting any workout time!):
2- crunches
3- push-ups
4- sit-ups
5- squats
6- jump squats
7- burpees
8- jumping jacks
9- bicycle crunches
10- inch worms
J- wall sit
Q- plank
K- lunge
A- break and hydrate
Joker- double your next reps
Club- 10
Heart- 20
Diamond- 30
Spade- 40
I decided to make numbers 2-10 repped exercises and face cards timed exercises. Ace is ‘break and hydrate’ because that is super important too. Many of these exercises came from Linds’ Worldwide Workout article, from way back when twowildtides started. Check it out!
Remember to only do what is right for you. Challenge yourself, but don’t overexert yourself. It is not worth risking the injury. Let us know in the comments or on social media (@twowildtides) if you create a Deck of Cards Workout! We would love to see how you put your own twist on this fun activity. We truly appreciate your feedback!
xoxo,
char
PS- As I’ve already mentioned, these types of fitness games are quite common and rather simple. I created this workout without referring to any outside sources (except Linds’ article!), so if mine is strikingly similar to yours or to one you have already seen, I apologize. Please get in touch if you have any other questions about this.
I think that you’re ideas about it ate great!Yet..I want to allow beginners a chance to keep up as well.