Killer Workout: Deck of Cards

There's nothing worse than a boring workout, right? Sometimes it's even nice not to know what's coming. That's where the Deck of Cards workout comes in handy (some call it the Deck of Death). Essentially, you get to deal your own workout, and it's different every time. You can use this workout at the track, at the pool, at the gym, choose different exercises for the cards and your workout possibilities are endless.

I did this workout last night with my Karate Conditioning class. Here's the way it goes:

Hearts are Flutter Kicks (ala the Navy Seals)
Spades are Squats (Crossfit-style, thighs below parallel)
Diamonds are Situps, Standard style with hands crossed on chest, knees bent, feet on floor
Clubs are Pushups, Chest to ground

Jokers are a 400m Run

Basically, you deal a card, do the exercise according to the suit, and the number of reps on the card. Aces are worth 11, face cards are 10. When I did this with my class, I set the timer for 20 minutes (since we only have a 30 minute class) and we got through as many cards as possible, but you can do the whole deck if you want.  We did the workout together, and everyone who finished before the last person had to hold until the last person was done (hold in plank position for pushups, hold at the bottom of the squat, hold in a V-sit for situps or flutters). For the run, everyone who got back inside before the last person had to sit against the wall in the Isometric Chair position.

Great workout, fun workout, beats that wintertime indoor boredom!