COMMON GROUND

No matter your location on planet earth, wether behind bars or poolside at The W, there are always 2 things at your disposal for a tough workout--Bodyweight & Gravity. Throw in a deck of cards and you got yourself a dogfight, You v You. Can you finish it?

THE METHOD

This workout method has been passed around for years amongst calisthenic pioneers, boxers, football players and as mentioned before hardened criminals who are limited to bodyweight and imagination.The concept is simple: every suit (clubs, diamonds, spades, hearts) is assigned an exercise, and the number on each card represents the reps you perform if you draw it from the deck. Count up from 11 for face cards—jacks are 11, queens are 12, kings are 13, and aces are 14. 

My favorite combination to hit full body with this method is to pick 2 exercises for upper body, and 2 exercises for lower body. Let's say spades are pushups, hearts are pull-ups, clubs are squats, and diamonds are lunges, for example. If you draw the jack of spades, you’ll do 11 pushups. If the next card you draw is the nine of diamonds, you’ll do nine lunges each leg—and you’ll continue to draw cards and perform the indicated number of reps until you run out of cards, time, strength, or endurance. 

If you finish this workout you will have completed a total of 416 reps. This method is perfect for switching up your routine, increasing your workout volume, and just straight up challenging.You can mix and match however you like. You can make this workout all one excercise too, try doing only pushups and seeing how far you get. You can also turn this into a partner workout, a you go I go format, individually cranking out 208 reps in record time. 

BOTTOM LINE

This deck of cards workout can be useful when you are on a vacation, perfect for the hotel room or as a beach workout. Keep a deck in your bag for when you want to switch it up and get out of the routine. This will challenge your strength, endurance, and mental fortitude. Try this next time you need a plateau buster to jumpstart your gains.