Hello friends! If you follow me on Instagram, you might recognize the workout method I want to share with you today. I have wanted to share this method for awhile because I love it so much! A fellow trainer taught me this method more moons ago than I’d care to admit. Once you learn it, you can use it for all different types of workouts.

I love it for its simplicity. The method is easy to learn and requires practically zero equipment. Although if you have weights or other things you’d like to incorporate you absolutely can. This method is a great boredom buster and still allows you to use exercises you are already familiar with. This method is super travel friendly, again, you don’t NEED anything special. This method also allows for natural HIIT intervals if that is your thing. I have continued to reach for this workout over the years. And, the best part, it’s actually fun.

All you need for this workout is a deck of playing cards. And a piece of paper to write your exercises down if you happen to be forgetful.

You can leave the Jokers in the deck or take them out. If you choose to leave them in, assign your hardest exercise to the Jokers. Trust me on this.

You will assign each suit (hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades) and the 2s and 3s an exercise. You should have a total of 6 exercises (7 if you left the Jokers in the deck). Make yourself a little list so you can remember which exercises go with which suits/numbers.

The exercise assigned to the Jokers (if using) should be done for 20 reps.

Exercises assigned to the 2s and 3s are done for 15 reps. I like to make these exercises something that is smaller or can be done slower (i.e. crunches or bicep curls). This will allow for natural breaks and create a HIIT effect.

Exercises assigned to the suits are done for the number of reps corresponding to the number on the card. Jacks, Queens, and Kings equal 10 reps and the Ace is 15.

Find yourself a bit of floor space and crank some tunes.

Shuffle the deck and place the cards face down on a flat surface. Turn over the top card and complete the required number of reps for the exercise of the suit. Repeat 51 times, or 53, if you kept the Jokers. Your job is to go through the deck as quickly as possible.

Exercises can be anything you like. If you want to do a HIIT style strength workout, choose all strength training type exercises (i.e. push ups, crunches, lunges). Again, weights aren’t necessary if you don’t have them. You can also get creative with what you have at home. Filling water bottles with either liquid or sand makes great hand weights. And you’re saving plastic from ending up in the oceans, so win-win.

You have two options if you’d rather go the cardio route. You can choose cardio exercises that can be easily counted with reps (i.e. jumping jacks, high knees, mountain climbers, ski jumps) to create your workout. Or, you can change the rep counts to timed intervals (i.e number cards = 30 seconds, face cards = 1 minute and so on). Either method will work.

Using the timed interval method from above is also an excellent way to do a flexibility workout. Assign the suits and 2s and 3s yoga asanas or basic stretches and hold the pose for the required time. Just remember to switch sides halfway.

UPDATE 8/17/20: If you don’t have a regular deck of cards, let your computer or phone do it for you! Click here and all you need to do is fill in the exercises and click begin workout.

Who knew a deck of playing cards offered so many options for exercise? Let me know in the comments if you try it out or if you have other ideas for exercising with the cards!