Bodyweight Workouts: The Only Equipment You Need is a Deck of Cards

I was once an avid powerlifter. I lived to throw around lots of heavy iron and loved every minute of it. I was also a personal trainer for a while and always put my clients through tough weight training sessions to get results. That all changed in 2002.

To make a long story short, I had an pretty bad accident one day. The end result? A serious back injury, serious enough in fact to end my powerlifting.

I kept lifting weights, with a much lighter routine, after my initial therapy, but things got worse and I was facing surgery. I was not keen on surgery, and definitely did not want to follow in the footsteps of others in the powerlifting world that kept at lifting through operation after operation, tearing down their bodies in the process.

I started looking at alternatives and through lots of trial and research, came up with several bodyweight workouts that fit the bill. I have since added back some machine work and dumbbell exercises that don't aggravate my injury, but my bodyweight routines are still the center of my workouts.

One of my favorite bodyweight routines does involve one piece of equipment, but it is a cheap piece of equipment, so don't fret. What is this cheap workout tool? A deck of cards!

That is right, a deck of playing cards. Now this workout is challenging, but also customizable for your fitness level. First thing you want to do is get out a sheet of paper and on one side write down the suits on the cards as well as the joker. Now choose an exercise to go with each suit and the joker.

The choices I usually make are a form of squats for Spades, push-ups for Clubs, crunches for Diamonds, pull-ups (if you have a bar) or towel door rows for Hearts, and either sprints or squat-jumps for Joker.

These are my main choices, but I do alternate exercises from workout to workout. This is one of the ways to alter the workout to your fitness level. You can choose more or less intense exercises depending on what you can handle. Only use my recommendations as a starting point to your own program.

Now, shuffle the cards and put the deck on the paper next to the exercise and suits list. The object now is to deal a card and perform the exercise for the number of reps on the card that corresponds to the suit. The breakdown is a bit different than when playing cards and is such.

number cards- do the number of reps on the card
aces- perform 11 reps
jacks-perform 12 reps
queens-perform 13 reps
kings-perform 14 reps
joker-perform 15 reps or 10 seconds x 4 sets if sprinting

Now, deal a card and go. Perform your set and wait 10 seconds, then deal the next card. Keep at this but watch yourself. As you get more fatigued, take more time between cards. If you get to the point where you are out of breath, either take an extended break or end the workout if you are over exerted. Count the number of cards you have dealt when you reach your stopping point and try to extend the number of cards you can deal with each workout.

Once you get to the point where you can deal the whole deck with just 10 seconds between each card, you, my friend, are in pretty good shape. At this point, pick more challenging exercises, add some weight training or machines into the mix, or add more sprinting. The sky is the limit.

Whether, like me, you are dealing with an injury and need a workout that does not cause more injury damage, or if you are traveling, strapped for time, or just want to shake things up a bit, give this workout a try!

The most important thing to remember is this, make it fun.