Full Body Deck of Cards Workout

Published Jan 11, 2017, Updated Jan 12, 2022

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Turn your workout into a game with this full body deck of cards workout that combines strength training moves with bursts of cardio. Minimal space and no equipment needed!

Turn your workout into a game with this full body Deck of Cards Workout

I’m always looking for ways to switch up my workout routine and/or make exercise fun so when I first learned about the deck of cards workout, way back when I was working with a local personal trainer before our wedding, I was so intrigued.

I love this type of workout because you never know what exercise is coming next and you’re never doing one thing for very long! I honestly can’t remember what specific exercises my trainer used for her deck of cards workout, but that’s the beauty of it — you can make it your own by changing the exercises based on what areas you want to work.

The workout I’ve come up with combines four strength training moves that work your legs and arms along with four cardio moves to keep your heart rate up! Most of the moves are basic exercises, but if you need of a refresher on any of them I’ve linked to quick video demos that you can check out.

Full Body Deck of Cards Workout

What you need:

One deck of playing cards and enough space to do move around a bit.

How it works:

Shuffle playing cards and place the stack somewhere convenient. Once you’ve warmed up, flip the first card and do the exercise that corresponds with it (see below). You can continue this process of flipping one card and completing the exercise until you go through the whole deck or until you’ve reached the amount of time you planned for your workout. Move through the exercises as quickly as possible without sacrificing form and try to rest as little as possible between each card/move. This will keep your heart rate up and help you burn more calories!

The exercises:

Every suit in the deck of cards represents a different exercise and the card value equals the number of reps.

Spades: Squats
Hearts: Push-ups
Clubs: Lunges
Diamonds: Tricep dips

Example: You flip over a 10 of hearts… you do 10 push-ups.

All face cards represent a cardio move and you do 20 reps of each.

Jacks: 20 jumping jacks
Queens: 20 plank jacks
Kings: 20 jump squats
Aces: 20 mountain climbers

Example: You flip over a king of any suit… you do 20 jump squats.

That’s all there is to it! And like I said, you can switch up the exercises based on your needs or fitness level. I hope you like this workout! If you try it, be sure to leave a comment letting me know what you think.