Let's go back in time. Wayyy back to a happy time. A time of joy and carefree wonder. A time where summer enveloped us like a warm blanket and it seemed all our worries and cares were a thing of the past. A time of bliss.
The place was Fire Island where myself and nine lovely ladies spent a glorious weekend relaxing and laughing.
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| Lovely ladies relaxing. And laughing. |
Now, when my friends and I are on vacation we do a few things really well. Those things -- in no particular order -- are:
1) Eating
2) Drinking
3) Talking about eating and drinking
4) Sitting on the beach. While eating and drinking.
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| Wavy Lays greeting us in the window |
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| Me on the beach...with a drink called a "Rocket Fuel" with my face literally immersed in cheetos. You're welcome, world! |
Fire Island is many things, but good for a nice long run it is not due to it's lack of long unobstructed roads as well as its tendency to produce massive hangovers. With that in mind, on Day 2 of my 4-day Fire Island adventure, I knew I needed a good solid workout.
But without equipment or a trainer, what's a girl to do?
With that, I introduce to you all the workout I invented slash found on the interwebs (it was a hybrid...mostly I stole it from the interwebs though) called the Deck of Cards.
Things that are brilliant about this workout:
1) Extremely portable. All you need for it...is literally a deck of cards. And maybe a mat.
The premise is simple. Cards mean different things. You pull eight of hearts and you do eight of whatever hearts is assigned for. Six of spades? Six of the spade exercise. You'll get it in a second.
2) It is hard. Like...HARD.
When I invented this (slash stole it from the internet), I actually saw that maybe half a deck was good for first-timers. I scoffed, but then I sweated and swore. So it was good.
3) You could do it alone or with a group.
I myself completed my exercise alone on the deck of our house while a few girlfriends
4) Customizable. If you want to heavy up on different body areas or on cardio or something it's up to you to design something that works. This can also be a negative if you're not a "self-starter," but -- oh, faithful reader -- I believe in you.
And so, without further ado, here is the workout I created in Fire Island that I call "Deck on a Deck"
- Hearts = Push Ups
- Spades = Sit Ups
- Diamonds = Dips
- Clubs = Burpees
- Kings = 30 second plank
- Queens = 10 mountain climbers
- Jacks = 20 jumping jacks
- Ace = WILDCARD that Betsy got to make up something crazy for me to do (or 20 bicycle sit-ups if you don't have a Betsy)
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| Betsy and me. Typical. And Marvelous. #NotImpressed #SaveTheDate |
The workout was crazy for a few reasons. Firstly, I think I had a good little varietal. I'm not sure you were 'supposed' to assign face cards different things, but I did and it worked out splendidly. Secondly, what's crazy is that sometimes you'll pick -- for instance -- 6 of clubs. Six burpees. And then next card is 8 of clubs. Eight burpees! Fourteen burpees!
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| 14 Burpees! Mwah ha ha ha. |
It's not meant to be evenly spread out. It's meant to kick your butt. And that it does.
So, I loved it and I thought you might too. I know I'm going to start carrying a deck of cards with me when I travel "just in case" from now on. If I don't get a workout in, I can always play Solitaire. Or Go Fish if I want to be social.
In closing, here are some potentially helpful links to other blogs and sites with ideas and demonstrations that I may or may not have used as basis for this workout that I "made up."
http://fitnowtraining.com/2011/01/deck-of-cards-workout/
http://pumpsandiron.com/workouts/deck-of-cards-workouts/
http://lifehacker.com/5849412/wednesday-deck-of-cards-workout
Happy Decking!
maybe i'm biased, but i feel bad for people who don't have a betsy.
ReplyDeletealso, best photo of ALL TIME.