STACK THE DECK

I am sure everyone can relate to this comment, " Ugh, its cardio day!" I am an avid gym junkie, however when it comes to cardio I would love to dip out early. Of course we all know that cardiovascular exercise is a vital part of your exercise program. Thanks to my good friend TLC, I have now learned a fun new way to combine cardio and strength training. All you need are a deck of cards, some exercise equipment (medicine ball, boxing gloves, jump rope, variety of dumbbell weights, resistance bands, mat, etc.) and of course some motivating music!

Pick approximately 5-7 exercises to complete in a circuit. For example, jump rope, abs, upper body, lower body. (The first time I did this we did pull ups, push ups, ball slams with med ball, dumbbell squats, abs. For the cardio sprints we did the punching bag and jumping rope). Use a deck of cards to determine your reps. The number indicated on the card determines the number of reps for that exercise. Face cards are worth 10, Aces are the cardio sprints. Cardio sprints consist of 30-60 seconds of jumping rope, jumping cones, punching bag, sprints, squat jumps, etc. Move around the circuit until all of the cards in the deck are picked.

Completing the circuit took about 45-50 minutes. I found it to be a great way to fight off the dreadful cardio required in my program. I would also recommend finding a friend or two to help you Stack the Deck! Good Luck and don't forget to stretch after!! :-)