How it Works

Five moves. Fifty-four cards. No plan to write. The deck decides what you do and how many. You just keep turning cards until there are none left.

The five moves

  • Spades — jumping lunges
  • Hearts — push-ups
  • Clubs — air squats
  • Diamonds — sit-ups
  • Jokers — burpees

That is the whole vocabulary. Nothing to look up, nothing to learn, nothing you need a machine for.

The count

  • Number cards 2 through 10 — that many reps
  • Aces — 11 reps
  • Jacks, queens and kings — 15 reps
  • Jokers — 15 burpees

A full deck comes out to roughly 400 reps. Most people clear it in 30 to 45 minutes the first time and chase that number afterwards.

How to play

  1. Shuffle and place the deck face down.
  2. Start a timer if you want a score.
  3. Flip the top card. Suit tells you the move, the rank tells you the count.
  4. Finish the card, then flip the next. Rest when you have to, not when you feel like it.
  5. Your score is the time it takes to clear all 54.

Ways to make it harder, or easier

  • Beginner: pull the court cards out, or halve every count. Same workout, shorter.
  • Partner: alternate cards. One works, one rests. Neither of you gets to choose the easy one.
  • Group: everyone does every card. Last one finished picks up the tab.
  • Brutal: two decks. 108 cards. Do not start this on a weeknight.

What you need

Ten square feet of floor and the deck. That is it. No shoes, no mat, no equipment, no subscription.

Shop the deck  |  Get the cards and dice together  |  Try it on your phone first