Most people find bodyweight exercises and other such exercises to be boring or difficult (or both!), even though those exercises can yield tremendous overall health benefits. In various psychology circles there is a belief that to motivate people to start a new habit you should use things that they already know and love, and you would incorporate those activities with the area needing motivation. You are now going to discover how to use this psychological technique with motivating other people (and maybe even yourself!) to exercise.

Currently in the United States, many people have a passion for card games; and they play them whenever they can. Whether they play blackjack at the casinos, play in poker tournaments on Friday nights, or play bridge with friends at home many people are passionate about their card games. Chances are that these people own a deck of cards, and they most likely associate a deck of cards with something fun. If you want to get in better shape, still have fun with your friends, and not spend a dime on gym memberships then you will enjoy the Aces High Workout!

The benefits of the Aces High Workout are that it:

* Is free (except for the cost of a deck of cards)
* Can be done in just about location
* Can be done while traveling
* Can be done outdoors or indoors, especially if the weather is bad
* Builds camaraderie with friends
* Is a different workout every time
* Will help you look better
* Makes getting in better shape fun because you will have friendly competition
* Increases your “functional” muscles; these are muscles you can use for everyday activities such as housecleaning, yard work, gardening, playing with your kids, etc.

Here is a quick list of exercises you can do just about anywhere:

* Bodyweight squats
* Regular pushups (or kneeling pushups)
* Wall “sits”
* Jumping jacks
* “Hindu” pushups (or “Dive Bomber” pushups”)
* Climbing a flight of stairs
* Sit-ups
* Crunches
* Lunges
* Step-ups
* Any of the “animal crawls” such as the Bear Crawl
* Shadow boxing
* Any of the advanced bodyweight exercises with which you are familiar

The structure of the Aces High Workout has lots of room for variety, so you and your friend can decide on which exercises you will do. For example, you could choose a specific exercise for a certain card “suit” (Clubs, Diamonds, Spades, and Hearts). Or you could select a certain exercise for odd-numbered cards, a certain exercise for even-numbered cards, and a certain exercise for “face” cards (Jacks, Queens, Kings, Aces, and Jokers). If you decide to play a game of “War”, each of you draws a card. The winner is the one with the highest-value card, and the other person has to do that number of the specified exercise. If you decide to play a game of poker, you could predetermine a specific exercise for the type of winning hand. For example, if you win with “Three of a Kind” then the other person has to do pushups. If you were to win the hand with a “Full House” then the other person has to climb stairs, etc.

You can also modify these recommendations for other card games.

Here is an example of the Aces High Workout based off of the card game “War”:

* Clubs: Crunches
* Aces: Pushups
* Diamonds: Bodyweight squats
* Hearts: Step-ups

If you draw a 6 of Hearts and your friend draws a 9 of Clubs, you would lose the hand and have to do 9 crunches (because it was a Club suit which won). After a few seconds, you each would draw again and follow until the deck is completed. As you can imagine, the variety is huge and it can be fun. You also can change the incentive so that the person with the high card “wins” and gets to do the exercise. This may be more useful as you will associate winning with exercising. It is a useful psychological technique, and it can be applied to other areas of your life if you wish. We hope that you enjoy the Aces High Workout and find it to be fun, full of variety, and a way to have a great workout with a friend so that both of you get in even better shape!