Here in the Mid-Atlantic region it is cold and windy with snow piled up to four feet high.  Folks in the Midwest may scoff at a mere four feet, but I assure you, this is huge for our area.  Clearly, no one is going to the gym, but this is no reason not to work out at home!  Here is a game you cam play at home and the only equipment you need is a deck of cards.

In this game red equals push ups and black equals squats.  Face cards are worth 10 repetitions, aces are worth one and everything else is face value.  Shuffle a deck of cards and spread them out on the floor or a table or wherever.  Turn over a card.  Four of hearts?  Four push ups.  Go.  Turn over another card.  Eight of clubs?  Eight squats.  Go.  The goal here is to try to finish this in under 15 minutes.  Yes, it’s difficult, but think of the sense of accomplishment!  Feel free to shake things up by adding in some squat thrusts or mountain climbers.  Is there some other whole body exercise you like?  Throw in a set or two of those.  This should be fun!  Now have at it!

Push Ups – These can be done on your knees or toes.  Knees up on a cushion, like a BOSU or several firm pillows.  You can alternate regular, wide-armed push ups with triceps push up where your hands are almost directly under your shoulders and your arms graze your sides as you lower and raise yourself.  You can vary the pressure on the push up.  Push outward on your hands, inward, down into the floor.  Feeling feisty?  How about on set of plyo push ups where you push up hard and your hands leave the floor for a second?  Make sure you land with bent elbows.

Squats – So many variations!  You can start with a standard body-weight squat with the movement initiating from the hips and the weight through the heels.  You can do a walking lunge with 90 degree angles in each knee. Split squats, or repeater lunges as they are sometimes called.  You can squat to a chair if you need a break.  You can also do a squat jump.  Begin with your feet shoulder width apart and your hands behind your head.  Do a basic squat, then at the bottom of the squat push off through your toes, extending your feet as your jump into the air.  Land on the balls of your feet and roll back to your heels.

Squat Thrust – Stand with feet together. Squat down and place your hands on the floor next to your feet. In an explosive movement, push your feet backwards into a plank position, jump feet back between hands and stand up straight. Keep you abdominals engaged.  Add intensity by adding a jump after you stand up.

Mountain Climbers – Start in a plank position on the hands and toes. Bring the right knee in towards the chest, resting the ball of the foot on the floor. This is your beginning position.  Jump up and switch feet in the air, bringing the left foot forward and the right foot back, while keeping the hips as level with the ground as possible.  Continue alternating the feet as fast as you safely can for the prescribed number of repetitions.