Epic Kids, January 2022

The Deck of Cards Challenge

I hope you had a great holiday season and that you’re ready to dominate your goals in 2022.

I’ll be trying out for football this year and need to increase my strength. This month’s challenge will help anyone looking to get stronger––both mentally and physically.

For this challenge, all you need is a deck of cards, some water to stay hydrated, and enough room to do push-ups. Push-ups are an excellent exercise to strengthen your core, chest, shoulders, and triceps.

The Process Shuffle the deck of cards and place them face down in front of you. Next, draw the top card from the deck and place it face up. The number that is showing will tell you how many push-ups to complete. Face cards (king, queen, jack) are worth 10, aces are worth 15, and the joker cards are worth 20. For example, if the card is a 6, you would complete six push-ups. Continue to draw the cards and do the number of push-ups needed until you complete the whole deck.

There are 52 cards in the deck and two jokers. If you’re able to complete the entire challenge, you will have done 440 pushups. Another variation is to do push-ups on the red cards (hearts and diamonds) and squats on the black cards (clubs and spades). You can get as creative as you want with this, or just keep it simple.

Don’t be discouraged if you can’t complete the entire deck. Keep practicing and you’ll get better.

How to Do a Push-Up

Get on the floor on all fours, positioning your hands slightly wider than your shoulders. Don't lock out the elbows; keep them slightly bent. Extend your legs back so you are balanced on your hands and toes, your feet hip-width apart.

1. Contract your abs and tighten your core by pulling your belly button toward your spine.

2. Inhale as you slowly bend your elbows and lower yourself to the floor, until your elbows are at a 90-degree angle.

3. Exhale while contracting your chest muscles and pushing back up through your hands, returning to the start position.

Keep your body in a straight line from head to toe without sagging in the middle or arching your back.