Jeff nippard card workout

THE AT-HOME C.A.R.D WORKOUT NO E Q U I P M EN T N EED ED JEFF NIPPARD INTRODUCTION Hey everyone! Welcome to the official C.A.R.D Workout Training Manual, where I’ll be laying out the rules and rationale behind my new creation for those of us who have already grown bored from running the same basic at-home workouts over and over If you were wondering, C.A.R.D stands for Creative At-home Randomized Drills An old English proverb says that “a change is as good as a rest.” The saying was originally implied in the context of taking a holiday or changing careers, but I think it also has application in exercise science One of the most challenging aspects of training from home is overcoming that feeling of being limited We feel limited on equipment, limited on motivation and limited on fun This feeling of limitation can lead to a much more pernicious feeling of boredom In my 14 years of training and coaching, I have yet to find a mentality more destructive to progress than a bored one In fact, much of modern periodization literature points toward the idea that periodic variation is a central tenet of periodization and program design.1 If we don’t provide enough variety in our training programs, workouts become monotonous and the rate JEFF NIPPARD / CARD WORKOUT of progress is slowed Granted, like just about everything, there is a sweet spot for how much variety we need in training Too little variety leads to boredom; too much variety can interfere with progression However, based on what I am seeing from my followers, the main problems people are facing in the wake of an unanticipated quarantine is too little variety and too much boredom As you’ll see in the pages that follow, this workout accomplishes something most at-home workouts not: a built-in element of randomness The exact workout you end up doing literally depends on the cards you are dealt This introduces a level of variability to the program design that will prevent the workouts from feeling monotonous The idea is to have you go into the workout with some psychological combination of anticipation, excitement and uncertainty The entire purpose here is to make the workouts novel and fun through the introduction of randomness BUT JEFF, what about progressive overload? Won’t all this randomness make it harder to gradually add reps and/or weight over time? Good question Here’s how I look at it Under normal circumstances, progressive overload is very important When doing a barbell back squat, going from to reps with 315 lbs will add size to your quads Going from 60 lbs to 70 lbs on the dumbbell shoulder press over a week period will add size to your shoulders But right now, in our present circumstances, achieving methodical overload like this is not only difficult, but borderline impractical For those of you really gradually adding 1-2 shirts per week to your suitcase to overload your back on suitcase rows, I applaud you For those of you really adding one pushup per workout to overload the chest on push-ups, you’re doing awesome For those of you adding cup of water to a water jug every week for bicep curl overload, that’s honestly smart However, the common theme I keep hearing during this pandemic is one of boredom, frustration and regression For many people, methodically overloading these make-shift exercises is some combination of impractical, unmotivating and ridiculous effort For those people, I present a temporary solution: The CARD Worktout JEFF NIPPARD / CARD WORKOUT CARD WORKOUT The CARD Workout is meant to provide a glimmer of light to the monotony and repetition many at-home routines succumb to It is meant to introduce more variable and flexible components to your routine for the main purpose of making workouts more interesting and as a result, more enjoyable and challenging Remember: as important as overload is, it only works if you’re actually challenging the muscle And, it also doesn’t only work through the addition of weight or reps You can also progressively overload by improving your mind muscle connection, improving form, reducing rest periods (to make the sets more difficult) and slowing the negative All of these strategies are still at our disposal Because much of these workouts are based on randomness, it is crucial to balance out that randomness with sufficient structure Structure will be built into the program according to the three key principles laid out below GOOD TECHNIQUE Regardless of the exercise and the number of repetitions, use a controlled negative and full range of motion on each and every rep JEFF NIPPARD / CARD WORKOUT MIND MUSCLE CONNECTION For each exercise, actively think about squeezing the muscle (or muscles) you’re using This has been shown in the scientific literature to increase muscle activation and may also increase hypertrophy of some muscles.2 Because this isn’t a heavy, strength-focused routine (all reps will be in the 12-20 zone), we want to be harnessing a strong mind-muscle connection as much as possible APPROPRIATE INTENSITY (EFFORT) For every set, it is important to challenge yourself If you are nearing the end of the target rep count and find the set too easy, you can slow down the negative, keep constant tension (don’t fully lock the joint out) and squeeze the target muscle harder to get closer to failure You don’t need to take every set all the way to failure, but you should feel the muscle working hard by the end of every set This routine can be something you follow for just a workout or two when you’re bored, for a single week of training, or maybe it’s something you can commit to 3-5x per week, as long as the quarantine lasts So without further delay, find that deck of cards in your junk drawer or under the pile of chips on your living room table and let’s have some fun while we train JEFF NIPPARD / CARD WORKOUT CARD TRAINING OVERVIEW To begin, shuffle the deck of 52 cards and deal out 20 cards that will be used for the workout (If you want a faster, lower volume workout, you can deal fewer cards, whereas if you would like a longer, higher volume workout, you can deal more cards.) Once you have randomly dealt your 20 cards, turn over the top card and perform the exercise and number of reps according to the guidelines below READING YOUR HAND The suit and the number of each card determine the exercise you will perform and the number of reps If your card is a SPADE, you will be performing a PUSH exercise If your card is a CLUB, you will be performing a PULL exercise If your card is a HEART, you will be performing a LEGS exercise If your card is a DIAMOND, you will be performing an ISOLATION exercise JEFF NIPPARD / CARD WORKOUT To choose your specific exercise, refer to the EXERCISES heading below To determine how many reps you will perform and the rest you may take between sets, follow these guidelines: • The number of reps you perform is the card number, PLUS 10 • If you have a face card (jack, queen and king), you must perform 20 reps • If you have an ace card, take minutes of rest (NOTE: Do not take rest between card draws, unless you turn over an ace) NUMBER OF REPS AT A GLANCE: CARD NUMBER OF REPS 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 10 20 JACK 20 QUEEN 20 KING 20 ACE (2 MINUTES REST) JEFF NIPPARD / CARD WORKOUT EXERCISES The suit of the card drawn will determine what exercise you perform Simply go through the list of exercises below in order each time you draw a card of the same suit For example, if you draw a spade, you will Exercise under Push Exercises Then if you draw another spade, you will Exercise under Push Exercises, and so on If you have dumbbells or bands, feel free to use them to provide extra resistance on the same basic exercise PUSH EXERCISES ( SPADES) Push Ups or incline pushups Pike push ups or vertical pushups Standing milk jug dumbbell press (serious) [or standing dumbbell press if you have dumbbells Milk jug lateral raises or doorway lateral raises [or dumbbell/band laterals] a For the doorway laterals, the “reps” will be the length of the hold in seconds For example, if you draw a 6, that will be a 16 second doorway lateral hold JEFF NIPPARD / CARD WORKOUT PULL EXERCISES ( CLUBS) Doorway pull ups or tree branch pull ups [or banded pulldowns] Table/Desk inverted row [or dumbbell row] Rear delt flyes with milk jugs [or dumbbell rear delt flyes] Backpack upright row or milk jug upright row [or dumbbell/band upright row] LEG EXERCISES ( HEARTS) Walking lunges (+backpack for weight) [or dumbbell walking lunges] Bulgarian split squat Single leg hip thrust Nordic ham curl ISOLATION EXERCISES ( DIAMONDS) Biceps: milk jug curl or weightless flex curls (squeeze your biceps as hard as possible with no weight) [or dumbbell curl] Triceps: Bodyweight skullcrushers against a tabletop or close grip pushups [or dumbbell floor skullcrushers] Abs: Bicycle crunch or reverse crunch Calves: Standing calf raise (use backpack, milk jug or dumbbell to load) Once you have the last of your 20 cards drawn and the exercise completed, the workout is complete JEFF NIPPARD / CARD WORKOUT EXAMPLE WORKOUT Shuffle the deck Deal 20 cards That’s your workout Turn the cards over one at a time CARD 1: You turn over a of hearts: Do 17 reps of the first leg exercise (walking lunges) That’s 17 reps each leg Draw another card without rest CARD 2: You turn over a queen of spades: Do 20 reps of the first push exercise (pushups) If you can’t 20 pushups, them from your knees If 20 push ups is too easy, incline pushups with a slower eccentric Draw another card without rest CARD 3: You turn over a of clubs: JEFF NIPPARD / CARD WORKOUT 10 Do 12 reps of the first pull exercise Draw another card without rest CARD 4: You turn over a 10 of diamonds: Do 20 reps of the first isolation exercise (bicep jug curls) That’s 20 reps each arm – both arms at once Draw another card without rest CARD 5: You turn over an ace of hearts This means you get minutes of rest After two minutes of rest, draw another card CARD 6: You turn over a of clubs: Do 13 reps of the second pull exercise (table/desk inverted row) Continue to draw cards until you reach the last card and then your workout is over JEFF NIPPARD / CARD WORKOUT 11 CONCLUSION I hope that you will utilize this fun, novel tool to format your workouts during compromised or less than ideal times Be the manager of your own training, your health and continue to seek out tools that assist your training, while at the same time, refueling your emotional tank I hope you enjoy this CARD style of training and as always, please know I believe we are all in this together and I will continue to be cheering for you, including the best results from your lifting experience JEFF NIPPARD / CARD WORKOUT 12 REFERENCES Periodization paradigms in the 21st century: evidence-led or tradition-driven? Int J Sports Physiol Perform 2012;7(3):242–250 doi:10.1123/ijspp.7.3.242 BJ, Vigotsky A, Contreras B, et al Differential effects of attentional focus strategies during long-term resistance training Eur J Sport Sci 2018;18(5):705–712 doi:10.1080/17461391.2018.1447020 JEFF NIPPARD / CARD WORKOUT 13 DISCLAIMER All documents included or exchanged between Jeff Nippard and the Client are the intellectual property of STRCNG Incorporated and are not to be copied, sold, published, posted, or redistributed either in part or in full without my written consent All violations will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law Jeff Nippard is not a doctor or registered dietitian The contents of this document should not be taken as medical advice It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any health problem - nor is it intended to replace the advice of a physician Always consult your physician or qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health Use of the information in this program is strictly at your own risk Jeff Nippard and/or STRCNG Incorporated will not assume any liability for any direct or indirect losses or damages that may result, including, but not limited to, economic loss, injury, illness or death JEFF NIPPARD / CARD WORKOUT 14 THE C.A.R.D WORKOUT N O EQ U I P M E NT NE E D E D JEFF NIPPARD THIS DOCUMENT IS THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF JEFF NIPPARD UNAUTHORIZED DISTRIBUTION OF THIS DOCUMENT IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED AND VIOLATORS WILL BE PROSECUTED | @JEFFNIPPARD JEFF NIPPARD / CARD WORKOUT 15 ... of your 20 cards drawn and the exercise completed, the workout is complete JEFF NIPPARD / CARD WORKOUT EXAMPLE WORKOUT Shuffle the deck Deal 20 cards That’s your workout Turn the cards over one... ridiculous effort For those people, I present a temporary solution: The CARD Worktout JEFF NIPPARD / CARD WORKOUT CARD WORKOUT The CARD Workout is meant to provide a glimmer of light to the monotony and... injury, illness or death JEFF NIPPARD / CARD WORKOUT 14 THE C.A.R.D WORKOUT N O EQ U I P M E NT NE E D E D JEFF NIPPARD THIS DOCUMENT IS THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF JEFF NIPPARD UNAUTHORIZED DISTRIBUTION