My friend Priyanka has an interesting way to get exercise in the workplace. It’s a little game called “flipping cards” and it works like this:

On your desk is a deck of playing cards. Anyone can go up to your desk and flip over any number of cards. Based on what gets flipped, you do repetitions of either sit-ups or push-ups. The number of reps done is based on the card’s face value, while the type of exercise is based on the color (black for push-ups, red for sit-ups).

So if someone comes over and flips an Eight of Spades, you’re going to be doing 8 push-ups. If they flip you three cards (10 of Clubs, 4 of Spades, King of Hearts), you’re doing a lot of reps (14 push-ups and 13 sit-ups, in that case).

You don’t have to do them all at once. You can spread the exercise out throughout the day but you have to finish what you’ve been dealt before you leave the office. However, unless it’s a large number (50+), you’re going to get made fun of for not doing them in one go.

(It is considered poor form to demand someone do sit-ups just after having eaten lunch).

I liked this idea and I’ve been trying to get more exercise lately so I brought in a deck of Hello Kitty playing cards that were given to me as a gift a while back.

Priyanka celebrated this by immediately drawing 10 cards for me. Then, just because she’s awesome, she did the same exercises I had to do.

This morning I came into the office to find that someone had pulled for me a full house: three jacks, two aces. 24 push-ups and 11 sit-ups.

Jerks.