Dumbbell Exercise Cards

I've had these cards for four days. I think I'm going to really enjoy using them. I'm 70 years old, in good health. My weight is good, though I'm sure my BMI could stand to be a lot better (I do intermittent fasting, and am moderately low-carb in my eating, but I can't completely control my wife's decisions when it comes to cooking pasta, bread and such). I have never been a heavy or consistent exerciser. I'm hoping that with the help of these cards I can make a new start, and follow through with a regular fitness routine that I will stick with. My goals are 1) to rebuild lost muscle mass, 2) get stronger, and 3) to develop a physique that will make people gasp when I tell them my age(!). I do think numbers 1 and 2 are achievable. As for #3, we'll just have to see! One of my problems with exercising in the past has been boredom over doing the same routine every day. These cards should provide plenty of variety. Now the main obstacle will be simply keeping myself from skipping days, which always leads to skipping weeks and then months. But I do feel that by alternating and mixing up different exercises, I'll have a better chance at overcoming such avoidance. There are 50 exercises in the deck, plus some suggested routines for working different parts of the body. I am ignoring the suggested routines and plan instead to follow my own loose and unstructured routine, basically just shuffling the cards and choosing a half dozen at random to work with each day. Since I'm just now starting, that could change depending on how well (or not) such a routine meets my needs. I plan to start exercising for "real" tomorrow. I have spent the past few days, since the cards arrived, trying out each exercise in turn in order to create a whittled-down deck that will meet my needs and abilities. First, I set aside all the cards that require equipment I don't have, such as a weight bench and step-box (or whatever that thing is called). Then, I set aside all the cards with exercises that I found "impossible;" that is, I couldn't do even a single rep. After my winnowing process, I was left with 28 cards to use. I think this will provide plenty of variety, as I'll probably only be using a different half-dozen or so each day. As my strength and confidence improves, and I acquire a bench, etc., I may try to add back in some of the other cards. But I'm not going to worry about that right now. Let's see if I can be consistent and stay motivated with just those 28 first. My plan right now is to do three sets of 10 to 15 reps of each day's chosen exercises. Note that that is purely aspirational at this point! Although none of the 28 exercises were impossible for me to perform when I was trying them out, many were definitely hard. I expect that I'll have to build up to my target reps/sets over some time. This will give me a good goal to shoot for, though. As to the cards themselves, I can tell that a lot of thought went into their design. The illustrations and the instructions for the exercises are minimalist (a necessity for fitting on the card format), but clear and to the point. I had no trouble understanding any of them. In the past I have tried following exercises from books, YouTube videos and fitness apps, but I think having these cards at hand will be much more usable. They'll be easy to flip through, shuffle up, and lay out close to where I'm exercising, and therefore more readily referenceable. I'm glad I bought these cards, and am optimistic that they'll be just what I needed to kick-start my new commitment to getting fitter.

These cards are *amazing*. This is actually the second set I've purchased - my college kid uses mine on the regular when he's home for break, so I bought him a set recently for Christmas. I love that I can schedule my workout week sensibly and safely - I really appreciate the tips on the backs of the cards! The calorie burn is accurate, if not a bit conservative. Lifting heavier will burn more, but the suggested burn is near perfect for lighter lift days. The HIIT and Core cards are such a nice bonus, too! My favorite part of this item is that I can do my workout...at my pace...without any annoying outdated music or chatting from a trainer, like you'd find on a DVD. I get burned out easily from repetition (as in, the same dry jokes or WHOOO! in a DVD), and have bagged MANY workout programs, but these cards are perfect for keeping me excited about my fitness! The quality of the card is really nice, too - thick enough that they won't bend easily and coated just enough that dripping sweat won't damage them - and you WILL drip sweat!! I'm really impressed with this item and appreciate the price point. I've spent hundreds of dollars on programs in the past that are now hidden away in a DVD case, losing value daily. For about $20, I am again looking forward to my ever-changing workout and health. Thank you so much for a great product!! Happy and Healthy 2018 to us all!

I bought these a couple months ago and looked through them, but didn't use them right away. Shortly thereafter, I ended up buying a used Bowflex so I starting using that instead. I put the cards away and forgot about them. Last week, (8/6/2020) I went to my first ever exercise class "using (bring your own) dumb bells and a mat". I used 5 lb. weights and by the next day, I wished I would have used my 3 lb weights! I'm 50 years old and put approximately 1,000 miles a year on my treadmill. I can run for miles. I actually thought I was in pretty good shape! Well, that workout class proved to me that I was NOT! I was sore for four days! I can't imagine how the others felt that weren't in as good as shape as me! Anyway, I looked around the house and found these cards again and located some of the exercises the instructor showed us during that first exercise and I started doing them (once I healed up) every other day! That first class was a good enough push to get me motivated to start using dumb bells and I was so thankful that I already had these cards bought so I could use them for reference. I laid out some of the cards, about 10 of them, and did three sets of 8 reps. I can't wait to see what she shows us tomorrow! That will be my second class. Only three more and the class is finished. I'm going to take my cards with me and show them to her and see what she thinks of them. I'm sure she'll think they're awesome! Oh, by the way, the instructor was using 10 lb. weights and flung them around like nothing. She was 45 years old and a petite little thing. She really kicked my BUTT and I can't wait to tell her so! Use the cards! They're fun and easy to use and if you keep it up, you might end up being a real hot mama or a ripped, toned man in just a few months! No pain, no gain.

The negative first - For this price, I think they could have been slightly larger, something to add a bit more value or perhaps easier to read. I don't mind the price point. The value doesn't quite feel it matches the price. The positive - These are nice cards and seem to be well made. The idea is great as is the diverse selection of exercises in this deck. The neutral - The print is a little small. I can read it, but my middle-aged eyes have to work at it just a bit. This is another argument for making the cards a bit larger (without increasing the price). What they helped me accomplish - In the sea of workout books, websites, etcetera there is just no easy way to simply put together a workout. These cards solve that problem. The deck I purchased has enough basic exercises for me to put together a workout that should help me get back in shape. There are plenty of more advanced exercises included as well. Photos are on one side, instruction and tips are on the other. There are even cards that suggest different ways to combine the exercises for different types of workouts and/or intensity of workouts. These make a great cheat sheet or an exercising for dummies (like me) solution. Simple but brilliant! I purchased the dumbbell deck 1 and bodyweight deck 1 decks. This review reflects how I feel about both. I also purchased the clear plastic cases to store them in. The cases will be useful. Again, they are a bit overpriced.

These are great if you're 52, out of shape, and want to do SOMETHING, but don't know how to start! Everyone knows that it's important to do weight-bearing exercises, but if you've never done this before, it can be intimidating. So, here's why I love these cards: They are simple -- I don't want to wade through a bunch of information about each muscle group in my body -- I just want to know HOW to do some exercises. I like the pictures -- they're simple. If I want a bit more info about form and timing, that's on the back of the card. I like that I can pick out a series of 'lower body', 'back', 'core' and 'upper body' cards so I get a little bit of everything in one 30 minute session. I like that they are rated (easy to hard) so I was able to pick out cards that were 'easy' when I started using them and I will work up to the more difficult exercises once I've been at this a while. My MOST favorite thing about the cards is that they lay flat on the floor or table -- I HATE when you're trying to follow information from a book and it's impossible to keep it open and flat. Also, being individual cards, you can shuffle them around and change up the work out -- keeps it interesting and you don't get bored! I'm so glad I bought them!

Very comprehensive set of cards with 6 pre-arranged workouts for targeting specific areas like chest and triceps, shoulders, core, biceps, legs and glutes and extra cards for setting up your own routines. It would have been nice if they had arranged the cards to align with the workouts but it is simple enough to put them together. I am working on 3 areas right now and have the routines in photo album pages left over from my wedding 30 years ago. Ha! Cards are a nice size, larger than playing cards, on heavy card stock. They have a picture of the exercise on the front and a description on the back. There is also a warm-up stretching card for getting the juices flowing before diving into the real routine. All in all very pleased with how this has helped me get my routines organized.

Just got these cards and I love them. Very easy to understand and use. I actually prefer this method over using a video because I can go at my own pace and concentrate on getting my form right and listen to my own music. I use them at home which is nice because they don’t take up much space, but they would be so easy to travel with or take to the gym, too. The cards come with workouts for different body parts, like today I did lower body and shoulders. I’m starting as a beginner so I didn’t even use weights and I still worked up a sweat. There’s also a HIIT card for a quick 15 minute all body workout. I’m impressed with how good they are and am excited to set some goals using them!

Shows more execises than anybody could do in one session. Best to pick the one's you want and order them into suitable routine.