Why not deal yourself a workout?

Phil Black, a San Diego resident who bills himself as a fitness entrepreneur, figured out that a fun, simple way to get people moving is to deal them a few cards.

And so FitDeck was born three years ago, primarily catering to the physically fit who wanted more challenges. FitDeck cards demonstrate hundreds of exercises, stretches and movements.

Now Black has expanded his repertoire to include a 56-card FitDeck for seniors.

“You just shuffle the cards to create thousands of routines with unexpected combinations, sequences and intensity levels,” he boasts on his Web site, fitdeck.com.

Q. You have some 20 FitDecks — including exercises to do with a baby stroller. How did you come up with this concept?

A. I was a student at Yale and my roommates and I played poker and also challenged each other to physical games. I challenged them to a push-up contest saying I would deal out 18 cards and guarantee to do as many pushups as the cards told me to do. I flipped the cards over one at a time and did more than 70 pushups. We found out it was a simple way to get a little workout in.

Q. But how did you get from Yale to this card deck?

A. I was in the finance industry on Wall Street. I followed my dream and became a Navy Seal for five years and learned a huge repertoire of body-weight exercises. Then I became a personal trainer and eventually a firefighter. When I was doing personal training, I had to write down exercises on index cards. Then I thought back to my Yale days and that’s how this idea was born.

Q. What do you know about exercise?

A. I have been a personal trainer. I also worked with exercise physiologists, particularly in areas like yoga and pilates.

Q. Is it a good idea to vary exercise so much?

A. There’s a huge body of evidence that repeating exercises for three weeks makes the muscles accommodate to the exercise. By mixing and matching, you change intensities and repetition. Besides, you don’t get bored and in a rut.

Q. This deck for seniors . . . well, what’s a senior?

A. It can be a 40-year-old deconditioned person. A 60-year-old in fantastic shape might find it too base level. Nothing requires you to get on the ground. You don’t compromise hips and knees. If you achieve all the senior exercises, you can graduate to FitDeck Body Weight. That can be very rigorous.

Q. There’s a deck for travel?

A. This is a great workout for travelers — particularly those sitting in the middle seats. There are neck stretches, calf raises. You literally put the tray table down and do a couple of exercises to feel refreshed.

Q. Some of your other FitDecks are for prenatal exercises, and postnatal also. There’s office exercises and even baby stroller exercises.

A. Why not use the baby stroller to do some exercises as well as a couple of laps around the park or the neighborhood?

Q. I like the type size and the illustrations on the senior cards. Where are they available?

A. Because we just launched them, they are only available from our Web site (fitdeck.com) and some affiliated Web sites. Eventually we hope to have them in retail stores.