The Dice Game: A Wind-Proof Alternative to the Deck of Cards Workout | Tom Rowland Podcast Ep. 541

Tom Rowland, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast and professional saltwater angler, introduces the Dice Game -- a portable, wind-proof alternative to his popular deck of cards workout that he's used in countries around the world. If you've ever tried doing a deck of cards workout in Florida or anywhere it's really windy, you know the problem: your cards blow away. In this solo Physical Friday episode, Tom reveals the simple two-dice system he's been testing that uses blank wooden dice to create infinitely scalable, infinitely variable workouts you can do anywhere. He shares the specific exercises he assigns to each die face, explains why he leaves one side as a "joker" for on-site opportunities, and even admits he might have gotten too aggressive ordering a 100-sided dice that looks like a golf ball. This is the workout system Tom packs when he doesn't know what equipment will be available.

Why the Deck of Cards Doesn't Work in the Wind

Tom's deck of cards workout has been his travel companion to many different countries, hotel rooms, and locations all over the place. You shuffle the cards, face cards are 10, aces are 11, and you assign an exercise to each suit. Simple, effective, portable. But there's one problem Tom kept running into: wind. In Florida and many of the places anglers go to fish, it's really windy. Your cards blow away. Tom had been struggling with this problem and coming up with different workouts when conditions made the deck of cards impossible. That's when he started playing around with using dice as an alternative game system. His friend Max Baumgartner gave him some blank dice, and Tom had been wanting to test this workout idea for a while. Tom explains the full problem and his solution starting at 1:53.

How to Build Your Own Dice Game System

The setup is remarkably simple and cheap. On Amazon, you can get a pack of 60 wooden unfinished blank dice -- basically just 60 wooden cubes with six sides -- for $10 or $11. You can probably find them even cheaper at your hobby shop or buy them individually. All you need is two or three or four dice. Tom assigns an exercise to each side of one die: burpees, push-ups, sit-ups, flutter kicks times 10, squats, and a joker side he leaves open for whatever opportunities he finds on-site. The second die has numbers: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30. Roll both dice together and you might get 30 burpees, then 5 sit-ups, then 15 squats. Tom sets a time limit -- maybe 30 minutes, 20 minutes, or 15 minutes -- and keeps rolling for that duration. The complete setup instructions and exercise assignments start at 3:17.

The Joker Side and On-Site Adaptations

One of the smartest elements of Tom's system is leaving one side of the exercise die blank as a "joker." Since this workout is intended for use on the road where you don't know what equipment you'll have or what opportunities you'll find, the joker allows for spontaneous adaptation. When Tom and his crew were doing workouts at ICAST, he found a bus stop that had a perfect place to do pull-ups. In that situation, the joker became pull-ups. Maybe there's a parking garage you can run up -- the joker becomes running up the parking garage, and the number doesn't mean anything. You can leave one side open for whatever you discover on-site. Tom even took this concept further, ordering a 100-sided die that looks like a golf ball with numbers from 1 to 100. Tom reveals what happened when he tried the 100-sided die and whether it actually works at 6:46.

Advanced Variations with Equipment

Tom takes the system even further for situations where you have a little bit of equipment with you. Imagine you have a kettlebell or dumbbell. You'd keep one die with bodyweight movements like the original setup, then create another die with all dumbbell or kettlebell movements: dumbbell swing, dumbbell snatch, dumbbell squat, dumbbell lunge, dumbbell overhead walking lunge. Now you roll three dice -- two exercise dice and one number die. You might roll 30, and the first exercise might be pull-ups, the next might be swings. So you do 30 pull-ups, then 30 swings, then roll again. The system is infinitely scalable and infinitely variable. Tom has a pack of 60 dice, so the possibilities for creating custom workout combinations are nearly endless. The full equipment variation explanation starts at 7:40.

Final Thoughts from Tom

I'm really excited about this system because it solves a real problem I kept running into on the road. The deck of cards has been my go-to for years, but I can't tell you how many times I've been on a pool deck or beach somewhere trying to work out and watching my cards scatter in the wind. This is so simple -- just throw two dice in your bag and you've got a workout anywhere you go.

What I really love is how customizable it is. You can make it yours. Use your imagination with the exercises you assign to each side. And if you come up with great variations, send them to me at podcast@saltwaterexperience.com. I've got 60 blank dice, so if your ideas are great, I'll put them on my dice and give them a try.

The beauty of this is the same as the deck of cards -- it removes the decision fatigue. You don't have to think about what workout to do or how many reps. Just roll the dice and do what comes up. Between this and the deck of cards, you can keep things interesting for a week on the road. This Physical Friday tip is one you'll actually use, I promise you that.