The parking place workout is a travel workout where you use the painted lines of a parking space as stations, doing a set of reps at each line until you have crossed them all. A handicap space near my truck had seven lines, and twenty kettlebell swings per line added up to 140 swings on a day I had zero motivation to train. In this Physical Friday I explain how to turn whatever is around you into a workout when you are on the road.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
It is a station workout built from the painted lines of a parking space. I found a handicap parking place with seven lines, set my kettlebell on the first line, did twenty swings, moved the kettlebell to the next line, took a short break, and repeated at every line. Seven lines at twenty reps each is 140 reps, and if you are feeling like a beast you work your way back for 280. The structure removes all the thinking and gets the work done.
Keep it fun, keep it interesting, and remove decisions. Lack of motivation happens to all of us, me as much as anyone, and the temptation to do nothing is strongest on the road after a long day of fishing. Either have the workout written out in advance or use a structure like the deck of cards or the parking lot lines, where all you do is follow the next station. When the format does the thinking, you can turn your brain off and just move.
Almost anything. Kettlebell swings are what I used at Hawks Cay, but it could be 140 push ups, 140 sit ups, twenty double unders per line, or a lap around the block each time you advance a line. Whatever you have with you and whatever the space allows works. The lines are just a counting and rest structure, the movement is up to you.
With seven lines and twenty reps per line you get 140 reps, broken into manageable sets with a short break while you move to the next line. Come back the other way and you double it to 280. That is a real training session built from nothing more than a painted parking space, a single kettlebell, and a few minutes of creativity.
On that trip I had a rowing machine and one kettlebell in my truck, and I only used the kettlebell. You honestly need nothing, because push ups, sit ups, and jumping movements all fit the same line-to-line format. Use what is available to you, get creative, and the environment becomes the equipment.
Do something every single day and never miss more than two days, that is a good rule. The hardest part of travel is staying on your schedule, so the goal is not a perfect session, it is making sure you are not doing nothing. A simple game like the parking place workout is often the difference between a zero and a great day.
This idea was born out of a real moment of weakness. I was at Hawks Cay after fishing all day, tired, with no workout planned and no desire to do the hundred kettlebell swings I had halfheartedly assigned myself. Then I looked at a handicap parking place and counted seven lines. What happened next turned a wasted evening into one of my favorite travel workouts, and the video shows exactly how it went. Press play in the player above.
Here is the exact format I used at Hawks Cay. Swap in any movement you like.
I walk through each of these in the episode. Press play in the player above.
I had the kettlebell out, I had assigned myself one hundred swings, and even that felt like too much. The fix was not more discipline, it was changing the game. Breaking the work into seven stations with a tiny walk between them took all the dread out of it, and the session went from something I was avoiding to something I finished without noticing. I tell the whole story in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Use what is available to you, whether that is the lines of a parking lot, a flight of stairs, or a stretch of beach. The lines gave me a counting system, a rest structure, and a finish line all at once, and that pattern applies almost anywhere you travel. Once you see your surroundings this way, you are never without a gym. I share more examples in the episode, so press play in the player above.
For whatever reason, moving up one line at a time turned my brain off in the best possible way. I was not counting down 140 reps, I was just getting to the next line, over and over, until the work was done. That is the same magic as the deck of cards workout, the format makes the decisions so you do not have to. I explain why this matters so much on the road in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Want the full breakdown? Press play in the player above and listen to the whole episode.
Travel workouts do not need to be complicated, they need to happen. Use what is around you, make it fun, and do something every single day, never missing more than two days in a row.
If you have your own variation of the parking place workout, I would love to hear it. Text me at (305) 930-7346 or email podcast@saltwaterexperience.com and tell me how you train on the road.
Hawks Cay · kettlebell swings · push ups · sit ups · double unders · deck of cards workout · travel workouts · never miss two days rule · Physical Friday · Saltwater Experience
Physical Friday is my weekly fitness series for fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen — the training, nutrition, and mindset to stay in the game for life. Watch and listen to every Physical Friday episode from Tom Rowland.
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. On the podcast's Physical Friday series I share the workouts, nutrition, and mindset that keep guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen strong on the water and in the field, in short, focused episodes you can put to use right away.
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