The deck of cards workout assigns one exercise to each suit — hearts sit-ups, clubs push-ups, diamonds squats, spades burpees — then you shuffle, flip cards one at a time, and do the reps on every card until the deck is gone. Face cards are ten, aces eleven, jokers are wild. It needs zero equipment, scales to any fitness level, and changes every shuffle. This week's challenge: a deck a day for five days, plus everything you need to join my 6:00 a.m. ICAST workout in Orlando.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
The deck of cards workout assigns one exercise to each suit, then you shuffle the deck and flip cards one at a time, doing the number shown on each card. My go-to version is hearts for sit-ups, clubs for push-ups, diamonds for squats, and spades for burpees. Flip a nine of hearts, do nine sit-ups. Flip a seven of clubs, do seven push-ups. Face cards count as ten, aces as eleven, and jokers become a wild-card task like a 400 meter run. All you need is a deck of cards and a creative imagination.
This is one of the most scalable workouts I know. Make face cards worth one instead of ten and aces one instead of eleven, and the total volume drops dramatically. You can also swap exercises to whatever level fits you, and the joker can be anything from a 400 meter run to a walk to the end of the driveway. That scalability is exactly why I use it for group workouts: a beginner and a lifelong athlete can do the same deck side by side.
Anything. My go-to is push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and burpees, because they need zero equipment. For variety, try mountain climbers, flutter kicks, pull-ups, and double unders, or in a gym use kettlebell swings, squats, pull-ups, and grasshoppers with a 1,000 meter row for the jokers. If you want a brutal version, make every red card push-ups, every black card burpees, and the jokers a run. Pick four new exercises each day and the workout never gets stale.
The challenge is to do a deck of cards workout every day for five days in a row, picking different exercises each day. It is part of the Physical Friday summer challenge series, where we test one habit for five days and keep it only if it makes us better. The deck travels anywhere, needs no equipment, and changes every time you shuffle, which makes it the perfect five-day exercise experiment for travel weeks like ICAST.
Every ICAST for years I have hosted an open 6:00 a.m. workout during the show in Orlando, and everyone is welcome whether or not you attend ICAST. We meet at the Orange County Fire Rescue Station 57 at 6014 Destination Parkway, Orlando, Florida 32819, directly across the street from the Hilton on Destination Parkway. We use the parking areas and garage nearby, do some stretching and maybe Wim Hof breathing first, then run a deck of cards workout together for about an hour.
No. The whole workout is built so anyone can join, because the deck of cards format scales to every level on the spot. Face cards can be ten reps or one rep, the jokers can be a sprint or a short walk, and nobody is keeping score. If you are unsure whether you can do it, text the word workout to (305) 930-7346 and ask me directly — I promise you can do it, and meeting the listeners is the best part of my ICAST week.
Here is the full protocol:
I demonstrate the whole thing with a real deck in the episode.
If you have listened to this podcast for a while, you know this is my deal. When I travel, the deck comes with me, because it requires nothing but the cards and some imagination, and the workout is different every single shuffle. There is a randomness to it that keeps you honest — you cannot pace for what you cannot predict. I explain how I have used it everywhere from hotel rooms to parking garages in the episode, so press play in the player above.
ICAST week is here, and that means the annual 6:00 a.m. group workout in Orlando. We meet at the Orange County Fire Rescue Station 57 at 6014 Destination Parkway, Orlando, Florida 32819, directly across the street from the Hilton on Destination Parkway. We will stretch, maybe run some Wim Hof breathing, then do a deck of cards workout together for about an hour. You do not have to be attending ICAST, and you absolutely do not have to be a great athlete — the deck scales to everyone. Text the word workout to (305) 930-7346 with any questions or just to tell me you are coming.
The reason I run the deck format with groups is that nobody gets left behind. The strong guy and the first-timer flip the same cards, but each scales the movement and the count to where they are. There is no leaderboard, just a shared deck and a parking lot. I tell stories from past ICAST workouts, including the year we ran the parking garage stairs, in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Whether you join us in Orlando at 6:00 a.m. or run your own deck in the garage, the challenge is the same: one deck of cards workout a day, five days in a row, with fresh exercises each day.
If you want a little spark every week, text the word mindset to (305) 930-7346 and you will get a short motivational message I wrote myself every Monday at 9:10 a.m., right when you need it. Press play in the player above for the full demo and the ICAST details.
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.
deck of cards workout · ICAST · Orlando · Orange County Fire Rescue Station 57 · Hilton Destination Parkway · burpees · push-ups · squats · sit-ups · double unders · kettlebell swings · Wim Hof breathing · Mindset Monday · summer challenges
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 training, nutrition, and mindset work I use to stay strong for a life outdoors, so fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen can keep doing what they love for as long as possible.
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