The deck of cards workout assigns one exercise to each suit — I use spades for burpees, clubs for push-ups, hearts for sit-ups, and diamonds for squats — then you flip through the deck doing the number of reps shown on every card. In this Physical Friday I explain the full rules, including face cards, aces, and jokers, how to scale the deck harder or easier for any fitness level, and the night-before habit that makes the whole system work on the road.
Watch now: press play on the video above and follow along.
Assign each suit an exercise. I use spades for burpees, clubs for push-ups, hearts for sit-ups, and diamonds for squats. Flip the top card: a four of clubs means four push-ups, a nine of diamonds means nine squats. Keep flipping and working until you have gone through the entire deck, which takes about twenty minutes.
All face cards — jacks, queens, and kings — count as 10 reps. Aces count as 11, or as one if you want to scale the workout down. Jokers are wild: make them anything you want, like a run around the parking lot, a mile run, or 10 pull-ups. Most decks have two or three jokers, and you can also just skip them.
To scale down, count face cards as five instead of ten and aces as one instead of eleven; that reduces the volume substantially. To scale up, double the reps on every card, go through the deck twice, or use a double deck. One of my favorites is making all red cards burpees and all black cards push-ups, which works out to roughly 197 of each.
It fits anywhere, it costs a few dollars, and it is available in any airport if you forget yours. I keep a deck in my truck and one in every travel bag, so I am never anywhere without a workout. Buy plastic cards, because you will end up sweating on them. Twenty minutes, zero equipment, any parking lot.
Decide the night before. I set the deck out on the table before bed, and I know that when I get up I am grabbing the cards, walking out the door, and getting my workout in. That single habit eliminates all the uncertainty: no waking up wondering what to do, no wandering around a hotel gym staring at dumbbells. Night before, boom, deck of cards, done. Thirty minutes later it is over.
Here is the complete format, exactly as I run it on the road and at home.
Get plastic cards, because you will sweat on them. Then put a deck in your truck and one in every travel bag, like I do.
The deck of cards workout is certainly not new and certainly not original; it has been around forever, but it remains one of the most effective fitness tools I have ever used, and it fits literally anywhere. I have a deck in my truck and a deck in every one of my travel bags, and if you find yourself at an airport without one, they are for sale at every newsstand. I explain why this old workout has outlived a thousand fitness fads in the episode, so press play above.
A standard deck delivers a surprisingly well-balanced workout: every suit shows up equally, the numbers average out, and the shuffle guarantees you never know what is coming, which keeps your head in it. Roughly twenty minutes takes you through the whole thing. The red-black variation, all red cards burpees, all black cards push-ups, totals about 197 of each, which is a serious morning. I break down my favorite variations in the episode, so press play above.
The biggest thing for staying on your program is deciding the night before. I set the deck out on the table, and when I wake up there is no negotiation: grab the cards, walk out the door, work out. It eliminates waking up wanting to train but not knowing what to do, and it eliminates standing in a hotel gym staring at the dumbbells wondering where to start. I go deep on this habit in the episode, so press play above.
The same 52 cards can humble a competitive athlete or welcome a total beginner. Count face cards as five and aces as one, and the volume drops substantially. Double the reps or run a double deck, and you have built something brutal. No matter your fitness level, the deck meets you where you are and gets the day started right. I explain how I choose my scaling on travel days in the episode, so press play above.
The deck of cards is the ultimate travel workout because it removes every excuse: no equipment, no gym, no plan required, and no more than twenty or thirty minutes of your morning. The night-before ritual does the rest.
Try a deck this week, at home or on the road, and email me at podcast@saltwaterexperience.com with the exercises you assign to your suits. If you come up with something cool, I want to hear about it. Press play above for the full walkthrough.
deck of cards workout · travel workouts · burpees · push-ups · sit-ups · squats · face cards and aces · joker rounds · plastic playing cards · hotel training · deciding the night before · 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. Physical Friday is the podcast's weekly fitness series, where I share the workouts, training formats, and mindset lessons that keep guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen strong enough to do what they love for life.
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