Tom Rowland | The Ultimate No Equipment Travel Workout - Deck of Cards | Tom Rowland Podcast Ep. 757

Tom Rowland, professional fishing guide and host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, shares his ultimate no-equipment travel workout in this Physical Friday episode. The deck of cards workout requires nothing more than a standard playing deck and can be done in a hotel room, stairwell, parking lot, or fully furnished gym. Tom reveals how to structure the workout using the four suits for different exercises, how to scale difficulty with face cards and aces, and why shuffling the deck creates infinite variations. If you've seen Tom doing this workout on Instagram while traveling and wondered how it works, this 20-minute deep dive gives you everything you need to implement it yourself.

The Simple System That Creates Infinite Workout Variations

Tom breaks down the elegantly simple structure that makes this workout so versatile. A standard deck has four suits: spades and clubs (the black suits), hearts and diamonds (the red suits). Each suit gets assigned one exercise. Tom's go-to combination assigns burpees to spades, push-ups to clubs, sit-ups to hearts, and squats to diamonds. But here's where it gets interesting: even using the same four exercises, shuffling the deck creates a completely different stimulus every single time. Sometimes you'll get hit with a cluster of burpees all at once, other times they're spread throughout. You can also swap in any four exercises you want, making the variations truly infinite. Tom explains the full suit assignment system starting at 2:40.

How to Scale the Workout for Any Fitness Level

The brilliance of this workout is its built-in scalability. When you flip over a five of diamonds, you do five squats—that's straightforward. But face cards and aces are where you control the intensity. If you're pushing hard, face cards equal 10 reps and aces equal 11. If you're just getting started or recovering, face cards can equal just 1 rep and aces can equal 1. This means the exact same deck can deliver a beginner workout or an advanced crusher depending on how you choose to interpret the cards. Tom also reveals how he uses jokers to inject cardio bursts into the routine. The scaling system and joker options are explained at 3:25.

Why This is Tom's Favorite Travel Workout

Tom has field-tested countless workout systems during his travels as a professional fishing guide, and the deck of cards keeps rising to the top. The reason? It takes up less space than a phone, requires zero equipment, takes about 20 minutes to complete, and can be done in spaces as small as a closet. He's done it in hotel stairwells, parking lots, and hotel rooms. The psychological advantage is massive too—you never know what's coming next, which keeps your mind engaged instead of counting down reps. Even better, you can pack the same four exercises but get completely different training stimulus just by shuffling. Tom reveals why this beats every other travel workout at 5:36.

Tom's Go-To Exercise Combinations and Cardio Options

While you can assign any exercises to the suits, Tom has a proven formula that hits every major movement pattern. His standard setup: burpees for spades, push-ups for clubs, sit-ups for hearts, and squats for diamonds. For the jokers in the deck, he throws in 100 flutter kicks, though he mentions alternatives depending on available equipment and time. If you have a jump rope, you could do 100 double unders. If you have access to space, a 400-meter, 800-meter, or even one-mile run works. If you're really pressed for time, you can remove the jokers entirely and just work through the 52-card deck. The flexibility is the point—you control every variable. The full exercise breakdown and joker options start at 5:11.

Final Thoughts from Tom

I've been using the deck of cards workout for years, and it's saved me countless times on the road. When you're traveling for fishing or business and you don't have access to a gym—or you just don't want to deal with one—this gives you everything you need in something smaller than your phone.

A lot of people see me doing this on Instagram and they ask how it works. This episode breaks down the entire system so you can start using it immediately. The beauty is in the simplicity and the infinite variations. Same deck, same exercises, but shuffle it and you get a completely different workout.

If you're looking for a workout system that travels well and actually works, this is it. Give it a listen and then grab a deck of cards and try it yourself. You'll understand why it's my favorite travel workout after the first time through.