The deck of cards workout assigns an exercise to each suit and uses the card's face value as the rep count, turning a single deck into an endless workout generator. It has been absolutely fantastic for me for travel: I put a deck in any of my bags and I know I have a workout wherever I go, with no equipment and almost no space. I even created my own fishing-themed deck with four suggested exercises printed on every suit — over 27,000 possible workouts before you add your own. In this Physical Friday I show exactly how it works.
Watch now: press play above to see the full card-by-card demonstration.
You assign one exercise to each of the four suits. Shuffle the deck, flip a card, and do that suit's exercise for the card's face value. Flip an eight of spades with burpees assigned to spades, and you do eight burpees. Keep flipping until the deck is done. The shuffle makes every workout different.
Cards two through ten count at face value — flip a two, do two reps; flip a ten, do ten. Face cards (jack, queen, king) equal ten in my book, but you can set them to anything: make them one to ease the deck, or a hundred to make it brutal. I usually run face cards at ten.
The two jokers are wildcards with bigger tasks. On my deck, one joker option is 50 sit-ups and the other is a one-mile run, and there is always a your-choice slot — five laps in the pool if you are near one, whatever you want. Jokers let you fold anything into the workout, or you can leave them out entirely.
Two things: it has cool fishing pictures, and I printed four suggested exercises on every suit plus a your-choice option. With just the suggested exercises there are over 27,000 possible workouts, and adding your own makes it infinite. A regular deck works fine too — you just have to remember your assignments.
Shuffle, then flip cards: the first suit you turn over gets exercise number one, the next new suit gets number two, and so on until all four are assigned. Every session starts with a different random assignment, so the workout is completely variable every single time you do it.
Use just two assignments: red cards are one exercise, black cards are another, with reps at face value. One we do is black cards burpees, red cards push-ups — that is a pretty hard one, especially if you add the mile run and 50 sit-ups on the jokers.
Here is the system I demonstrate in the video.
I can put a deck of cards in any travel bag and know I have a workout wherever I go. No equipment, no gym, hardly any space. For somebody who lives on the road between fishing trips and shoots, that solves the hardest problem in fitness: consistency away from home. I get into why this little deck earned a permanent spot in my kit in the episode — press play above.
Twenty-seven thousand workouts from one deck is not a gimmick number — it means you physically cannot fall into a rut. The shuffle decides the order, the suits decide the movements, and you never know whether the wall walks are coming early or late. That uncertainty keeps your head in the game rep after rep. Watch how the combinations unfold in the video above.
If you are like me, this deck will provide a lifetime of fitness in something you can stick in your pocket. No equipment needed, infinite variety, and a workout that travels everywhere you do.
If you come up with exercises or combinations you particularly like, text me at (305) 930-7346 or tag me on Instagram — I would like to know what you are doing with these decks. Press play above to see the full demonstration.
deck of cards workout · burpees · burpee box jumps · handstand push-ups · air squats · pistols · broad jumps · wall walks · sandbag get-ups · travel workouts · Physical Friday
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 habits, and mindset tools that keep guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen strong on the water and in the field for life.
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