Day 19 runs the day's work in reverse order to the usual: it starts low and finishes with a hold. The circuit is scissors, a raised legs hold, reverse crunches and a crunch hold - 30 seconds each, two minutes total. Three of the four keep your legs off the floor, and the one that does not asks you to lift your shoulders instead.
The card divides neatly into two pairs, and each pair is a movement followed by a held position that keeps the same muscles busy. Scissors work the lower abs with straight legs alternately crossing and rising just clear of the floor, and the raised legs hold immediately afterwards stops the movement dead while keeping the legs exactly where the last scissor left them - the same demand, minus the relief that movement provides. Reverse crunches then draw the knees in and peel the hips off the floor, and the crunch hold finishes from the other end of the body, with the feet planted and the shoulder blades held clear of the ground. Lower abs twice, upper abs twice, and no negotiating in between.
In scissors, keep the legs straight and the lower back pressed flat; if it starts to arch, lift the legs higher. In the raised legs hold, keep the arms alongside your hips rather than propping yourself up on your elbows. In reverse crunches, lift with the abs and resist the urge to swing the knees. In the crunch hold, keep a fist-sized gap between your chin and your chest and hold the height rather than pulsing.
Nothing here leaves the floor except your legs and your shoulders - and neither one comes back down.
Make it Harder: Keep your head and shoulders lifted off the floor for the whole 30 seconds of scissors as well.
Make it Easier: Rest your head on the floor during scissors and let your hands sit under your hips.
