Day 26 is all leg raises. The circuit is 20 side leg raises, 20 back leg raises, 20 side leg raises and 20 front leg raises - four exercises straight through, 2 minutes rest, 3, 5 or 7 sets by level. There is no march and no jack anywhere on the card: the entire session is a straight leg lifting in three directions from a standing position.
Side leg raises open and return: stand tall, lift one straight leg out to the side with your hand at the hip, lower, alternate. Back leg raises sit in the middle, sending a straight leg behind you, and front leg raises finish with a straight leg swinging forward and up, hands on the hips. Side, back, side, front - the outer hips get 40 reps, the glutes 20, the hip flexors 20, and the standing leg is balancing throughout, because in every one of the 80 reps one foot is off the floor. It is a lower-intensity circuit than a jack day, but nothing here is done with both feet down, so the small stabilising muscles of the hip and ankle work continuously from start to finish.
Keep the torso upright on every raise and lift the leg from the hip - the moment you lean away from a side raise, fold forward on a back raise or tip back on a front raise, the range you gained came from your spine, not your leg. Alternate legs on every rep so both sides share the balance work. Keep the tempo steady; the circuit's cardio value comes from never stopping, not from swinging faster.
Three directions, eighty reps, one leg on the floor at a time - the hips did every kind of raise this program owns.
Make it Harder: Point the toes and keep the lifting leg fully straight and tensed from hip to toe on every rep - a rigid lever is a heavier one.
Make it Easier: Do the whole circuit with the fingertips of one hand resting on a wall and lift each leg only to a comfortable height.
