Day 9 at double length. A 2-minute hold with the arms out to the sides, a 2-minute hold with the arms straight in front, a 2-minute hold with the arms overhead, then 2 minutes of arm circles - once through, 30 seconds rest between the four. Eight minutes of work, and the overhead position held still for 2 minutes for the first time.
The order still sends the arms out, then forward, then up, so the hardest hold lands last and the arm circles close on shoulders that have been still for 6 minutes. The overhead hold is where this card is decided: 120 seconds with the arms straight up and the hands quiet is the longest still hold above the head in the program, and it comes after 4 minutes of holding in the other two positions. Every 30-second and 60-second hold since Day 3 was practice for holding this long, and this is the card that asks for it.
Side hold: level, straight, lifted back every time it sinks. Front hold: parallel, locked, palms down. Overhead: arms beside the ears, shoulders down, ribs down, elbows straight - if they bend in the second minute, straighten them and keep counting. Circles small and continuous for the whole 2 minutes; the shoulders will feel oddly light after 6 minutes of stillness, and the circles are there to move them anyway.
Two minutes overhead is the hold this program has been building toward - Day 27 is where it is finally on the card.
Make it Harder: Repeat the overhead hold at the end - a fifth 2-minute piece, the hardest position done twice.
Make it Easier: Hold each position for 90 seconds and keep the arm circles at the full 2 minutes.
