A straight sets day back on the feet, and the first card of the program's other straight-sets family. 20 bicep extensions, 20 side shoulder taps, 20 W-extensions and 20 elbow clicks, 3 sets of each, 30 seconds rest between sets and between exercises, every exercise done through all 3 sets before the next begins. There is no push-up card today: this is the self-resistance card, the one where every rep is made of tension you supply yourself.
All four movements start close to the body and travel away from it. Bicep extensions curl the fists to the shoulders and then drive the arms straight ahead while the hands open - with nothing in the hand, the arm is worked by clenching hard at the top and driving hard on the way out. Side shoulder taps start with the fingertips on the shoulders and extend the arms out to the sides at shoulder height. W-extensions begin with both arms straight up in a V, pull the elbows down and out to a W, then push back up - the one pulling pattern in the program, worked by the muscles across the back. Elbow clicks bend the arms to 90 degrees, fists up, elbows wide, and bring the elbows to meet in front of the face. Bicep, shoulder, upper back, chest: four regions, four self-resisted movements, nothing to hold on to.
Standing tall is what turns these into exercises. Keep the ribs down and the feet planted so the tension goes into the arms and not into a sway. In bicep extensions, both directions should feel like effort. In side shoulder taps, extend fully and stop level. In W-extensions, pull the elbows down as if against a band and squeeze the shoulder blades together at the bottom. In elbow clicks, the elbows actually meet and the forearms stay upright.
No floor, no weight, no rep you can coast through - the self-resistance card runs on how hard you decide to work it.
Make it Harder: Reverse the grip pattern on bicep extensions - open hands at the shoulders, fists closing as the arms extend - so the clench happens at the end of the push.
Make it Easier: W-extensions get 2 sets today; the other three exercises keep 3.
