Day 3 is a ladder. The intervals climb - 10 seconds of high knees, 20 seconds of backfists, 30 seconds of backfist + side kick - and so does the complexity, from a simple sprint-in-place to a strike to a two-move combination. One round is a minute of work, then a minute of rest, at 5, 10 or 15 rounds.
The design gives each interval exactly the time its job needs. Ten seconds of high knees is an ignition switch - just enough to spike the heart rate before the technical work. The backfist is the fastest strike in the toolbox, a whip straight from the guard where the wrist leads and the arm follows, and 20 seconds lets you find its rhythm. The combination gets the longest interval because chaining hand to foot takes more time per rep: backfist fires, and as it retracts, the same-side hip is already chambering the side kick behind it.
Run the high knees tall, knees to hip height, staying light on the balls of the feet. Snap the backfist out and back rather than swinging it - the return is as fast as the strike. In the combination, let the backfist do double duty: it scores and it covers the kick's wind-up, so there should be no pause between the two. Alternate sides so both hips and both hands get the ladder's full length.
Ten, twenty, thirty - the ladder only goes up, and so does everything this program will ask of you.
Make it Harder: Throw the combination from both stances, switching your lead every round.
Make it Easier: March the high knees instead of running them and take the combination at a learning pace.
