Day 5 is strength again, but delivered the way Days 1 and 3 were: 3 sets in total, two minutes of rest between them, and four exercises you work through in order before starting the list again. That makes this a circuit, and putting strength exercises inside a circuit is a genuinely different experience from Day 2's straight sets - the muscles get less recovery between efforts and your heart rate stays higher throughout. Same goal, different delivery. Everything today happens lying down: 10 bridges on your back, 10 side leg raises on your side, then 10 reverse angels and 10 W-extensions face down. Remember that the side leg raises are a total, so that is five with each leg - do five on one side, roll over, do five on the other.
Every exercise on this card faces the back of your body, and that is the point. Bridges lift the hips and work the glutes, the largest muscles you own and the ones that sitting down all day switches off most thoroughly. Side leg raises take the outer hip, the muscles that keep your pelvis level every time you stand on one leg - which is to say every single step you take. Reverse angels and W-extensions then work the upper back and the muscles between your shoulder blades, and both are the direct antidote to hunching over a desk or a phone. Notice the bridges are drawn with the arms stretched out overhead along the floor rather than by your sides: that is deliberate, and it means you cannot press through your hands to help. The glutes have to lift you on their own.
Bridges: lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat, arms extended overhead along the floor, then squeeze your glutes and push your hips up until your body makes a straight line from knees to shoulders - no arching your lower back to gain extra height. Side leg raises: lie on your side with your body in one long line and lift the top leg using the hip rather than a swing, keeping the toes pointing forward instead of up. Reverse angels: lying face down with your arms stretched overhead, sweep both arms out and down along the floor toward your hips and back again, keeping your hands hovering just above the ground the whole way. W-extensions: from the same face-down position, lift your chest slightly and pull your elbows down and back until your arms form a W, squeezing your shoulder blades together at the end of every rep - that squeeze is the exercise, and the range is meant to be small.
Everything on this card works muscles you cannot see in a mirror - which is exactly why they were worth starting with.
Make it Harder: Keep your chest and arms off the floor for the entire set of reverse angels and W-extensions instead of resting between reps.
Make it Easier: Bend the bottom knee during the side leg raises for a wider, steadier base, and let your arms rest by your hips during the bridges if the overhead position pulls at your shoulders.
