Day 8 starts the second lap through the program's templates, and it opens face down. Shoulder taps in a plank position hold slots one, three and five; push-ups, prone reverse flys and W-extensions rotate through the rest. One minute, one minute's rest, 3, 5 or 7 sets by level. This is the upper body strength day, and the floor is the gym.
The shoulder taps are the thread: from a straight-arm plank, each hand leaves the floor to touch the opposite shoulder, which quietly converts a two-arm hold into a series of one-arm ones. Push-ups arrive in slot two while you are freshest - the most expensive exercise placed exactly where you can still afford it. Then the session flips over: prone reverse flys sweep the arms wide off the floor and W-extensions pull the elbows down and back, both loading the rear shoulders and upper back - the pulling muscles that balance out all the pushing that came before them.
In the shoulder taps, set your feet a little wider and fight to keep your hips level as each hand lifts - the tap is easy, the not-twisting is the exercise. Push-ups travel chest-to-floor-and-back at whatever speed keeps them honest. In both prone exercises, hover the arms and chest off the ground throughout and lead from between the shoulder blades, squeezing at the top of every rep.
Push, tap, sweep - ten seconds at a time, your upper body covers both sides of its own ledger.
Make it Harder: Bring your feet together for every shoulder tap slot - a narrower base, a livelier fight for balance.
Make it Easier: Take the shoulder taps and push-ups from your knees and keep the prone work as written.
