Day 6 changes the shape of the workout entirely. There are only two exercises, and they alternate down the card: 10 step half jacks, 2 side leg raises, 10 step half jacks, 2 side leg raises, and so on for four rounds - eight short bursts, one after another, without a pause between them. That whole ladder is one set. Then rest 2 minutes and start again from the top for 3, 5 or 7 sets. It reads longer than it feels: 48 movements per set, done in a rhythm.
The pairing is a rhythm changer. Step half jacks are the legs-only version of the step jack - feet together, step out wide, step back, arms staying down at your sides - and ten of them go by fast enough that your heart rate climbs while your upper body rests. Every ten reps, the pattern breaks for 2 side leg raises: standing tall, lift one straight leg out to the side with your hand at your hip, lower it, then the other leg, one per side. Two reps is not much, but they interrupt the stepping rhythm just enough to make you rebalance and reset before diving back into the next ten. The card is asking you to move continuously for a full ladder, and the little side raises are the punctuation.
Keep the step half jacks brisk and light - it is the stepping that keeps the heart rate up, so do not let them slow to a stroll. On the side leg raises, stand upright and lift the leg from the hip without leaning away from it; the height of the leg matters less than keeping the torso still. Move from the last half jack straight into the first leg raise without a break, and from the second leg raise straight back into stepping.
Two exercises, eight little bursts, one continuous rhythm - the first ladder day is a lesson in not stopping.
Make it Harder: Move through the entire ladder without a single breath's pause between the half jacks and the leg raises, and match the tempo of round four to round one.
Make it Easier: Take a five-second breather each time you switch exercises inside the ladder and start at Level I.
