Day 44 is a two-part day with a new upper body circuit. Part 1 is 45 minutes of walking; Part 2 is 20 chest expansions, 20 alt chest expansions and 20 march steps, no rest, 3 to 5 sets by level. Chest expansions are drawn with the arms out wide at shoulder height, then crossed in front of the chest, then opened wide again - one open-and-cross is a rep. Alt chest expansions start with both arms overhead and pull one arm down and back at a time, alternating, the other arm staying up.
Both exercises are about the muscles between the shoulder blades and across the chest - the ones that open the front of the body and pull the shoulders back. An hour of walking with the arms swinging keeps them ticking over; these two movements make them work. The horizontal expansion opens the chest and squeezes the upper back at the wide point; the overhead version does the same through a vertical line, one side at a time, which asks the core to hold still while the arms work asymmetrically. Twenty of each, with the arms tensed throughout, repeated for sets with no rest, is a lot of upper back work for an exercise with no weight in it. March steps close the circuit.
Tense the arms through every rep - the resistance is imaginary unless you make it real. At the wide point of each chest expansion, squeeze the shoulder blades together before crossing. In the alternating version, pull the elbow down and back hard, as if drawing a bow, and keep the other arm fully extended overhead. Shoulders stay down, torso stays still. March steps at full height to finish.
Open, cross, pull back - a chest and back session built entirely out of arm movement.
Make it Harder: Hold the arms-wide position of every chest expansion for a count and squeeze the shoulder blades hard.
Make it Easier: Let the arms relax for a breath at the top of every fifth alternating expansion.
