Day 9 at 2 minutes a piece. A 2-minute hold with the arms out to the sides, a 2-minute hold with the arms in front, a 2-minute hold with the arms overhead, then 2 minutes of arm circles - once through, 30 seconds off between each. Eight minutes on the clock, 6 of them without moving, and the overhead position held still for 120 seconds for the first time.
The card builds to the overhead hold. Sides first, then front, then up - and by the time the arms go overhead they have already spent 4 minutes out at shoulder height. Two minutes with the arms straight up, standing, is as much a test of the trunk as of the shoulders: the ribs lift, the lower back arches, the weight drifts onto the toes, and holding the body stacked under the reach for 120 seconds is where the core does its work in this program. The arm circles at the end are 2 minutes of the shoulders remembering how to move.
Side hold: level, straight, palms down, weight centred. Front hold: parallel and straight, no lean back. Overhead: upper arms by the ears, shoulders low, ribs in, and when the elbows soften in the second minute, lock them again without stopping the clock. Circles small and steady for the whole 2 minutes. Feet at hip width and planted the whole time.
Six minutes still, two minutes moving, and 2 minutes overhead in the middle of it - the hold the whole program was aiming at.
Make it Harder: Press the palms together overhead for the entire hold - arms squeezing inward as well as up.
Make it Easier: Rest a full minute after each of the four pieces instead of 30 seconds.
