Day 7 closes the first week with a cardio circuit that hops. Five moves at 20 reps: jumping jacks, toe tap hops, hop heel clicks, plank jacks and plank jump-ins, one after the other for a set, 2 minutes rest, 3, 5 or 7 sets. Three of the five are new, and all three of the standing ones leave the ground.
Toe tap hops raise one knee across the body with the foot turned in, and the opposite hand reaches down to tap it while the standing leg gives a small hop; then the other side. Hop heel clicks jump off two feet, click the heels together in the air and land with the feet apart. Both are quick, coordination-heavy movements that keep the heart rate up without a long ground contact. After the plank jacks, plank jump-ins finish the set: from a plank, jump both feet in toward the hands to land in a crouch, then jump them back out. That is the loading half of a burpee, kept low and repeated - it is a big move for the hip flexors and abs, and it lives at the end where the legs are already warm.
Toe tap hops are totals, 10 per side. Keep the hops small and the landings quiet - the height of the jump is not the point, the rhythm is. In plank jump-ins keep the hands planted and the hips low as the feet land near the hands, and jump back out to a full plank every rep, not a shortened one.
Seven days in, the program hops - and the move that opened the week is the one that closes it.
Make it Harder: Land the plank jump-ins in a low squat and stand tall for a moment before dropping back into the plank.
Make it Easier: Walk the feet in and out one at a time on the plank jump-ins.
