Day 2 is strength training, and the first thing worth noticing is that its card is laid out differently from yesterday's. There is no single instruction at the top telling you to repeat the whole list. Instead every exercise carries its own label in red: 10 reverse lunges x 3 sets, 10 calf raises x 3 sets, 10 bicep extensions x 3 sets, 10 tricep extensions x 3 sets. That changes everything about how you do it. You stay with one exercise until it is completely finished before you look at the next - ten reverse lunges, rest 60 seconds, ten more, rest, ten more, and only then do you move on to the calf raises. This is called straight sets, and it is the format strength athletes have used for the better part of a century.
Yesterday's circuit kept you moving from exercise to exercise to keep your heart rate up. Today does the deliberate opposite. Hitting the same muscles three times in a row, with a full minute of recovery in between, means every set gets your real effort rather than whatever is left over - and effort is what builds strength. The rest is doing half the job here, so take all sixty seconds even when you feel ready sooner. The four exercises come in two pairs that cover the body top and bottom: reverse lunges and calf raises take the leg from the hip down to the ankle, while bicep extensions and tricep extensions take the arm from the front to the back. Since there are no weights involved, the resistance for the two arm exercises has to come from you - clench your fists and keep the whole arm firm and tense through every rep, and the movement becomes work instead of waving.
Reverse lunge: step one foot straight back, lower the back knee until it is just above the floor, keep the front shin upright, then push through the front heel to stand. Stepping backwards rather than forwards keeps the front knee in a friendlier position, which is exactly what you want while you are learning the shape. Calf raises: rise all the way up onto the balls of both feet, then lower slowly - the controlled descent is half the exercise and the half most people skip. Bicep extensions: start with your fists up at your shoulders, then push your arms out straight to the sides, staying tense the whole way, and curl them back in with the same resistance. Tricep extensions: both arms go overhead together, hands lowering behind your head with the elbows staying up and close to your ears, then straighten your arms fully - only the forearms travel.
Four exercises, no equipment, a minute of quiet between each effort - this is what strength training actually looks like once you take the gym out of it.
Make it Harder: Put your hands on your head for the reverse lunges instead of your hips - it takes the arms out of the balancing job and hands the whole task to your legs.
Make it Easier: Rest one hand on a wall or the back of a chair during the lunges and calf raises, and stretch the rest between sets to 90 seconds.
