Day 22 runs the ladder at its second-highest rung: 7 crunches, 14 flutter kicks, four times through without pausing between blocks, then rest up to two minutes and repeat. Twenty-eight crunches and fifty-six flutter kicks per set.
Three weeks ago this session asked for twelve reps a block; today it asks for twenty-one, and every one of those extra reps arrived one at a time. That is the argument this program has been making from Day 1 - you do not need new exercises or new equipment to keep progressing, you need the same movement and a number that keeps creeping up. Fourteen flutter kicks in a row is now long enough that the lower abs start burning inside the block rather than at the end of it, and the crunches that follow arrive on a trunk that has not been given a rest since the ladder started.
The rule that matters most today is the one about the lower back: flat on the floor for all fifty-six kicks, and if it lifts, raise the legs rather than pushing through. Crunches stay smooth and honest - shoulder blades clearly off the floor, no bouncing off the mat to launch the next rep. Breathe on a rhythm you can keep for four full blocks, because the fourth is where a held breath catches up with you.
Twenty-one reps a block now, and the arithmetic is starting to show up somewhere other than the page.
Make it Harder: Cross your arms behind your head with the elbows held wide for every crunch and keep them there through the kicks.
Make it Easier: Run the ladder at Day 15's numbers - 6 crunches and 12 flutter kicks - and keep all four blocks.
