Day 26 stacks the step jacks and works the hips between them. The circuit is 20 step jacks, 20 back leg raises, 20 step jacks, 10 side leg raises, 20 step jacks, 10 side leg raises and 20 step jacks - one pass, 2 minutes rest, sets by level. Four blocks of step jacks - 80 per set, as on Day 14 - with back and side leg raises as the fillers this time instead of arm work.
The card is the hip day and the step-jack day combined. Back leg raises at 20 come first, alternating legs, glutes lifting a straight leg behind from a tall stance while the arms rest. Side leg raises follow twice, at 10 each, sweeping the leg out to the side from the hip. Between and around them, four blocks of step jacks keep the whole body moving overhead and sideways at a rhythm you can hold. It is one of the higher-volume even days in the program - 80 jacks and 40 leg raises - and every rep of it is on the floor with no bounce.
In step jacks, wide step, full overhead reach, even pace across all four blocks. In back leg raises, lift from the glute, torso tall, no arch in the lower back - a modest height done properly. In side leg raises, heel leads, standing leg soft, torso vertical.
Eighty step jacks and forty leg raises with both feet on the floor throughout - the even days have grown into full workouts of their own.
Make it Harder: Harder is tomorrow's job - if you want to add something, hold the top of every fifth leg raise for a 2-count and leave the jacks alone.
Make it Easier: Trim the second and third blocks of step jacks to 10.
