Space Cowboy is a plank and strike workout - three 10-count plank holds, each followed by two rounds of upper body striking: elbow strikes, upward elbow strikes, punches, overhead punches, backfists and bicep extensions. Some people call it a gunslinger's conditioning session. Some call it Maurice. Either way, it trains your shoulders, arms and core from two completely different directions.
The structure alternates between stillness and speed. Each plank hold loads the shoulders isometrically - the deltoids and core stabilizing your entire bodyweight without moving. Then you stand up and immediately ask those same shoulders to produce fast, repeated rotational power. That contrast is the training effect: strikes thrown on pre-fatigued shoulders demand more from your stabilizers and build endurance that fresh-armed punching never touches. By the third plank, your arms know exactly what they have been through.
In the plank, keep a straight line from head to heels - hips sagging or piking both cheat the hold. On elbow strikes, rotate your hips and shoulders together; the power comes from your torso, not your arm. Extend punches and backfists fully without locking out hard, and keep your guard hand up at your chin between strikes because habits are built in training.
Somewhere out beyond the atmosphere, your shoulders are filing a complaint. Ride on.
Make it Harder: Extend every plank hold to a 20-count.
Make it Easier: Perform the plank holds on your knees.
