Day E

On hands and knees. Inhale: drop belly, lift chest and tailbone (cow). Exhale: round back to ceiling, tuck chin (cat). Slow and controlled. Wakes up the spine.

Targets: spine, core

Stand on one leg (hold something for balance). Lift the other knee up and trace a big circle with the knee — out to the side, back, and around. 10 forward, 10 backward, then switch.

Targets: hips, glutes

Hold a wall or post for balance. Swing one leg straight forward and back like a pendulum, 10 reps. Then swing it side-to-side across your body, 10 reps. Switch legs. Loosens the hips fast.

Targets: hips, hamstrings, hip flexors

Feet shoulder-width apart, toes slightly out. Sit back like into a chair, knees track over toes, chest up. Start shallow, go a little deeper each rep. By rep 10 you're going as low as comfortable.

Targets: quads, glutes, hips

Lay on your back, knees bent, feet flat on floor. Squeeze glutes and drive hips up to ceiling until body forms a straight line from knees to shoulders. Hold 1 sec at top, lower slowly. Critical for waking up sleepy glutes.

Targets: glutes, hamstrings

Lunge forward, front foot flat, back leg extended. Place opposite hand on floor inside front foot. Rotate other arm up to ceiling, follow with eyes. Hold 2 sec. Return. Switch sides. Hits hip flexor, hamstring, t-spine all at once.

Targets: hip flexors, hamstrings, thoracic spine

Stand tall. Bend forward, place hands on floor (bend knees if you have to). Walk hands forward into a high plank. Hold 1 sec. Walk feet up to hands. Stand up. Repeat. Full body warmup in one move.

Targets: hamstrings, shoulders, core

On a bench or the floor, on your back. A dumbbell in each hand, handles running side-to-side (the bell heads point left and right), palms toward your feet, floating above your chest — not resting on it. Elbows about 45° out from your sides, not flared to 90°. On a bench, lower until your elbows reach torso level and you feel a chest stretch, then press up. On the floor, lower until your upper arms lightly touch down — the floor caps the range and spares the shoulders.

Targets: chest, triceps, shoulders

Bodyweight alternative

Pushup progression 4 × 8–12

Pick the version that has you fighting for the last rep of 8–12: knees → standard → feet elevated → diamond → archer. Whatever the rung, full range: chest down to a fist's height off the floor, arms fully straight at the top. On the standard-width rungs, elbows about 45° from your sides on the way down — an arrow from above, not a T; diamond tucks them tighter, archer sends the straight arm wide. When 12 gets easy, move up the ladder instead of adding reps forever.

Targets: chest, triceps, shoulders

On a bench or the floor, on your back. A dumbbell in each hand, neutral grip — palms facing each other, dumbbells pointing head-to-toe (same grip as the close-grip press, not the flat press) — held over your chest with a slight bend in the elbows (10–20° — soft, not halfway to a press). Keep that bend fixed the whole time — your elbows never straighten or lock; only your shoulders move. Open your arms wide and slightly down toward your hips — hands tracking level with your lower chest, about 75° from your torso, not straight out from your shoulders in a 90° T — until you feel the chest stretch; on the floor, stop when your upper arms lightly touch down. Squeeze back up like you're hugging a barrel. Lighter than you think — this one's about the stretch, not the load.

Targets: chest

Bodyweight alternative

Sliding floor flys 3 × 8–12

Towels or socks under your hands on a smooth floor. From a pushup position, slide your hands out wide and slightly toward your hips — the same just-below-the-shoulder-line path as the dumbbell fly, and only as wide as you can still pull back — then squeeze them back together as you rise. No smooth floor? Wide-grip pushups hit the same spot.

Targets: chest

Same press, but turn to a neutral grip — palms facing each other, the dumbbells pointing head-to-toe — and tuck your elbows in against your sides (no more than 15° out, brushing your ribs). That tuck is what hands the work to the triceps. Keep the bells a few inches apart (or lightly touching) over your lower chest; lower until they reach your chest, then press up until your arms are straight. Optional: actively press the two bells together the whole time (a "crush press") for extra triceps.

Targets: triceps, chest

Bodyweight alternative

Chair dips 3 × 8–12

Hands on the edge of a sturdy chair or bench behind you, legs out front. Lower until your elbows hit ~90°, press back up. Feet further away = harder. Keep the shoulders away from your ears.

Targets: triceps, chest

Standing, elbows pinned to your sides, curl up, squeeze at the top, and lower all the way back to straight arms — half reps build half a biceps. No swinging — if your hips are helping, the weight's too heavy. Dumbbells put away? Kettlebell curls with the 25 work fine, just awkwardly.

Targets: biceps, forearms

Bodyweight alternative

Backpack curls 3 × 10–12

Load a backpack with books, grab the top handle, and curl from straight arms to a full squeeze at the top. Adjust the library until 10–12 reps is a fight. Direct biceps work with zero equipment shame.

Targets: biceps, forearms

From hands and knees, slide one shin forward across your body so it's roughly parallel to the front of your mat, and flex that front foot to protect the knee. Extend the other leg straight back. Square hips, lower chest forward. Deep stretch in the front-leg glute. Hold 90 sec.

Targets: glutes, hips

Kneel facing away from a couch/wall. Place the back foot up against the wall (top of foot on the cushion), back knee padded on the floor. Front foot flat in a lunge. Key cue: squeeze the back-leg glute and tuck your tailbone under (posterior pelvic tilt) so your lower back flattens — THEN drive that hip forward and stand tall. If you only feel it in your quad, you're arching your lower back; tuck harder and squeeze the glute to pull the stretch up into the hip flexor. Brutal at first. Game-changer for desk-bound hip flexors.

Targets: hip flexors, quads

Sit with legs extended straight, feet flexed. Hinge at hips (not back) and reach toward toes. Don't force it — relax into the stretch and let gravity work. Stretches hamstrings and low back. Hold 90 sec.

Targets: hamstrings, lower back

On hands and knees, widen your knees out to the sides as far as is comfortable, shins parallel and ankles flexed (inner edges of the feet and knees on the floor). Keep hips stacked over the knees, then slowly rock your hips back toward your heels and hold where you feel a deep inner-thigh and groin stretch. Ease off if it pinches the knees. Hold 60 sec, breathing into the hips. More intense than it looks — ease in and let the hips open.

Targets: inner thighs (adductors), groin, hips

Kneel with big toes touching, knees wide. Sit back on heels and reach arms forward, forehead to floor. Then walk both hands to one side to stretch the opposite lat and side body. Hold 30 sec, switch sides.

Targets: lats, side body, lower back