Day 25 is tendon strength again, and this time it is seated. Sit on the floor leaning back on your hands, one knee bent with the foot flat, the other leg straight and lifted off the floor. Then run the sequence with that leg: a 10-count hold, 10 leg raises, 10 high leg raises, 10 moves side-to-side and 10 circles. Change legs and repeat the whole thing. As on Day 15, the working leg stays off the floor throughout and the reps are per leg.
Everything happens in the hip flexor and the front of the thigh, the muscles that lift a straight leg against gravity. The hold sets the baseline. Leg raises lift the leg from hover to about knee height and back; high leg raises take it as far toward vertical as you can. The side-to-side move sweeps the straight leg across and back, and the circles finish by drawing 10 rings in the air, 5 in each direction. Low effort, no rest, lots of time under load: the recipe for tendons.
Keep the chest open and the shoulders down while leaning back on the hands; do not collapse into the lower back. The working leg stays straight with the foot flexed, and the heel never touches the floor between exercises. Make the side-to-side sweeps and the circles small if the hip starts to grip; small and continuous beats big and broken.
Sitting down was never this much work for one leg at a time.
Make it Harder: The tendon day works best light, so keep the reps and simply take every raise at a 3-count up and a 3-count down.
Make it Easier: Bend the working knee slightly through the sequence and shorten the hold to a 5-count.
