Conditioning

Stepped out onto the front porch. Bolted to the stone step sat an antique cast-iron boot scraper. Heavy black iron, flat horizontal blade, zero give. A solid anchor. Reached up and clamped both gauntlets onto the scraping edge. Hauled my armor upward until my visor cleared the crest. Held the lock, then lowered into a dead hang. Repeated the cycle in slow, measured rhythm. Eight clean pull-ups against the cold iron. Released my grip and dropped back to the flagstone with a solid, centered thud. Readiness maintained.