Review of Beachbody Hammer & Chisel Day 1: Chisel Balance

Day 1: Chisel Balance

I took a week and a half off from working out after finishing my Cize Mini Round. It was a much needed break! I love working out, but sometimes, I just need to take a week off and let everything completely recover. I'm a slow healer. Cuts and bruises take forever to heal, so I would think that my muscles are slow to recover as well. I didn't take a break after 21 Day Fix Extreme, so it was needed after the Cize Mini Round. 

I went round and round and round in my head about what to do next. When I heard about Hammer and Chisel, I wanted to do it and I didn't want to wait for it to come out. It finally came out and I bought it, but then I was scared to do it! After reading about all of these fit people finding it to be a very challenging workout, how was I supposed to get through 60 days of it? I thought about doing Tai Cheng or 10 Minute Trainer or even Pump. I ended up going with Hammer and Chisel because just doing it was easier than stressing out about doing it. I started today! 

Day 1 was Chisel Balance. I didn't see an advanced calendar as a separate option, but the regular calendar gives you options to incorporate the other workouts into the program. It makes the calendar a little messy though. It's still a pretty calendar though.

You need a set of dumbbells for this workout. I don't think resistance bands would work. They didn't have anyone using them in this one. There was also a weight bench, but you can use the stability ball instead. They did have a modifier who used the ball. They did not have anyone who modified the moves to make them easier. Body Beast didn't have that either. 

This program has two trainers, Sagi from Body Beast and Autumn from 21 Day Fix and 21 Day Fix Extreme.  Autumn does the Chisel workouts and Sagi does the Hammer workouts. I've only done one workout so far so I can't comment much about the differences between the two types of workouts. 

This workout consisted of 8 different exercises. It was a total body workout that focused on balance. My balance is horrible. I was pretty scared to do this workout! I got through it though, so don't be afraid of it!

There was a warm up that lasted a couple minutes, but it was weird because it was pretty much just stretching. The new thing seems to be stretching when you're already warm instead of stretching cold muscles, but I did what they said because they are the trainers. The cool down was also a bunch of stretching, but it felt a lot better than the warm up. I got through the workout and did better than I thought I would. The pace was pretty slow for a workout like this so I was able to keep up for the most part. I had to pause during the jump squat things because I needed to catch my breath before moving on, but otherwise, I did okay keeping up.

The Exercises 

One Leg Squat Sits

We held a single weight up by our chests and balanced on one leg as we sat down on the bench and then stood up on the same leg. We weren't supposed to plop down on the bench. I pretty much plopped. I also modified, but touching my other foot down as I stood up. I didn't split my weight evenly between my feet, but there was no way I was going to be able to stand up on just one leg. I might try this one next time without weights and see if I can stand up on the one leg if maybe I use my hands a little bit. We did each side twice with a few seconds of rest between.

One Leg Bridge Pullover

We held a bridge position on the floor, so the shoulders were touching the floor and our butts were up off the floor. We had a weight in each hand and held them up towards the ceiling. Then we took our hands and brought them towards the wall behind our heads as we picked up leg up off the floor. I didn't get much lift with my hips on this one and I didn't get much lift with my leg either. This was a challenging move for me because all of my body parts were supposed to be doing something so the lats didn't really feel much action since I was focused on too many things. 

Up-Down

I've done these before in 21 Day Fix and other workouts, but this was the first time I had used a bench to do them. We held a plank position with our hands up on the bench. We then brought the right hand to the floor and then the left to the floor. Then the right hand went back to the bench and then the left hand.. We did 15 like that and then 15 with the left hand going down and up first. I actually found these easier to do on the bench than on the floor. The incline put more weight on my feet which took pressure off my hands. These were still hard, but when we do these on the floor, I have to go down to my knees. I was able to stay up on my toes this time.

Split Squat Jump

These were killer! So one foot is up on the bench and the other is lunged out in front. You're supposed to lunge down. When you come up, you're supposed to jump the front leg up off the floor and into your chest. I didn't do this on the bench. I knew I'd end up breaking a hip or something. I might try it next time with a tiny hop and put the foot on the bench, but I'm not sure. I had to pause the DVD for these. We did each side twice with a short break in the middle

Renegade Row Leg Lift

We did these on the bench too which was new for me, but it made it easier. So one hand was on the bench and the other hand had a weight in it. As the hand with the weight came up and did a row, the opposite leg went up as well. These were hard, but not nearly as hard as doing them on the floor!

One Arm Press Bridge

Okay so we did a bridge with our shoulders on the bench. Then we did a chest press with one hand as the opposite leg came up off the floor in a 90 degree angle. I did the first set on the bench, but the second leg on the floor. I couldn't keep my hips up and I was feeling it in my back. I still felt it in my abs when I was on the floor. I just didn't feel it in my back which was good.

Balance Row Pistol Squat

These were killer! So we balanced on one leg, leaned forward and did a row with both arms. Then we stood back up and put the lifted foot out in front of us and did a one leg Pistol squat. Oh fun. We did 15 of these on each side and we did each side twice! My glutes were on fire when this was over, My balance is terrible, but I actually didn't do too badly with these. I was pretty impressed with myself actually!

The Worksheet

I'm actually not really sure why this workout had a worksheet, but it had one so I filled it out. 

Polar M400 Screen Shots

Want to Learn More? Watch the video!

Here's a video so you can learn more about the workouts. Be sure to buy from a Team Beachbody Coach so you can get the free workout! If you don't have a coach, you can sign up with me as your coach.