Review of Beachbody Hammer and Chisel: ISO Speed Hammer

I started Hammer and Chisel back in December when it first came out, but then I got sick and never went back to it. I'm pretty sure it's my first failed Beachbody experience. I didn't go back to it because I just wasn't in love with it. I'm not a huge fan of total body workouts and this was a total body workout every day. I also wasn't very good at a lot of the moves. There was a lot of balancing stuff in it and I have horrible balance. With all of that said, why am I writing a review of ISO Speed Hammer again? I did the workout back on December 19, 2015 when I did it for the first time. Well, part of the Wild Movement is doing strength training and he suggests total body workouts. That means, I'll be doing some Total Body workouts! Oh joy. Last week, I did Slim in 6 Start it Up. I had planned on doing the second one in the series this week, but hubby actually was willing to go for a walk on Monday so we dd that. I woke up late this morning and he wasn't interested in going for a walk because he didn't want to feel rushed. That left me with either going for a short walk alone, doing strength training, doing nothing or doing the 7 Minute HIIT from The Wild Diet book. I chose to do strength training because I wasn't in the mood for jumping jacks and more importantly, I wasn't in the mood for the coughing that comes with the jumping jacks. I couldn't do the second Slim in 6 workout because I didn't have enough time. That left me with picking something from Hammer and Chisel. I picked ISO Speed Hammer because it was under 30 minutes!

You can see a list of all the moves on my first post about this workout. I didn't read the post before doing the workout and I couldn't remember anything about it. There were 10 moves. We did the first move slow for 10 reps and then fast for 10 reps. Then we moved to the next one. It was nice not having to repeat any moves. I didn't realize it was going to be like that though. I dreaded going back to the lunges again. At some point, I realized we weren't going to repeat the moves and I was much happier. This workout would have gone better today if I hadn't been in such a crappy mood when I started it. I hate waking up late and I really just wanted to go for a nice easy walk. I wasn't in the mood for squats and lunges.I did it though. I wasn't able to do some of the moves as fast as they did. I should have paused the workout and did all of the reps, but I didn't. I just did them until they finished them. I wasn't even counting because my mind was just not into it. 

Once I was done with the workout, I was in a better mood. That hasn't happened before. I was happy that I had done it, but I didn't feel like I had done a total body workout. My hamstrings kind of felt it, but the rest of me didn't really feel like I had worked out. When I was doing each move, the fast reps were challenging and I really felt the last few reps, but overall, I didn't feel too terribly worked over. It was under 30 minutes though so that could be part of it. We only did about one move per body part other than legs. We did deadlifts, lunges and two types of squats. I didn't use weights during the Pistol Squats. Instead, I put my hand on the wall to work on my balance. I just tried to do deeper squats without the weights. My form was still horrible though. 

I'm not sure what else to say. I'll write more about my Wild Movement in another post. I'm less inspired to write when I'm not losing weight. I feel like such a failure with this weight loss stuff. After the drop of 7 pounds the first week, I had high hope for this plan, but my second week showed no losses and my third week has me actually gaining weight. I'm doing well with my nutrition in terms of being low carb, but I am eating more cheese than I probably should be eating. I'm sleeping like crap though due to stress. Maybe I should start up another Beachbody program, but I can't really do that if I'm going to be walking with hubby. ugh I hate decisions.

Okay so I wrote this post like two weeks ago and never actually posted it. I'm such a dork. I'm sure I had plans of putting more stuff in here, but for now this is all you get since it's been too long for me to pick up where i left off on here. 

Update on Hammer & Chisel

What's going on with my Hammer & Chisel Round? 

It's been a couple weeks since I made a post about Hammer & Chisel, so some of you may be wondering what's going on with it. Well, just before Christmas I got sick. I haven't been this sick in a long time! I originally thought that I was just experiencing a reaction to the new guy at work. He's a smoker and I can't be around smoke, but as time went on, I realized that I truly was sick. I had a horrible cold. I haven't worked out since the day before Christmas Eve. I'm still a little congested, but I'm doing much better now and plan on working out again starting tomorrow. I'm not sure yet if it will be Hammer & Chisel. I might take a week to do something less intense so I can get back on track with my nutrition and see how my breathing goes with working out. I don't want to over do it too early. I don't want to fail at another attempt at Hammer & Chisel. I'm not upset about not completing the round since it's only because I got sick. If I had just decided to stop doing it because I didn't want to do the work, that would be one thing, but I got sick. I'm smart enough to know that you shouldn't work out to an intense program like this while sick. My body needed to rest so I did. However, I am a bit bothered by how bad my nutrition went during those two weeks. I pretty much gave myself a complete pass on nutrition. I ate ice cream, chocolate and all kinds of carbs! Eeeeeeek. I need to get back on track with the nutrition and fast! 

Review of Beachbody Hammer & Chisel Day 8: Chisel Cardio

Day 8: Chisel Cardio

I was really starting to like this program after the last couple of days. The last two workouts were fun for me. They were more my style, but then we had to go and mix cardio and weights. I'm just not a fan of mixing cardio and weights. This was very similar to a 21 Day Fix workout. We did each move for 60 seconds with a short break between. There were eight moves and we did them all twice. The only difference between this and a regular 21 Day Fix workout was that this one we did all of the moves once and then repeated them all. In 21 Day Fix, they get broken up into groups of 2-5 exercises.

The Exercises 

Over The Top

This one was supposed to be done on the bench. We were supposed to go up and over the bench, so one foot is on the bench. You hop the other foot up onto the bench as you hop the first foot down to the floor. You then go back the other way. I did this one on my step. The modifier who doesn't have a bench, does the same hopping type motion, but adds some squats. This wasn't too bad on the step. If  really need to get more risers for my step so I can work my way up to the bench height. 

Pull Up

I did these on the floor again with the door attachment under the last hinge. I like doing this better than doing them up high and holding a lunge position. It lets me focus on my lats without worrying about being in an unstable position. 

Dumbbell Swing

These were just like kettlebell swings, but she used a dumbbell. I used my 15 pound kettlebell. Doing Kettlebell swings for 60 seconds is pretty challenging. I didn't hurt as much as she said I should though which makes me think I need to up the weights. I'm not sure though. 

Figure 8

We sat on the floor in one of those C positions. We had one weight that was held in both hands up by the chest. We then circled the weight around to form a figure 8. It was similar to rowing a boat, but we were supposed to go up high in front to really work on that figure 8. This was hard to do for me. Maybe I should have picked a lighter weight for my first time doing it. I got through it though so I guess it was a good weight. 

Burpee

I'm not a fan of burpees as you well know if you've ever read anything about me doing a burpee. For those of you who don't know what a burpee is, I'll explain it. So you're standing up. You squat down and put your hands on the floor. You jump your feet back to a push up position. Some burpees then have you do a push up, but these didn't. Then you jump your feet back to your hands and you stand up. Then you jump. These are the move that always reminds me that I need to find a better bra. That's a big reason for me not liking them. They are just awkwardly uncomfortable and they make me feel very fat. 

Sword Pull

We did these in 21 Day Fix Extreme, but I don't remember which workout it was in. You stand there with one weight in your hand. You do a lateral lunge to the opposite side as the weight. You lower the weight down in front of the lunging shin. Then you come out of the lunge and bring the lunging foot back to the other foot as you arc the weight in front of you so it goes out and up and over so it's now straight out to the other side and slightly above your shoulder. These are growing on me. The first few times I did them, I didn't like them. They made my lower back a little sore, but I must have been doing something wrong, because that didn't happen with these. 

Forearm Plank Kick

I suck at the plank. I was digging the plank for awhile, but then I found out I wasn't doing it right. I was doing more of a Pike. Now I just suck at the plank and any variation of it. I can barely hold the plank. In this we held an elbow plank and then we alternated kicking a leg out to the side. The modifier just tapped one foot out at a time. I didn't know that's what the modifier was doing at first because I couldn't see her, but that's how I modified on my own. I have to come up with ways to modify on my own since I can't always do what the modifier does and there isn't always a modifier. I did as many as I could on my toes, but then I dropped to my knees. 

Side Step Up Kick

We stepped up onto the bench and did a kick. We did the same side for 1 minute and then moved to the other side. I did these on my step again. I really need that extra riser set! I felt these, but I should have felt them more and could have if I had that extra riser. My step came with two sets of risers, but one set is angled which is great for step aerobics type stuff. It works the muscles differently. It also lets you do other things with the step. However, it means my flat step is pretty low and I don't think using the angled part would be safe for these workouts.

This was probably my least favorite of the workouts so far.I thought that Chisel Balance would stay my least favorite throughout, but I actually want to give that one another try. I've come up with a different way to modify the Pistol Squats so I'm curious to see how that works out for me.

The Worksheet

I can't seem to remember to count the reps during these things. I'm okay with that too. Going faster doesn't necessarily mean I've improved, so I don't think counting the number of reps is really an indication of anything.

Polar M400 Screen Shots

I'm still having issues with weirdo readings on the heart rate monitor. Oh well. One of these days I'll figure out how to place that thing so it doesn't do weird things. Maybe I should start duct taping it to me. Or maybe medical tap would be a better idea.

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. 

Review of Beachbody Hammer & Chisel Day 7: Total Body Hammer & 10 Minute Ab Hammer - 1 week done!

Day 7: Total Body Hammer & 10 Minute Ab Hammer

I finished my first full week of Hammer & Chisel. I only have seven weeks to go! I was so excited about this program and then I got scared to try it, but I tried it and I made it through a week. If I can make it through one week, I can make it through another week! One cool thing about this program is that you don't repeat a workout for almost two weeks. The workout from the first day isn't in the program again until Friday of the second week! I love getting new workouts every day. New is nice because I don't go into it dreading anything specific. 

This workout was like a clash between 21 Day Fix and Body Beast which was pretty cool. The format was similar to 21 Day Fix, but the moves were similar to Body Beast. There were three rounds and each round had three exercises that were repeated. Each exercise followed the same format. We did 10 reps followed by a short "rest" which wasn't really a rest for some moves because we held the position. Then we did 8 reps and another small "rest" and then 6 reps. We did each move with that format and then repeated the round after a short break. We were supposed to increase the weights on the second time through each round. I didn't know that to start though so I went a little higher on some than I would have, but I'm glad I did because I still got through the second round. There were a few moves where we did the left side in the first part of the round and then the right side on the second part of the round so we didn't up the weights. Then, we moved on to the next round. There was a warm up of a few minutes. The warm up was pretty much the same thing that's been in all of the Hammer workouts so far. The cool down was some stretching and it was pretty much the same as all of the other Hammer workouts so far.

The Exercises

Bench Press

I didn't realize we were supposed to up the weights for the second time through the round, so I started with 10 pound weights. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do the 15s for the second round, but I did it! These are pretty self explanatory. They were just flat bench chest presses. 

Squat

I started with 15s on these not realizing that we needed to up the weights for the second time through, but I still survived the 20s in the second half. I tried to work on going deeper too. I really felt these, but they didn't kill me. These were just a standard narrow squat. 

Reverse Grip Row

I started with 10s not knowing we needed to up the weights for the second time through. This one scared me. I was pretty sure that I would never make it through with 15s, so I grabbed my 2 pound weights and held them with my 10s. I don't recommend doing this since it's probably not the safest thing out there, but it is what it is and I needed to go up in my weights. 

Incline Fly

We had the bench at a 45 degree angle and did incline flies. These are pretty self explanatory.

Reverse Lunge

We did one leg for the first half of the round and the other leg for the second half of the round. I didn't realize it was going to be set up that way so I only used 10 pound weights. I would have done 15s had I known.

Wide Pull Up

I did these on the floor again with the attachment under the bottom hinge. I used my purple band. I like these, but I don't like doing them right after lunges because I need more time to catch my breath before laying on my belly. 

Military Press

I knew this wasn't going to go well. I have such weak shoulders! I did 2 pounds for the first set and 5 for the second. Finishing up the last set actually went better than I thought it would. I guess I'm getting stronger. I'm not sure what the difference is between these and a shoulder press. Maybe it's in the hand position. I'm not sure.

Split Squat

They call these split squats on the sheet, but they're the Bulgarian Split Squats. I did these with my feet on the floor instead of having one on the bench. This was another one that we did one leg for the first half of the round and the other leg for the second half of the round. We were supposed to hold the position during the breaks, but I just couldn't do it. I needed to stand up and give my muscles a break.

Post Delt Fly

When I saw these on the thing, I was worried that it would involve the band. Those were sooooo hard! I was happy to hear that they didn't. We did one arm at a time. I probably could have gone with 5 pound weights, but I did the 2s just to be safe.

I really liked this workout. It's probably my favorite of all of them so far! I was beat when it was over and I still had to do the 10 Minute Ab Hammer! Eeeeeeeeek!

The Worksheet

Polar M400 Screen Shots

10 Minute Ab Hammer

I'm not a fan of the 10 minute ab workouts that seem to come with most Beachbody programs. I'm not really sure why, but I just don't end up doing them. Maybe it's because I hate working my abs. Maybe it's because I'm too tired after doing the main workout of the day. I'm not really sure. I just know that I dread them. I do them once to blog about them, but then I don't make it a point to do them again. I did okay with Rockin' Body's 10 minute ab workout. I even did the Cize one a few times, but I rarely did the Body Beast one. The ones that come with 21 Day Fix and 21 Day Fix Extreme aren't on the calendar so I didn't feel obligated to do them. 

This workout was actually a little over 11 minutes. We did each move for 1 minute. There wasn't a cool down or a warm up. 

The Exercises

C Sit Tap

We sat down with our knees a little bent and our feet on the floor. We leaned back and alternated tapping one hand back and to the side. It was on the first move, but it was hard for me! I got through the full minute though.

Forearm Run

We were in an elbow plank position and we ran with out feet. Our feet didn't touch the floor when they came forward. It was basically like mountain climbers, but our elbows were down. I didn't get very far with these. I started out okay, but then my feet kind of stayed in place. I ended up going down on my knees eventually. It was just torture.

Up Down Reach

We were on our backs for these. Our feet were straight up in the air. Then we brought them down towards the floor, but didn't touch the floor. Then we brought them back up and reached our hands up to our toes. These weren't too bad, but I had to bend my knees for them. 

Oblique Crunch Twist

We were on our back and one hip was twisted  to the side. We brought the other knee up in a crunch as we crunched our upper body at the same time. We did one minute on each side. These weren't too bad.

Side Plank Wing

I'm not sure where this thing got it's name from, but it was a crazy hard move. We were up in a side elbow plank. We tapped our hip down to the floor and then brought it up and then did a side crunch bringing our elbow down to meet the knee that was coming up. We did each side for 60 seconds. These were crazy hard. I did them on my knee and barely made it through.

Windshield Wiper

I actually liked these! We were back on our backs with our feet up in the air and our hands along our sides. We brought our legs over to the side, but didn't touch the feet down. Then they went back up. Then they tapped straight down and then back up and over to the opposite side. I kept my knees bent a bit, but I got through these okay.

Hammer Run

We stayed on our backs for this one. We kept our head and shoulders up off the floor and then ran with our legs. It was similar to the leg portion of bicycles, but less circular and more just towards the wall and back up again. I had to go pretty slow with these, but I got through them. 

This one didn't have a worksheet.

Polar M400 Screen Shots

Here are the screen shots for the ab workout.

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. 

Review of Beachbody Hammer & Chisel Day 6: Chisel Endurance

Day 6: Chisel Endurance

Today was Day 6 of Hammer and Chisel. It was my first time doing Chisel Endurance. I had the exercise list, but I wasn't really sure what to expect from this one. I knew we were back to the 60 second format though since that's what it showed on the worksheet. This one was about 35 minutes and it was INTENSE! It was broken up into two rounds. Each round was the same set of exercises. We did each exercise for 60 seconds and had a short break in between while she explained the next exercise. There is a modifier, but it's just to show you how to do things if you don't have all of the equipment. There isn't a modifier to make it easier. If you need it to be easier, you'll have to figure that part out on your own. You can get some ideas from what I've done. 

The Exercises

Bench Run Ups

We were supposed to "run" up onto the bench. So you go up with the right foot and then the left and then down with the right and down with the left. If you don't have a bench, she suggested doing Surrenders. You can read about my original thoughts on Surrenders the first time I did them back in my 21 Day Fix round a year ago. We did them again in 21 Day Fix Extreme: Fix Challenge, but we didn't use weights this time. We didn't use weights for the Surrenders in Chisel Endurance either. She did say that you could make it harder by using weights. I did the Surrenders for the first round so that was 2 full minutes of surrenders because we had to do both legs. I was pretty much fried after that. When the second round came around, I decided to pull up my aerobic step and use that. I did run ups fast on the step. I need it to be a little higher to make it more challenging, but I'm not ready to do it on the bench yet. It was still challenging on the step.

Negative Pull Ups

I did these on my belly on the floor this time. I put the door attachment under the lowest hinge. That's how Sagi had us do them in Body Beast Total Body. I like them better this way. They seem to work my lats more than if I do them on my knees or up in a lunge position. I used my purple stretchy band again for these. I felt these pretty much all over my entire upper body today! 

Step Up Cross Over

These were rather interesting. So you've got one foot up on the bench. You take your other foot and cross it behind the foot on the bench, but this foot is on the floor. You end up in what feels like a curtsy lunge, but you've got one foot up on the bench. Then you pull yourself back up so you're standing on the bench. While you're doing that, you left your foot up and do a hamstring curl type thing because you're supposed to pretend your picking your foot up over something behind you. You land with your foot out to the opposite side. Then you go back to the other side. I did the first set on the floor following the modifier. It was a little weird and awkward. It wasn't too terribly hard, so I used the step for the second round. That really made a difference. I can't imagine what it would be like doing that off the bench! OMG!

Decline Push Ups

I can't do a regular push up, so you know there's no way I can do decline push ups. I put my thighs on the bench instead of my toes. My arms were still shaking by the time I was done! Crazy crazy hard!

One Hand Row with Leg Extension

I love rows. I love pretty much anything that involves biceps and back. I have strong biceps and a strong back. These weren't quite so enjoyable though because we had to hold a contorted position. So one hand was on the bench and the opposite foot was on the floor. The leg was stretched back and held straight out during the entire minute. I couldn't seem to keep it held up, but I did keep it off the ground. This was challenging!

Incline Press

We did chest presses with the bench at a 45 degree angle. I did pretty good for the first round. For the second round, my arms were shaking and I wasn't sure if I would get through the full minute, but I did it. 

Plank Hold Knee Taps

I wasn't really sure what these were going to be, but I knew they would be hard. We held an elbow plank and then alternated tapping a knee down. I got through the first round without taking any breaks, but I did them super slow and paused a little too long with my knee on the floor. The second round required breaks, but I did the taps a lot faster, so it wasn't really a rest like it was in the first round. I don't think I survived the full minute either. 

When I was done with this workout, I was fried! It felt good. I had to modify, but I didn't have to modify so much that I sacrificed on the workout. Before the workout, I did a few pistol squats while holding onto the wall and a few while holding on to the upright bar on my bench. I think I'm going to use one of those to modify the pistol squats in future workouts instead of using the toe tap method. I just don't get deep enough with those. Maybe by making that change, I'll feel more beat after the workouts!

The Worksheet

My handwriting is atrocious. Sorry! I lost count of the reps in the second round of those Step Up Cross Over things. Oops.

Polar M400 Screen Shots

The workout really is only about 35 minutes, but I forgot to stop the watch. Yesterday, I forgot to turn it on and today I forgot to stop it. Oopsy. My heart rate had several big dips in it which make no sense, but whatever. I'm still having issues with losing the connection. I think I might have to tighten it up again.

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. 

Review of Beachbody Hammer & Chisel Day 5: ISO Speed Hammer

Day 5: ISO Speed Hammer

Yay! Day 5 was another of Sagi's workouts! I love Sagi. I wasn't sure what to expect from this workout, but I knew that it was pretty short so I figured I could get through it. I wasn't very sore going into this one. Most of the soreness had pretty much gone away after rest day which was nice. The snow shoveling didn't seem to have any negative impact on me either which was nice. I'm having a pretty easy time motivating myself to get up to do these workouts which is nice. We'll see if that lasts. 

The workout was a new type of format for me. We did 11 different moves. First we did 10 reps of them with a three count. For example, in the Sumo Squat, we counted to three as we went down we then came up normally. After 10 reps of that, we did 10 fast reps. There was a slight pause in the middle of the 10 slow reps and 10 fast reps, but it wasn't considered a break. 

The Exercises

Push Ups

Push ups are pretty self explanatory. I did them on my knees. I didn't think I'd be able to do the whole set on the bench, so I just went to my knees. Next time, I'll try them on the bench. They don't do them on the bench, but I'm trying them on the bench so make it so I can do them on my toes. .

Static Lunges

I used 10 pound weights for these. These are pretty self explanatory as well. You have one leg forward and one leg back. You squat down and then come up. These are hard for me with this format! I weigh a lot so doing these without holding extra weight is a chore!

Chin Ups

I did these with my purple band and I was down on my knees. I think I'm going to move my chin up attachment down to the lower hinge and do the chin up stuff on the floor like is demonstrated in Body Beast Total Body. I liked them better on the floor. I feel like if I hold the lunge position to do them, I'm focusing too much on holding my form and not stressing my lower back. That's why I started going down to my knees on them, but it still doesn't really seem to be giving me the correct range of motion. I think laying on the floor to give me the same basic shape as if I were really doing a chin up is helpful.

Deadlift

Not much to say about a deadlift. I did them with 10 pound weights. The fast reps with deadlifts are weird for me though since I remember Sagi talking about going slow and being safe when I did Body Beast. These were easy enough to get through. I probably should have used heavier weights. I did when I did these in Body Beast, but the whole fast reps thing made me feel like I should use lighter weights.

Side Lateral Raise

These are pretty standard too. Your hands are at your sides and your raise them up while keeping your arms pretty much out straight. I used five pound weights for these. I didn't think I would make it through the fast reps, but I did! Woot woot! My shoulders are crazy weak, but I survived these!

Sumo Squat

I used my 15 pound kettlebell for these. I like using kettlebells for squats. The grip is more comfortable and it just feels better using them. It also makes me feel better about buying them since I rarely use them. I wish Beachbody would come out with a kettlebell program. I love love love kettlebells. They are so much fun! I never have time to play with them though because I'm always doing a Beachbody program. I try to use them when I do rows since they are more comfortable for that too. 

Rear Delt Cross Fly 

We used a resistance band for these. I used my red band. So you step on the band with your feet shoulder width apart. You then cross the band in front of you and each hand grabs a handle. You bend over kind of like in a bent over row position and you do rear delt flies. This was really hard with the band! I usually do these with 5 pound weights or even 2 pound weights depending up on how many reps I'll have to do, but the band was under both feet so it was pretty short and it was sooooo hard to get through. I can feel these today. I'm not in a ton of pain, but I can definitely feel it in my rear delts today. There was a modifier who only put one foot under the band and held a lunge position to make it have less resistance. I did that for the 10 fast reps. I also didn't go very fast on them.

Pistol Squat

Until Hammer & Chisel, I had never heard of a Pistol Squat and I have to say it's becoming a curse word for me. My balance sucks and I weigh a lot. Standing on one leg while squatting down is pretty much a recipe for disaster. I'm surprised I haven't broken a limb yet doing these. I don't get much range of motion at all in these and I keep having to touch my foot down because I'm about to fall over. I'm contemplating just not caring about my balance and doing normal squats for these so I can get deeper into them. I'm not sure what's more important though, working on my balance or getting a deeper squat to work the muscles more.I did these with 10 pounds.

Curl Face Down

We put the bench at a 60 degree angle and faced the bench. We straddled the bench and squeezed it with our legs so it wouldn't move. We then did bicep curls. I did these with 5 pound weights. They didn't feel like enough while I was doing them, but my biceps are sore today. It's not crazy painful, but I can definitely feel them. By the end of the 10 fast reps, I was happy that I hadn't used 10 pound weights, but I felt like 8 pound would have been nice. Another reason why I wish I had gotten the smaller Bowflex weights instead of the jumbo ones so I could go up in 2.5 increments instead of 5 pound increments. 

Calf Raises

These were interesting because we didn't do them on the floor like normal. Calf raises are better if you can go below flat which means your toes have to be up on something. He had us stand behind the bench and use the floor support of the bench, but my bench is set up differently. I had to climb up onto the bench and then I was afraid of falling off since I was about a couple feet up! I didn't use any weight because my hands were occupied holding onto the bar support so I didn't fall down. It felt these while doing them, but my calves aren't sore today. I wonder if I could find a way to get my balance enough to actually hold a weight. 

Tricep Kickback Twist

These were interesting as well. We did a normal tricep kickback, but twisted our hands in the process. So we were in a lunge position (I switched legs between the 10 slow and 10 fast since I was starting to really feel it in my legs) we held our hands so the weights were facing front to back to start the move and then twisted our hands so our palms were facing back and the weights were going left to right. We twisted them back to the start position as we moved forward. I used 5 pound weights for these. I probably could have done 8s if I had them. I think it's time to just buy the 8 pound weights. I talked about wanting them during Body Beast so I just need to suck it up and buy them. I don't think I could handle 10s for these, but if I don't get the 8s by the time I do this again, I might try them.

The cool down was a couple minutes long and mainly involved stretching. The warm up used the resistance band like the first Sagi workout I did. Now I get to look forward to Chisel Endurance. I'm kinda scared!

The Worksheet

Polar M400 Screen Shots

The time shows a bit shorter than I should. I forgot to hit start on the watch. 

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. 

Review of Beachbody Hammer & Chisel Day 4: Rest Day

Day 4: Rest Day

Rest Day is my favorite day of the week! I had thought about changing my rest day to be Sunday because that's my day to hang with my hubby, but I kept it on Thursday since I really love having one day of he week to sleep in! It was amazing! I slept for an extra hour.I love love love rest day! Then I came home from work and had to shovel my driveway because the snow plow that plowed out our subdivision plowed in my driveway. How nice of them. It was wet, heavy, nasty, slushy grossness! It was horrible! UGH!!!!!!

Review of Beachbody Hammer & Chisel Day 3: Iso Strength Chisel

Day 3: Iso Strength Chisel

Today was day tree of Hammer and Chisel! I was looking forward to today's workout because it didn't involve balance or plyometrics! Autumn led this workout since it's part of the Chisel series and she didn't incorporate cardio into strength training. I was sooooooo excited about that. 

The workout lasted 35 minutes. It involved 8 exercises and they all followed the same format. We did 10 reps, then a 10 second hold, then 10 reps, then a 10 second hold, then 10 reps and a final 10 second hold. The warm up was pretty much the same one from Chisel Balance. There wasn't much of a cool down in this workout though because we stretched the muscle we worked right after we worked it. For example, the first move was Sumo Squats. After the final 10 second hold, we stretched each quad for about 10 seconds. It felt a bit weird ending with pretty much no cool down, but it was kind of nice too. 

The Exercises

Sumo Squat

We did the Sumo Squat with weights. I used 10 pounds in each hand. We could put our hands on our hips our out in front of us whichever was more comfortable. I put them on my hips. I went pretty deep into my Sumo Squats today! I may have gone too deep because my legs were pretty much fried for the split squat, but that's okay! I did well with these. Not much to say about them.

Push Up

I came up with the idea the other day that I was going to start doing push ups on the bench. It's a different modification to make it easier instead of going down onto my knees. Having  our upper body higher, puts more weight on your feet and less on your hands and it just makes it easier. I was able to do the first set of 10 up on the bench. I thought that was pretty awesome. I always do push ups on my knees, but I totally felt like I was doing real push ups since I was on my toes. Once we got to the hold though, it was all over. I just couldn't hold it. I then did the rest of the push ups and holds on the floor on my knees, but I feel accomplished! 

Split Squat

These were more of those Bulgarian Split Squats from Chisel Balance, but without the jump. We used one weight held up towards the chest for these. One leg was on the bench and the other was lunged forward. All of our weight was supposed to be on the front leg. The modifier did them with both feet on the floor, but the back leg was raised up a few inches after he came up from the lunge. I did that for the first set and then just kept my back foot on the floor for the rest. These were killer. Crazy crazy hard for me. I had to take breaks in between a few reps and I barely made it through the holds. I don't even think I went very deep. It was just torture. 

Pull Up

I don't have a pull up bar and I couldn't do a pull up if I had a bar. I have the door attachment for the band. The modifier who did them like that, did them in a lunge position. I got into the lunge position, but my calf wanted none of that, so I just got on the floor on my knees and did them there. I figured that it was more important to work my lats during these than my legs so I went with it. I didn't do these as fast as they did, so I probably didn't get a full 10 reps in. For some reason, I just can't keep count during these workouts. I had no problems counting in Body Beast, but in this I just can't. I kinda liked these. I used my purple stretchie band from my Walk Away the Pounds workouts. They don't have handles. It worked out pretty well and I think I'll be able to use this for the Hammer Plyometrics workout! Yay. 

Step Up Side Hold

We were supposed to stand on the bench with one foot and then step down to the floor with the other and then back up. We did a hold with kind of a squat. I used my step. It didn't give me as much lift, but I can't do step ups onto the bench. I thought the first set was pretty easy, but then they got harder after that, but that's kind of the nature of this type of workout. I need another set of risers so I can get more lift. I think I could do one more riser, but going up to the bench would be way too much. 

One Arm Row

We did these on the bench. We had one hand and one knee on the bench. The other foot was on the floor and the other hand had the weigh and did the work. I did 10 pound weights with these and OMG they were so hard by the end. I might use my kettlebell next time. 

Sit Up C Curve

We sat on the floor for these and held a weight in both hands up by the chest. Our knees were slightly bent, but she said that people with a tall torso might want straighter legs to get more counter balance. So we leaned back and formed a C with our spine. We went as low as we could and then came up. We did the hold in the back position. So these were pretty easy in the beginning, but then I realized that I was pushing the weight out in front of me instead of holding it close to my chest. Once I moved the weight closer to my chest, it got way harder!

Lateral Raise 

There were standard later raises. The hands went up at our sides. We did the 10 reps, 10 second hold, 10 rep, 10 second hold, 10 rep, 10 second hold. By the end of this move, my shoulders were killing me. I barely made it through these. I have weak shoulders and only used 2 pounds weights, but it was hard! OMG!

We stretched our shoulders and did one big inhale and then we were done! Short sweet and to the point. Update on my soreness.......My triceps, shoulders, chest and lats all still hurt. My hamstrings, quads and glutes all know that I worked out for the last couple days, but they don't really hurt. It's just a bit weak and a little tender if that makes sense.

The Worksheet

Polar M400 Screen Shots

My heart rate was a mess. The thing kept losing connection. That's so annoying. I have to tighten it down again I think. It's stretching out in some places. UGH!

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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. 

Review of Beachbody Hammer and Chisel Day 2: Hammer Plyometrics

Day 2: Hammer Plyometrics

Let's start off with an update on how sore I am from my Chisel Balance workout yesterday. I thought my legs would be really sore, but they aren't. I didn't think my upper body would be sore, but it is. My shoulders, my chest, my lats and my triceps are definitely feeling it today. I guess I'm rather impressed with myself over that. I did modify a bit yesterday, but I still thought I would feel it more in my legs today. Win for me!

On to today's workout. I was pretty excited to get to do another Sagi workout. I loved Body Beast and I've been looking forward to this program since I first heard about it. I wanted to get back into some hard core lifting! I was pretty bummed when the first workout with Sagi turned out to be Hammer Plyometrics. I'm not a fan of Plyometrics. All that jumping, blechy. I have to do it though. I know it's good for me! 

The warm up was interesting in this one. We used a resistance band for most of it. The modifier used a towel. She wasn't a modifier to make things easier. She was to show you what you can do if you don't have certain equipment. In this case, she didn't have a band. She also demonstrated what to do if you didn't have a bench or a pull up bar. So in the warm up we held the band out in front of us and then raised our hands up over our heads. There were different variations on this. Some we bent our elbows and others we went up and over and behind our backs. There were some other moves in the warm up, but they were all pretty simple and pretty standard things.

This workout was only 25 minutes! Woot Woot! Love love love short workouts. There were nine exercises. We went through all nine and then had a rest and then did all nine again. Then we cooled down. The cool down was pretty standard stretching type stuff. 

The Exercises

Vertical Jump

There were pretty straightforward. We squatted down an then jumped up out of the squat. We were supposed to go as high as we could. We also raised up one hand like we were giving a high five to a really tall person. The first round we raised one hand and the second, we raised the other. 

Burpee Pull Up

We did a burpee and then a pull up. This was a bit awkward for me since I don't have a pull up bar. Not that I could do a pull up if I had a bar. The resistance band is pretty long so to use it to do a pull up, you either have to be on your knees or you need to get a decent distance from the door. I couldn't just let go of the bands because they would smack the door. I had to walk up to the door to let go of the bands and then do the burpee. Then I had to get the bands and then walk back to do the pull up. I feel like I didn't get as many reps as I should have gotten. I didn't really get why the chin up was even included in there, but I'm not the trainer.

Leg In and Outs

This was interesting. We had our hands up on the bench and our feet on either side of the bench. We were supposed to jump our feet up onto the bench. If you don't have a bench, you're supposed to sort of kick up off the floor almost as if you're going to do a handstand, but then your feet come back down.I have a bench, but it has a bar attachment and a leg extension attachment so this was a bit awkward for me. I was a bit concerned about hurting myself so I didn't even try to get my feet up on the bench. Instead I just jumped my knees up onto the bench. I was a bit afraid I was going to break it too! I don't think I did though. It was hard enough just getting my knees up there. I don't think I'd be able to do my feet. The modifier without the bench actually looked harder than the regular most since it seemed like more weight would be on the hands. 

Plyo Push Up Taps

These were your standard plyo push ups where you go down into a push up and then push off the ground as you come up out of it, but then we went down again and tapped the bench with one hand then we went down and came up with the push off and then down and up and tap with the other hand. I feel like the bench tapping actually made this easier because it wasn't 30 seconds straight of plyo push ups. I had to do these on my knees. 

Crazy Horse

This is another one where my bench made it difficult to do the full move. So your hands are on the bench again and your feet are together. You jump your feet up and over to the other side of the bench. Instead of putting my body in line with the bench, I went perpendicular to the bench and jumped my feet back and forth. I didn't really make them go up and over. It was more just back and forth. I did it as fast as I could to make it harder. The modifier was on the floor in kind of a pike position and did sort of jumping jack legs while her hands stayed in position. I might try that one next time, but I think I like my modification better. I like using the bench to help put more of the weight on my feet. I might even start using the bench to modify push ups instead of going to my knees. It might make it harder than doing them on my knees, but still easier than doing them on my toes on the floor. 

Chin Up Crunch Squat Jump

Oh this was another fun one where we include chin ups with other moves. So we were supposed to do a chin up and then pull our knees up to our chests. I gotta say that Sagi is much more flexible than I thought he would be. He managed to get into the fetal position while doing a chin up. Simply amazing. After that, we were supposed to come down onto the floor, step back and do a squat jump. I have no bar and I couldn't do a chin up if I had a bar. I had the pesky door attachment again and the whole having to walk to the door to let go and walk away to do the chin up was again annoying. I also wasn't sure what I was supposed to be doing because I couldn't immediately see what the modifier was doing. She did the "chin up" and then pulled one knee into her chest. She alternated her knees. I kept forgetting to do the knee thing, and I still don't feel like I got enough reps in. 

Knee Driver

I kinda liked these. They were the only move where we used actual weights. So we had a weight in one hand. I used a five pound weight and was glad for that. We lunged back on the same side that the weight was on. We leaned forward and touched the weight to the ground. We then came back to vertical without touching the foot down and jumped up as we raised the weight in the air and brought our knee up to about hip height. I had to touch my toe down a lot, but I still kinda liked these.

Sumo Tuck Jump

The name says it all. This was 30 seconds of doing Sumo Tuck Jumps. I don't think you could really consider mine Tuck Jumps though. They were more like Sumo Squat Jumps. I got my feet off the floor, but I didn't get my elevation in the knees. 

Lunge Lunge Squat 

This was another one that I had to modify. I don't do plyo lunges. I can do the ones we did in 21 Day Fix Extreme where we kept the same leg forward the whole time and just jumped up, but I can't do the ones where you start off with the right leg front and then jump up and now your left leg is front. Maybe I'm just scared to try since I did while doing Les Mills Combat and my knee hurt for like two months. Maybe I'll try them again by the end of Hammer and Chisel. I'll think about it. I modified by just stepping back into the lunge and stepping forward and then back with the other foot and then back forward again. I don't think we did a jump on the squat. 

My overall thoughts are that I need to give them an A in the creativity department. Some of these moves were rather interesting. They weren't very practical in my situation though. I'm going to look into resistance bands and see if they have shorter options. A shorter band would be nice because I wouldn't have to get so far away from the door to do it. I felt rushed to get into position to do the pull ups. It was also awkward because I only have one band. We used the band during the warm up and then in the workout it needed to be in the door attachment. I just came up with a brilliant idea! I've got some stretchy bands from my Walk Away the Pounds workouts. They don't have handles like a resistance band, but they still provide resistance. I wonder if I could put one of those in the door attachment. I'd be able to just drop that since it wouldn't make noise when hitting the door. I almost want to go workout again just to give this a try! I wonder if tomorrow's workout uses the chin up bar! I just looked ahead and it does! Tomorrow is Iso Strength Chisel. Oh I can't wait for that! I don't think it has the complicated moves where I'd have to let go of the band and do something else and then grab the band again though so it might not be a good test of my plan. The hand position stuff might not really work right either for the chin ups, but I'm not sure I really care about that. I'm rambling now!

The workout had a worksheet, but I didn't fill it out. We were supposed to count reps, but I'm just happy to get through the 30 seconds. I don't really care how many reps I did and the added stress of counting and writing stuff down is just too much for my poor little brain that early in the morning. 

Polar M400 Screen Shots

Here are the screen shots. My heart rate was all of the place. I'm pretty sure the extreme dips and peeks aren't real. 

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. 

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.