Brittany originally appeared on MikedUp Blog to discuss healthy lifestyle choices and the improvements she made in her life to lose A TON of weight. And she’s back today to tell us all the ins and outs of BeachBody’s newer at home workout program – Hammer and Chisel!
Beachbody The Master’s Hammer and Chisel Base Kit with Autumn Calabrese and Sagi Kalev
Brittany is a rockstar in the fitness game (just look at her before/after pictures in this post and in the last), which is why I’m stoked to have her first-hand review of Hammer and Chisel!
Here is Brittany’s review of Hammer and Chisel!
When most people think of me at this stage in my life, a few things probably come to mind (or at least I hope they do haha)
I have a pretty active lifestyle, I have a strong positive attitude, and I tend to make healthy food choices… 95% of the time.
Now, I say “this stage in life,” because this is a fairly recent lifestyle that I have adopted- like within the last few years. Before that, exercise was pretty close to being right up there with peanut butter, which is now at the top of my despised list (I know, I know, how is that even possible…? We can discuss that more at a later date).
Anyways, certain life circumstances have led me to take on a new way of thinking and acting upon my view of a healthy lifestyle (you can read about the beginning of this journey here). Since I’ve gotten into this new habit, I’ve experimented with several different workout programs, routines, and types of exercises in order to find what I like best, and what gets me the best results.
What I have come to learn is that strength training, and/or HIIT workouts are my go to
Cardio is my least favorite thing, so combining that with weights, and doing it in shorter intervals helps me to stay on track. I also thrive in the gym atmosphere with preplanned workout routines (usually from others) that I can just jump into and complete without having to decide what I’m going to do that day.
That being said, I found a few programs that I wanted to try. My husband is an avid preacher of the original P90X. He even earned himself a nickname of the same moniker in college… So he encouraged the completion of P90X3 in the spring of 2017.
Mike wrote a great review of P90X3, which may have pushed me to try it out even more.
Having maybe over-indulged slightly during the holidays, and promising my best friend I would complete Whole30 (which is a whole other post in and of itself) with her – starting Jan. 1 – I decided that would be a great time to commit to another full workout program. So I comitted to Whole30 in January.
Check out Whole30 here:
The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom
When February came, I was done with Whole30 and was wanting something new. So this time I chose Hammer and Chisel, because, while I still had some weight that I would have liked to drop, I really wanted to tone up!
So, this my friends, is what I thought of Hammer and Chisel:
What it is:
60 days of combined max strength training (hammer) and toning (chisel) workouts. It comes with an optional meal plan, and then a calendar of hammer-only and chisel-only workouts. Autumn Calabrese is the trainer for the Chisel workouts, and Sagi Kalev is the trainer for the Hammer workouts.
Hammer and Chisel Pros:
- 25-40 minute workouts
- Perfect for fitting into your busy day
- 15 different workouts (19 if you get the deluxe version)
- Good variety, especially with doing one hammer workout followed by a chisel workout
- Whole body workouts
- Agility, balance, muscle building (including powerlifting), toning, and cardio
- Good motivation
- They push you to keep going. To lift heavier. And the trainers let you know when it’s time to take it easy
- Options for modifications
- Even if you don’t have a pull-up bar, weight bench, or just can’t do the full move, you’re still covered with many modifying options
Hammer and Chisel Cons:
- No recovery workouts (i.e. Yoga or dynamic stretching). Everything is full go – full time
- 6 days of intense workouts and 1 day off, good for results, but I had to modify the calendar a bit when my body needed more recharging
- Some of the workouts didn’t get my heart rate up much since they were only lifting weights
- Didn’t get my sweat on as much as I would have liked on a few occasions
- Toward the end, some of the workouts were repeated close together and got a little redundant
- Sagi is your typical “meathead” (no offense to any of you gym rats out there), but he tries, and man can he lift heavy weights!
- To me, the 60 days flew by – I could have kept going
Hammer and Chisel cost
Depending on which version, and add-ons, you get (and if you take advantages of sales like my husband and me) this program can cost anywhere from $50-$200.
Hammer and Chisel overall conclusion
I would definitely recommend this program to others!
Beachbody The Master’s Hammer and Chisel Base Kit with Autumn Calabrese and Sagi Kalev
I don’t know if it was the people, or the types of workouts were more what I enjoy, but this for sure rated higher than P90X3. Additionally, I plan on incorporating these workouts with some yoga as my next (modified) workout plan.
One thing that I learned (you always hear, but it doesn’t always ‘click’) is that:
What you eat really does make a difference in your results, especially when it comes to toning.
About halfway through the program, I adjusted away from “clean eating”. Consequently, I had a few more cheat meals than I did in the first month. While I still saw great results, I know that if I would have stuck to eating the way I did during the first half, my results would have been even better. And I would have gotten more out of the workouts.
Like I mentioned earlier: I was doing a round of Whole30 while eating super clean (moderately low carb, no sugar, etc.) leading into the start of Hammer and Chisel. Once February hit I started introducing foods that had been eliminated for a month. After that,, I could easily tell a difference.
I’m proud of my results and for sticking with both program but wish I would have stayed on Whole30 for the complete 60 days like I did with Hammer and Chisel. It would’ve been nice to see what additional progress I could have made.
My Hammer and Chisel final results:
- Inches lost – 5.75
- pounds – 5
- pictures –
Reader’s Input
Have you tried Hammer and Chisel or Whole 30? If so, did you enjoy it?
If you’ve been looking for a new program, does it sound like Hammer and Chisel may be your jam? Let us know in the comments and we’ll keep this discussion going!
Thanks for reading!
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I’m glad you’re here. Thanks again and talk soon!
– Mike
