Hammer and Chisel Challenge - Week 6

You will have good and bad weeks, just show up!

WHOA, I'm getting behind with this blogging thing =) The Hammer and Chisel Challenge has been amazing. I've never done this many LEG WORKOUTS in my lifetime =). Week 6, was a tough one for me not only because of all the traveling that I was doing, but also because of my infamous GOUT that seems to creep up on me after working out excessively. This is one challenge that I have been battling with the past year. My gout has been flaring a lot more lately, and I think it has to do with my age. Yes, I'm getting up there, which I am forced to watch out and not go at full intensity for a long period of time. It seems to happen moreso when I do intense workouts followed by a long run. Oh well, I'm dealing with it, watching my nutrition, and not letting it stop me from staying active and achieving my goals.

Here's my Week 6 Recap!

Day 1, Week 6
Today I did Master's Cardio workout on Playa Santo Domingo overlooking the Volcan Concepcion. It was amazing to go barefoot in the sand and just soak up the beauty of Ometepe Island in Nicaragua. Oh btw, I was in Nicaragua filming a race called the Fuego y Agua Survival Run.

Day 2, Week 6

So this is where I had to repeat week 6 =) I got so busy traveling and my gout started flaring and I didn't want to provoke it any worse than it was before filming the Survival Run race, so I ended up completing this week back in the USA. Today's workout was ISO Speed Hammer, I did this in place of Hammer Conditioning because somehow I read the schedule wrong. At any rate, I did work! 

Day 3, Week 6

Chisel Cardio today. This workout is one of my all time favorites because it's not your typical cardio workout. There are weights involved. You are lifting weights and also using your body weight. I took it a little easy today just because I've been sore. Listening to your body is key. You never want to kill every workout, every day, because doing so can cause you to over-train, and that's where injury occurs. 

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Day 4, Week 6

It was REST DAY today, but I ended up killing a 5K trail run. Took it easy, and just soaked up some nice forest scenery. Trail running is a great outlet for me to think, I highly recommend it =) 

Day 5, Week 6

Today's workout was Hammer Power. This workout is great build up workout to a lot of power lifts. I already knew the power lifts and ended up skipping the build up and went straight to the power lifting, but in order to make up for the lost reps during the build up, I just simply added more reps during the full cleans. 

Day 6, Week 6

Chisel Balance was on the menu today. I actually did the best ever with this workout. If you've seen some of my recent Hammer and Chisel posts, I struggle with balance exercises, but this time I noticed some major improvement, so I was happy about that. 

Day 7, Week 6

Today was Max Hammer Strength. This workouts consisted of doing a particular exercise movement for about 60 seconds, followed by a similar, but different movement with heavier weight at 8 reps. Lots of variety in this workout, but again, lots of LEGS =)  I highly recommend using the worksheets to write down the weights that you use so that the next time you do the workout, the goal would be to either do more reps within the 60 seconds time frame, or use heavier weights for the 8 reps. At any rate, this is a great workout! 

Get the Hammer and Chisel Workout Sheets here!

My apologies for not having a lot of photos or videos for this recap, but this week I was not feeling it, so I barely finished the workouts. I plan to repeat this week, along with combining some other workouts from week 5 to make up for my lost focus due to travel and my gout attack. As always, thanks for visiting my blog, and feel free to message me about my upcoming Hammer and Chisel Online Challenges, you will receive FREE Coaching from me =) 

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Hammer and Chisel Challenge - Week 5

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Hammer and Chisel Challenge - Week 2

Hammer and Chisel, Week 2, Month 1

So last week's post was super long, and I'm trying to keep my weekly recaps short and sweet, but at the same time informative. Feel free to comment on some of the things that you may want to know about the Hammer and Chisel Challenge, and as always, feel free to message me about my upcoming Online Test Groups!

Day 1, Week 2
I was pretty excited to start the week off strong. I didn't get to my workout until late in the evening which seems to be the norm for this challenge =). But today's workout was Chisel Cardio, and what killed me the most other than the HEAT at the gym was the pull ups, and believe it or not the "Side Step Up Kicks" only because it was the last exercise of each round, and it seems like every dang day is LEG DAY! Also, today I felt like I was lacking calories, so this may be something that you will have to play with. If you feel you need calories, you probably do. Don't try to cookie cutter your nutrition. If you need to add more calories, do it. You will begin to find what works for you as you go with the challenge.

Did a 1 mile warm up and 1 mile cool down run.

Chisel Cardio - Most of the moves minus the Forearm Plank Kick

Day 2, Week 2
Today's workout was Hammer Strength which was brutal after doing a 5K Urban Assault Run with my downtown 813 Fit Club. The Urban Assault run consisted of a 12 Days of Christmas Pyramid Workout while running a 5K through downtown Tampa. I could've easily replaced my Hammer and Chisel workout with the UAR, but I made a commitment, so I'm sticking to it.

The online test group assignment asks "what helps me stay on track with my workouts?" That's easy, I stay on track because of the people helping me stay motivated and accountable in the online challenge group, and also with the help of my own personal accountability partner.

Hammer Strength:

Day 3, Week 2
I did Chisel Agility today, and to be quite honest, I was so sore and didn't know how I was going to be able to finish this workout. I previewed the workout and it looked pretty simple, but of course watching, and actually "doing" are two very different things. I got it done LATE at my South Tampa office. I was looking forward to rest day on Day 4 =)

I did not run on Day 3.

Chisel Agility

Day 4, Week 2

REST DAY - I did an easy 5K trail run today at the Wilderness Trail System. I definitely felt sore in the beginning, but started feeling very strong as my run progressed. I can really feel the strength gains from Hammer and Chisel. 

Day 5, Week 2

Today was Christmas, and my Hammer and Chisel WOD was Hammer Power which was focused on "power lifting" movements. Again, I previewed the workouts beforehand and used the worksheets at the gym. The movements always look easy until you actually do them. I learned that the next time I need to add more weight, but I really loved this workout, and as always, it kicked my butt good. I think the most important part about this workout is to really make sure to use proper form. You can easily get injured or throw your back out if you are not careful, so start off slow, put your ego aside, and play it safe. Once you get the moves, you can then up your weights and go harder! 

I did a 1 mile warm up run, and a 2 mile cool down run. 

Hammer Power

Day 6, Week 2

Traveled to Pensacola from Tampa for the holidays and did today's workout with my brother. We did Power Chisel and 10 Minute Chisel Abs. This program is very versatile, you can workout indoors or outdoors. Although I prefer working out at the gym and outdoors, you can get a kick ass workout at home too. Do what you can, but just know it doesn't matter where you workout, just get it done!

I have noticed that this challenge consists of a lot of squats, lunges, and pull ups, which is right up my alley. You can always add the ab workouts (Hammer or Chisel Abs) if you feel that you need more core/abs during the week, which is probably what I will start doing more of in week three.

No run today. 

Power Chisel Workout:

Day 7, Week 2

I did Hammer Conditioning with my brother today. This was the last workout of week 2 and boy was it a "shoulder burner". The workout minus the warm up and stretch was only 25 minutes, but trust me, that was all I needed. I really enjoyed the movements of this workout, especially the renegade row burpees. This workout is a great combination of shoulders burners, cardio, strength, and core. 

I finished Day 7, Week 2 with a nice 6.5 mile trail run at the Univ of West Florida off-road trails. 

Hammer Conditioning:

Are you ready to take on the Hammer and Chisel Challenge, ask me about my upcoming online test groups, you will receive FREE online coaching from me, and motivation from others who have similar goals as you! Message me here!

Related Links:
Hammer and Chisel, Week One, Month One
Hammer and Chisel Week 3, Month 1