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 4

Hammer and Chisel Challenge Recap - Week 4

WAHOO, Week 4 of my Hammer and Chisel Challenge was a blast! I guess knowing that I am half way done with this challenge gets me even more EXCITED =) I can honestly say that this is definitely one of my top programs for sure. And one more thing before I recap my week, if you're thinking about doing this challenge (ask me about my upcoming online test groups) then be prepared to murder your legs, because LEG DAY is pretty much every day! =)

Day 1, Week 4
Today's workout was Chisel Balance and let me tell you this, I totally suck at balance! I know that I'm getting better, but this is something that I have to continue to do, or I will lose the skill almost immediately. Just like a lot of the H&C workouts, this one was a leg burner!

Chisel Balance - Up and Downs + Split Squat Jump


Day 2, Week 4
 One thing to always remember, and something that I continue to remind my challengers is that you are not in competition with anyone but yourself. Just show up every day, and results will happen. Today's workout was Max Hammer Strength, and as you can see, I am working my dinky little calves!

Max Hammer Strength

Hammer and Chisel Review

Day 3, Week 4
Today's workout came late today because I spent all day with my family. I did Chisel Cardio and struggled with the Forearm Kicks. My flexibility has gotten better, but my hip flexors were burning! I may have to throw in some yoga workouts to help with more of these types of movements. Sleep is something that I lack and desperately need. I typically get about 5-6 hours per day, I would do better if I killed 8 hours a day =).

Chisel Cardio - Dumbbell Swings

 Hammer and Chisel Workout Sheets - Click here!

Day 4, Week 4
Today was supposed to be my REST DAY, but I'll be running the Disney Marathon this Sunday, so I decided to take my workouts all the way through, but also taking it easy so that I won't be over-trained for the marathon. I ended up doing ISO Speed Hammer and it was only 25 minutes! Pistol squats need improvement, but I know I'm getting better because my legs feel much stronger.

 ISO Speed Hammer


Day 5, Week 4
I arrived in Orlando today in preparation for the Disney Marathon, checked into my Airbnb reservation and went to town on my workout which was Hammer Power and 10 Minute Hammer Abs.

Hammer Power


Day 6, Week 4 
So today I simply took a rest day and attended an amazing Beachbody Super Saturday event at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress. I will be adding my missed Master's Cardio Workout to the end of my challenge date to ensure that I complete all the workouts for the challenge. Just a general rule of thumb that I use when I am doing a challenge: If you miss one workout, you add a day. If you miss two workouts, you can re-do the week, or simply add the missed workouts to the end of your challenge. Whatever works best for you =).

Beachbody Super Saturday Orlando

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Day 7, Week 4
Disney Marathon Day =) Today I ran my very first marathon, you can check out my video below =) Hammer and Chisel resumes after my full recovery ha ha! All I can say is that I got my but kicked running 26.2 miles, but I embraced the challenge and plan to do more in the near future.

Disney Marathon Experience:

You can read my quick blog post on the Disney Marathon here.

Related Posts:
Hammer and Chisel Week One
Hammer and Chisel Week Two
Hammer and Chisel Week Three
Hammer and Chisel Week Five


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Hammer and Chisel Challenge - Week 1

Hammer and Chisel - Week One

I am documenting my Hammer and Chisel Challenge here on my blog. You can view day by day posts by following my IG or Facebook. This challenge has been everything that I had hoped for. I was looking for something that was similar to the P90X variety, and this falls right into it. The whole idea behind Hammer and Chisel is to get CHISELED. It's about strength and getting shredded. Now don't get me wrong, the program can be perfect for other goals such as: gaining more strength/endurance, becoming a better athlete, getting lean, losing weight, and maintaining fitness. I do not see this as a bulking type of challenge, although there is a lot of lifting weights. I can see how you can bulk easy by lifting more weight, but to be quite honest, so far it seems that there are a lot of reps, so using a lot of heavy weight wouldn't be possible for most people.

Beginners?
As I am going through this program, I am getting my butt kicked! There are modifications provided, but in my honest opinion, I do not recommend this challenge for people who are at beginner fitness levels. I would say that this program is for the hardcore intermediate to advanced. But again, this is just from my experience.

Runners?
As for any program for runners, it's best to do this during your off-season. Coming from Florida, there really isn't much of an off-season, it's more like you have to create your own off-season, which I feel is very important. Over-training is the worst feeling in the world, and I've done this many times. Sometimes you just have to put your ego aside, and just suck it up and take a break. Whether you are doing Hammer and Chisel during on or off season, I would recommend that you run 3-5X per week. I've been running almost everyday, but nothing too hard core. I normally do a one mile (sometimes 1 1/2 mile) warm up before my workout, then another mile or mile and a half afterwards. Depending on how my body feels, I may just do a run in the beginning, and not the end. I will do my longer runs on my Hammer and Chisel rest day which is on Thursdays.

Hammer and Chisel Workout Sheets - Click Here!

So let's go with how my first week went. Here is a quick run down on how my week went, and if you have any questions, feel free to connect with me here.

Day 1, Week 1
The workout was Chisel Balance, and it started out with pistol squats right off the bat which I'm terrible at! I struggled most with the Balance Row Pistol Squat and the Single Leg Dead Lift. It was a great first impression of what was in store for the week, and the next 60 days =).

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

Chisel Balance - Split Squat Jumps

Day 2, Week 1
In my Online Hammer and Chisel Challenge Group, one of the things that was asked was "What was my goal for the challenge?" and I responded with to maintain my health and active lifestyle, but also work on my abs =) I am also training to gain strength and endurance for my upcoming trip to Nicaragua to film one of the toughest adventure races in the world called the Fuego Y Agua Adventure Run. Workout today was Hammer Plyometrics, another day of butt kicking!

I did a 1.5 mile warm up run, and 1.5 mile cool down run.

Hammer Plyometrics - Just a few exercises from this brutal but awesome workout!

Day 3, Week 1
ISO Strength Chisel was on the menu for today! I did this workout at the park with a fellow Coach and accountability partner Steven. I love the fact that you can do these workouts pretty much anywhere if you have the equipment. I'm traveling right now, so I've been working out at gyms and the outdoors. At home, most people use the workout DVD's and Beachbody on Demand Online Streaming, but I've been previewing the workouts the day before, and using the worksheets at the gym. Do what works best for you, and most importantly, make sure that you are doing the exercises correctly.

After the workout, we did a 1.5 mile run.

ISO Strength Chisel at the park!

Post Workout Meal

Day 4, Week 1
Today was REST DAY, so this is when I do more of my longer runs, but I was so sore from the previous workouts, so I opted to do a short 5K. As always, I believe in listening to your body. I have over-trained a few times during my journey, and trust me, it is not worth it. Put your ego aside, and play it safe, you'll get better results that way.

3+ mile trail run today:

Day 5, Week 1
Today's workout was ISO Speed Hammer. It was a very short workout, but man did it really pack a punch! For the ISO exercises, you basically do 10 reps of a particular exercise with on rep being 1 count followed by a 3 count ISO. After the 10 ISO reps, you finish it with 10 regular reps, which is pretty tough after basically doing the previous in SLO-MO.

ISO Speed Hammer - 10 Chin Ups after 10 ISO's 

Day 6, Week 1
Today was a challenge because earlier I filmed and ran 5+ miles at an obstacle course race called the Muddy Brute Challenge. I'll be honest, I was thinking about skipping out on my workout since I was a bit tired after running all day, but I was good, I took a little rest, then went to the gym later in that evening. If you want to check out the video that I created at the Muddy Brute Challenge, click here.

Chisel Endurance - Incline Press Video 

Day 7, Week 1
Total Body Hammer + 10 Minute Hammer Abs

This was a killer workout because I started getting used to the short workouts, and this one was double the amount of time as the other workouts, plus it was tough! On top of that, I had to do abs lol. I was glad to finish the week off strong. It was definitely a challenge, but that's why it's called a challenge right. Looking forward to week 2, feeling strong.

Total Body Hammer + 10 Minute Hammer Abs 

(Video on Side Delt Raises)

So that was a quick run down of my first week. I'm not sure if I can be as organized with the videos every week, but I will definitely do my best. As always, you can see my posts on IG and Facebook as well. If you would like to join me, or get in on my next Hammer and Chisel Online Test Group, feel free to message me here, and I'll get you started. 

Hammer and Chisel reminds me of P90X, but with all new exercises and a whole different structure in how they schedule the workouts. If you like P90X or even CrossFit style workouts, then you'll love Hammer and Chisel, especially if you opt to doing the workouts at the gym using the worksheets. I basically have the worksheets in my iBooks app, and I keep it handy with me along with a timer app. If you are more into bulking and lifting heavy, then I would go with the Body Beast Challenge. 

Looking forward to sharing more of my journey with you, stay awesome!

Related Links:
Hammer and Chisel Challenge, Week 2, Month One

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