The new workout The Hammer and Chisel came out this past month.  I decided on an impulse to order it as some of the people in my facebook fitness group had started it and it sounded like something I would be interested in.  Also, I had been waiting on my new Cathe Friedrich workouts to arrive that I pre-ordered back in the summer and I didn’t have them yet – I guess you could say I was getting impatient to start up some type of new workout.

So, I received Hammer and Chisel about 12 days ago and started doing some of the workouts last Monday, the 14th of December.  Right now I am just going on my own schedule and not following the complete 60 days listed in the workout – I plan to start that up in January, after the holidays, with my friend Kathleen’s fitness group on facebook.  

The above photo shows what came in my order.  The dvd workouts plus the containers that are for your food so you are eating in the right proportions.  So far I have done almost 2 weeks of the workouts and I am using the containers and the Plan B, according to the booklet, for eating.  I really like the containers and how they teach you how to have portion control with your food.  I always thought I had a good idea of this but the containers keep you really accountable.  I also made up my own worksheet for the eating plan I am on which is another thing that is really keeping me on track – especially this time of year.  I will say that I have fallen off the plan and enjoyed a couple of treats or Christmas cookies here and there, but I write it down so I can see what I am eating and try to do better the next day.  Of course it is harder this time of year when there are a lot of temptations.  In January I plan to stick to the schedule a whole lot better – when holiday treats are gone.

Iso Speed Hammer was the first workout I tried the day after I received them.  This is one of the shorter workouts in the program.  Just because it is short does not mean it is easy.  You do 10 reps at a slow count of one exercise then 10 reps as fast as you can of the same move – this is a great workout.  Afterwards I did the Hammer Abs – which is also a great 10 min. ab workout – I was sweating a lot after both of them.

Chisel Cardio is another great and challenging workout that I did a few days ago.  This one worked my whole body – I felt it everywhere afterwards and especially later that night – I knew it was working on getting me into shape in areas I never felt before.  As you can see the cat liked it, too – he is sitting on the arm of the chair watching the TV.  Also, not workout related but I cut my hair as you can see in these photos as compared to the other ones – it was time for a change – just like my workouts needed a change, so did my hair.

I would classify the Hammer and Chisel workout as an intermediate to advanced workout series.  There is a modifier for many of the exercises but you still do the same amount of reps.  The whole series focuses on the use of weights with most of the exercises – some of the weights are heavy.  I am using 15 and 20 pound dumbbells for many of the exercises.

My Cathe workouts also came in the mail about five days ago.  I knew that if I ordered another workout series that one would get released.  I am so excited about her new ICE series, which stands for Intermediate Conditioning Extreme.  So, this week I am using Hammer and Chisel and the ICE series dvd’s.  I am doing Chisel, Hammer then an ICE dvd – on a 6 day a week workout schedule.

What workouts are you currently doing or planning to start for the new year?  I know January is a big month for people to start getting back into shape.  Let me know by leaving a reply.

Have Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

-Kimberlee