Hating Hammer & Chisel from Beach Body

workout

workout

Cathlete
Hello, I purchased Hammer & Chisel and just not enjoying it at all. There is leg work every single day; hardly any tricep/bicep exercises; I don't feel like I'm getting a good workout because most of them are very, very short - there is a cardio workout that is 15 minutes but not that intense. Also, there are some moves that I just refuse to do because I feel that it is an injury waiting to happen. I've done Body Beast twice and just loved that program but not getting that same joy with Hammer & Chisel. Maybe I'm comparing it to Cathe's workouts which are always the best, because even her short workouts get my heart rate up. I am an advanced exerciser and Hammer & Chisel is just not cutting it for me. :(

Does anybody else have Hammer & Chisel and what do you think about it so far?

I am going to do either STS, XTrain or RWH/ICE combo to continue my goal of increasing muscle definition. Thanks.
 
Funny you say that about Body Beast, that one only appeared on my radar around the same time H & C was coming out, and I was thinking the same thing, that one looked more promising. at my level I could get what I need from any program. Aren't most of beach body strength programs light on cardio? Never mattered to me, I don't have any problem finding & doing my own cardio. Then too they have programs totally cardio oriented. Their onDemand is on the menu for this year when I can make full use of it.

What about Gym Styles? I do love Cathe's older, non- metabolic workouts. Most you can go heavier on easily, off the beat.

Apologies, I guess that doesn't actually answer your question!
 
Oh no. Thanks for the heads up. H & C is next on my rotation and I am slated to start it in about 3 weeks. I finished Body Beast for the first time about 2 months ago and got great results - I was hoping H & C would be a nice follow on.

You mentioned it is light on Bis/Tris. Is it also light on Chest/Back/Shoulders?
 
I'm glad you gave your review. I'm looking for heavy lifting as well after Body Beast although I will probably do it once more. I hope Sagi comes out with a Body Beast 2, something different from the Hammer and Chisel.
 
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Thank you for your thoughts as I was eyeing that set! I dislike working my legs
the most of any body part. I do think Cathe spoils us for other sets... But so glad
we can rely on her! :)
 
I bought it too and I don't like Sagi's dvd's (hammer). They are awful and make him look like an idiot. This is the first time that I have worked out with Autumn and she is no cathe but her dvd's (chisel) are just ok. I have body beast and loved it! For all you cathletes pass on this one it's a waste of your time and money.


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I agree about Hammer & Chisel. I have Body Beast and have done 4 rotations with it-LOVED IT!!. I tried 4 or 5 of the Hammer & Chisel DVD's and just could not get into it. I just don't like it at all. Why don't I just learn-it is all Cathe with occasional Body Beast for me!!

Kathy
 
Gobias said:
Oh no. Thanks for the heads up. H & C is next on my rotation and I am slated to start it in about 3 weeks. I finished Body Beast for the first time about 2 months ago and got great results - I was hoping H & C would be a nice follow on.

You mentioned it is light on Bis/Tris. Is it also light on Chest/Back/Shoulders?
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Yes, I had to use one of the Cathe's DVDs to incorporate some Bis/Tris exercises. It does a little more chest/back/shoulders but there are moves there that I would consider unsafe - IMO. Honestly, knowing how advanced and knowledgeable some of you are in this group, I would not recommend Hammer & Chisel. The do stress to be perfect with your form but I just found them so unchallenging and just didn't feel like I was really "sculpting" my body like I feel with Cathe's videos.
 
Ivy said:
I'm glad you gave your review. I'm looking for heavy lifting as well after Body Beast although I will probably do it once more. I hope Sagi comes out with a Body Beast 2, something different from the Hammer and Chisel.
Click to expand...

Yes, if you've done Body Beast, which is fantastic, I loved it - you will not really enjoy Hammer and Chisel, I really don't recommend it.
 
Tatoo said:
Thank you for your thoughts as I was eyeing that set! I dislike working my legs
the most of any body part. I do think Cathe spoils us for other sets... But so glad
we can rely on her! :)
Click to expand...
Hi Tatoo, yes Cathe is truly the best instructor out there. I've done some other programs that are great but I cannot compare to Cathe at all. Just this morning, I did not do Hammer & Chisel because it had all of these power moves that looks like an "injury waiting to happen", so I did Cathe's 4 Day Split Series - All Upper Body portion and I actually felt happy again.
 
I love Hammer and Chisel. I am on my fifth week. It really depends on what you are wanting. It is predominantly total body. It also depends on whether you purchased the deluxe workouts. With the addition of the chisel glutes and hammer legs you get a a longer workout and they do raise the heart rate a bit. Some like Chisel Total Body are a bit more traditional 10 rep 3 sets. There is biceps and triceps in these plus they are worked in a lot of different ways. Lots of pull ups mixed in. I would say it would be more for lean definition, maybe good in between a really heavy weight program. There is one, Hammer Power that is more of a build up on power lifting like clean, squat, jerk press. Anyway, it is a varied program. I like changing the type of work throughout. I add a little extra cardio and stretching to these. The only real cardio is Chisel agility, then there is Chisel cardio which really pulls in some strength with it, Hammer Plyometrics is different, a bit awkward going from chin ups, crunch, squat jump and some moves like that but it is okay. Could sub another plyometric workout there. The bonus workout from a coach Masters Cardio is a bit slow paced. I have used it to warm up. The longest workout is around 40 minutes. A lot of the time you have the option of the two extras I mentioned or one of the abs workouts attached.
But, seriously if you are looking for a heavy bodybuilding mass workout this would not be it. I think you can build some with it but not like Body Beast or STS. It doesn't claim to be that type of workout. Just thought I would add this because it seems a lot of people do the first few days and quit.
 
I'm with you, WD. I'm enjoying what I've done of H & C. I've mostly explored the Chisel part so far. Today I did "Chisel Cardio." It has some awesome metabolic stuff in it. Yesterday, I did Chisel Endurance. I simply added bis and tris in the same format as the rest of the workout. No problem. I really like Autumn for variety (LOVE Cathe, but need variety). I do get sore in different ways. I always look for total body workouts and am glad to have these. WD, do you recommend purchasing the extra workouts? I only have the basic set. Would love to hear about them.
 
I am happy that I got the extra workouts .They all incorporate a medicine ball for some moves but it is not needed for all of them. Hammer Build up is around 30 minutes and really packs a lot in. It has 7 rounds and each focuses on a different body part. I found with that one each exercise is timed 30 seconds or 15 seconds. A few are non weighted like pull ups in the back round, I was able to go heavier on the 15 sec moves. It went more smoothly the second time I did it. It has a bicep round, standard curl, hammer curl, concentration curl and rotation curl, there is a triceps round as well. It hits everything. The last round is ab focus.
Power Chisel kind of goes with a medicine ball plyo move done 4 reps, 4 sec rest 4 times then a heavy weight set of 10 reps It hits total body except the abs.
run down of glute chisel since there is no worksheets 17 minutes You will need a ball for this one (This is my explanation of the moves :) )
all moves are 25 reps and done using an 8# medicine ball (it has been suggested that you can use dumbbells) I use 10 and 12# medicine balls
sumo jumping jacks
foot on the stability ball Bulgarian split squat
right then same on left
jumping curtsy lunge with an overhead press with the ball
warrior 3 holding the ball right then the same on left
side lunge ball pull one foot on the ball right then the same on the left
glute bridge with 1 foot on the ball right then same on the left

15 minute leg hammer 18 minutes You could use a dumbbell It seems a bit funny seeing Sagi holding an 8# medicine ball
All moves are 60 seconds each starts slow 20 seconds, medium speed 20 seconds, fast 20 seconds Some are hard to do fast to me with too much weight but generally I have used 10 lb and sometimes 15lb
squat press
side lunge left
side lunge right
sumo twist
1 leg deadlift to knee crunch right (hard when you hit the fast speed)
same left
step up press - not on a step like I thought by the name- step back lunge, knee up, overhead press (sorry, that is my description) right then repeat all on the left

I hope this helps so you can decide if you like them. I tried the Dirty Thirty Extreme that was on one of the Chisel discs the other day and liked it. I have been wanting 21 Day Fix Extreme. It did seem Autumn went a bit lighter on that one than she does on Chisel though. I like her. I think I have only done Power Chisel once and it had Autumn and Sagi in it. I know I have done more than one workout with them both in it together.
 
Thanks for the great reviews, I'll bookmark.

It is possible to get burned out on programs or sets, I did more last year than I've done for a while. Nice thing about on demand is you can mix and match, pick up where you left off.
 
I am reading this thread with interest. I was actually expecting positive reviews to justify future purchase. Now I am going to hold
on a bit. I was hopping Hammer and chisel would bring variety since the pack incorporate some powerlifting drills. Hope those
who have visited those drill could share their thoughts:);):)
 
I concur with workout's thoughts regarding H&C. I've had a similar experience. I started a rotation of H&C a few weeks ago, but found that the workouts simply left me wanting more. What I mean is that some of the workouts are very short and they ended before I felt like I got a really good workout. I don't mind shorter workout if I feel like I really got a good workout in and got the most bang for my time. Of course as WD mentions you can combine some of the workouts if you purchased the deluxe set to make your workouts longer, but I was following their original rotation and hadn't thought ahead about combining some of the workouts. I also felt like I was doing a lot of the same/similar moves from one workout to the next and you definitely hit the legs A LOT. I do like that they explore some different ways of lifting that I haven't seen in other videos such as Autumn's ten reps followed by a ten second hold, repeated for three sets. This REALLY burns out the muscles! However, again I felt like the workout ended too soon. There were still lots of muscles to exhaust! I haven't completely given up on this set yet (there are a lot of people that are raving about it over at the VF forum), but have put it back on the shelf for the time being. I think next time I try it, I will do my own rotation (taking the time to consider which workouts can be combined to make a longer workout) and maybe sprinkle in some workouts from other instructors so that I don't feel like I'm hitting the same muscles day after day.
 
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