A New Chapter: The Master's Hammer & Chisel
Today begins a new chapter in my life: the start of a new fitness program called The Master's Hammer & Chisel!
I seriously have workout ADD and get bored very quickly. For years, I avoided the gym completely because the thought of spending an hour on a treadmill, elliptical, stair climber, or stationary bike made me want to poke my eyes out. So I chose to be fat rather than fit.
I can't say that I am a fitness fanatic and love working out, because that would be a total lie. But the Beachbody workouts provide enough variety that I never get bored and I actually enjoy challenging myself with each exercise...crazy, right?!
What is The Master's Hammer & Chisel?
It's a series of 12 workouts that focus on improving endurance, power, agility, strength, balance, and range of motion to sculpt a defined physique. Ummm, yep sign me up!
Autumn Calabrese (the creator of the 21 Day Fix and 21 Day Fix Extreme) partnered with Sagi Kalev (creator of Body Beast) to develop this 60 day program. Sean and I have been doing the 21 Day Fix and 21 Day Fix Extreme ALL year (with a little Cize thrown in), so we are definitely ready for this new program. And even though I'm 7 months pregnant, I can still complete the workouts (with some modifications, of course).
Nutriton Plan
Like the 21 Day Fix and 21 Day Fix Extreme, Hammer & Chisel comes with the color coded containers for portion control. However, you get to customize your goals and decide whether you want to
Lean Out
Maintain
Build Muscle
Depending on your goal, you are allowed to have more or less food each day.
I couldn't decide if I should go with Lean Out or Maintain since I'm pregnant and all. But I have gained more weight than I intended and even with the Lean Out calculation, I am allowed to eat more food than I was allowing myself on the 21 Day Fix plan. If I find that I am still hungry, I'll add in an extra green (veggie) and red (protein) container.
Here's my meal plan for the first week:
Notice that I have two Christmas parties and a family event this upcoming weekend, but I have planned ahead and know what I can eat and what I should avoid.
Download the file here.
I'm following Plan B and am allowed to have:
1500-1799 calories each day which breaks down to
Green (veggies): 4
Purple (fruit): 3
Red (protein): 4
Yellow (carbs): 3
Blue (healthy fats): 1
Orange (dressing): 1
Teaspoons (oils and nut butters): 4
Workouts and Equipment
The workouts range from 25-40 minutes and require some equipment:
a bench or stability ball
a chin-up bar or resistance band with door attachment
a mat
dumbbells
I purchased two stability balls and two resistance band door attachment kits from Amazon on Black Friday for under $50 (and I plan on using those stability balls to prepare for birth, so they were worth the investment). ;)
Day 1
This morning we completed our first workout, Chisel Balance, and loved it!
It's like a series of standing balancing yoga poses with weights (think Warrior 3, one-legged Chair Pose) as well as other moves like Bridge. But it's definitely not easy! And I found that my growing baby bump really hinders my balance...since I am so front heavy! But I was careful and everything worked out well!
Exclusive Hammer & Chisel Group to Start the New Year
I have an exclusive Hammer & Chisel group starting on January 4th and am only accepting 10 particpants. Complete the form below if you are interested in learning more about the program and group!
Here are some real transformations from the test group:
Get More Info or Reserve Your Spot
xoxo,
Ashly