I decided to put together The Master’s Hammer & Chisel Review to go over what I liked and disliked about the program. I was excited to kick off my new years resolution with a brand new program and from the hype and marketing material Hammer and Chisel seemed to be the one for me.

My goal with The Master’s Hammer and Chisel review is to let you know what you can expect from the program. As well as some of my personal likes and dislikes of the program. Let’s dig into my The Master’s Hammer and Chisel Review and see what we discover.

What is The Master’s Hammer and Chisel

For those unfamiliar with this program I feel a little back ground is necessary. The Master’s Hammer & Chisel is Beachbody’s first workout utilizing 2 celebrity trainers in the same program. It’s designed to help build a powerful defined body. It utilizes a 3 phase approach, stabilization, strength and power or SSP. Master’s Hammer and Chisel Calendar will have you working out 6 days per week with one day for rest. The complete program is only 60 days working out roughly 30-40 minutes per day.

Equipment needed

Equipment needed for The Master’s Hammer and Chisel include a set of dumbells (or bands), a bench (or stability ball), chin up bar (or bands). I have the Bowflex select techs that have their own benefits and downfalls. These workouts move fairly quickly so having the time to switch my select techs to the different weights became difficult.

Breakdown of the Workouts Included:

1. SAFETY VIDEO – Sagi and Autumn show you what equipment you need and how to get the most from your workouts.
2. HAMMER PLYOMETRICS – This jump training workout will use your entire body to create force, speed, and power.
3. ISO SPEED HAMMER – A tempo training workout that uses speed and isometric holds to create strength and grow muscle.
4. TOTAL BODY HAMMER – A hypertrophy workout focused on pyramid-style sets to maximize strength and muscle growth.
5. MAX HAMMER STRENGTH – Start with a pre-fatigued muscle, finish with a maximum lift. Increase strength, power, and muscular development.
6. HAMMER POWER – This intense powerlifting-inspired workout will increase speed, reactive strength, and power.
7. HAMMER CONDITIONING – A workout based on compound movements that will improve stability, coordination, and strength.
8. CHISEL BALANCE – A total-body workout creating stabilization, muscular endurance, and core strength.
9. ISO STRENGTH CHISEL – An intense resistance workout using isometric holds and flexibility to increase strength.
10. CHISEL ENDURANCE – Increase muscular endurance and strength in this time-under-tension workout.
11. CHISEL CARDIO – This cardiovascular resistance routine will increase heart rate, circulation, and burn an intense amount of calories.
12. CHISEL AGILITY – A challenging cardio workout that will help you move quickly, improve coordination, and create greater stabilization.
13. TOTAL BODY CHISEL – This full-body resistance workout focuses on creating lean muscle and strength.

What I liked…

For me personally I have much better results from Beachbody programs that include some type of weight lifting, such as P90X (X2,X3), Body Beast 21 Day Fix etc. Naturally I was excited for Hammer and Chisel knowing this was going to be an all new weight lifting driven workout. And I liked that part of the program, just about every workout utilizes weight training. The workouts are fairly short, some even less than 30 minutes, but for the most part be ready to workout an average of 40 minutes. Sagi and Autumn are 2 of my favorite trainers and having them in this program together worked well for me too. You get two separate training styles in the same program and for me that helped keep the variety of the workouts high. Below are just a few key points that I liked from the program.

Time Frame – The word is out, and shorter workouts are preferred to working out an hour a day! Since the success of T-25, P90X3 and Max 30, 30 minute workouts are here to stay! Hammer & Chisel workouts range from 25 – 40 minutes (excluding the ab routine of 10 minutes). I really like this time frame, not too long but intense enough to get a good calorie burn.

Workouts – I actually liked the workouts other than a few issues I had that you can read below in my “dislikes”. Some of the strength routines are insane and will really get your heart rate up and muscles pumping. Strength training workouts are the way to go when trying to burn up body fat and for that I liked these workouts. And having 12 all new workouts…BONUS.

The Trainers –  Autumn and Sagi are great motivators and fitness professionals. There knowledge is clearly noticeable during the workouts. Many 60-90 day workouts can get old quickly when dealing with the same trainer everyday. Hammer and Chisel brings you 2 trainers working you out 3 days a week each. It breaks the monotony of the program being on a DVD. I’m a big fan of Autumn’s 21 Day Fix and Sagi’s Body Beast programs so if you decide Hammer and Chisel isn’t for you definitely check out their other programs.

Related: 21 Day Fix Workout

Nutrition Plan – Sagi and Autumn designed the entire program around their customizable nutrition system. Just do the workouts and use these color-coded containers to eat the right portions for the body you want. It’s really that simple. It’s very similar to the 21 Day Fix and Insanity Max 30 nutrition plan although it’s not identical. I’ll dig into the nutrition plan in a later post.

What I didn’t like…

Remember that this is from my point of view and there were some things I did not like about the program.  Although some of these my be considered nitpicky, they did bother me. Here are some of the things that bothered me.

Repetitive – We alternate our workouts with Autumn and Sagi each day. One of my biggest complaints in years past from other Beachbody programs is a repetitive workout. I mean come on, it’s a DVD, it’s going to get repetitive eventually anyways so why have the individual workout repeat the same moves. For example one of Autumns Chisel workouts we do about 8 moves for 1 minutes each and then guess what….repeat the same moves. Can we not come up with 8 separate moves??? It may seem nit picky to some but it absolutely drives me insane. And then there’s the warm ups. Each Sagi and Autumn warm up are exactly the same thing no matter the workout. They could have recorded it once and just cut it into each workout, this drove me insane.

No Structure – The whole reason I purchased P90X years ago and eventually became a coach was to have a program that had structure that made sense. Not just aimlessly working out. Each day and each workout had a specific purpose for that day. Hammer & Chisel in my opinion doesn’t seem to have any structure. It felt like random workouts just plugged into the calendar. Most workouts are Total Body workouts with emphasis on the legs. Both Autumn and Sagi will “hammer” your legs every single day. This program is marketed by way of SSP (Stabilization, strength & power), so be ready for that in every single workout.

Advanced Program – In my opinion this workout should not be done by a beginner. There are some advanced moves utilized in this program so beware. But if you so choose you will need to focus on form or you will straight up injure yourself. Especially with some of the Sagi (Hammer) workouts.

No Modifications (sort of) – Technically there is a modifier in the programs workouts. The problem is this version of modifier only shows you modifications for those who don’t have the proper equipment. Which I agree is necessary but a modification of advanced moves would be helpful. Thankfully Tania aka “The Machine” made a few videos on her facebook page of ways to modify. Click here to see her modifications.

Too Much Legs – Like I mentioned before, you really hammer the legs in this program. Being the legs are a larger muscle group and will help you burn more calories I doubt most will complain. But my legs needed a break and gave out on me in one of the workouts and that was while using lighter weights (from my legs being toast already). Autumn’s workouts are leg heavy as well, then the very next day you have Sagi having you to go heavy with the weights for most leg movements. I eventually got the point where I had to skip many of the leg movement due to my legs being over worked and quivering for a break.

Does It Work?

Of course this is all relative to the individual. If a program can get you motivated to workout and lose weight and get in shape then it’s probably working right. But like anything else it only works if you put in the effort. The better you follow the workouts and nutrition together the better the results.

Hammer and Chisel Review Quick Tips

Focus On Form – There are some advanced moves in this program, be sure to focus more on form than weight (especially for a beginner). When lifting weights, do NOT bend your hands back at the wrists. It’s a common mistake and it can lead to muscle strain or a wrist injury. Protect your wrists by keeping your hands in line with your forearms when lifting. When lifting weights from the floor, be sure to bend your knees, engage your abs, and lift with your legs.

Soreness – You will be sore! Be sure to stretch well and even consider using a foam roller for those sore muscles. Foam rollers can help reduce muscle and joint pain and enhance your athletic performance.

Sleep – Recovery is one of the most misunderstood aspects of physical fitness. Did you know your muscles actually grow while you rest? Make sure you’re getting the sleep you need to rest and recover!

Conclusion of The Master’s Hammer and Chisel Review

In conclusion I hope you enjoyed my Hammer and Chisel review and found the information helpful. If you’re looking for a program with a lot of focus on strength training I believe this will be a great program for you.

Are you doing the Hammer and Chisel workout? Tell me how you like it in the comments below.

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