Hammer & Chisel Week 1

Here…we…goooooo!!!!

After a much anticipated wait and wonderful technology (aka our little netflix for home workouts!) my husband and I have kicked off our new workout program – and we’re doing it together!

Hammer & Chisel was released December 1st but with the Club Membership and On Demand feature we had access to the workouts by Thursday, December 3rd through our accounts and quite honestly – just couldn’t wait!!! Besides who needs a new week or new month to work towards those goals!? We were ready so we went for it!

Yes – I. AM. SORE! But…I have an overhwelming sense of accomplishment. These workouts are HARD – don’t get me wrong. But if you enjoy a challenge, if you enjoy throwing that iron around and/or if you’re looking for a program you and your significant other can do TOGETHER then this may be the program for you!

As I sat down to meal plan today I actually realized our mid-week start totally set us up. The schedule outlines 3 days on – rest – 3 more workout days. So our Thursday start gives us a Sunday rest day which I feel is PERFECT to recoup, rest and reflect on the week before as we prepare for the week ahead!

So while this is our first FULL week – we are actually on Day 4 – rest day – TODAY and I am taking my Sunday to PREPARE!

You know what they say:

“Failing to plan is like Planning to Fail”

The meal plan is pretty similar to the 21-day fix and fix extreme plans I have done in the past but very different for my hubby compared to his prior Body Best!

THE WAY IT WORKS:

You do a calculation based on your weight, activity level and goals – and you get a “plan” to follow. This plan will tell you how many portions of each food group/container you get and then the hard work sets in – PLANNING IT OUT!

Here are our weekly plans:

As you can see – we will be eating very similar foods but in very different portions. I have two commitments this week which are on my calendar and I will plan and act accordingly! Yes – I have goals and yes its the holiday season and Yes – its all about the balance!!

I fell in the 1200-1500 range giving me: 3 REDS, 2 YELLOWS, 2 PURPLES, 3 GREENS, 1 ORANGE and 1 BLUE.

My husband falls in the 3000-3299 range giving him: He gets 8 REDS, 8 YELLOWS, 5 PURPLES, 9 GREENS, 1 ORANGE and 1 BLUE.

And that plan means nothing unless you PREP – here’s what our fridge looks like at the start of week 1:

One thing I am adding this round is more of the PERFORMANCE LINE supplements.

I have been using the pre-wrokout ENERGIZE from Beachbody’s Performance Line for a few months and love it…it gives me that nice little energy boost to power through my early morning workouts but doesn’t leave me jittery or anything!! And I had never really felt the need to add in anything else…until now…

You can read more about the FULL PERFORMANCE LINE HERE – but for the time being I am going to add in the post-workout Recover to speed up muscle recovery and combat this exercise-induced muscle soreness! These workouts are a change – they are a challenge -and I fully expect to feel the pain a bit – but that doesn’t mean I have to go about each day barely being able to walk or touch my toes!!!

This line helps your body recover and recoup after training and I can already feel the impact in just the first 3 days.

Jello legs post workout where I am so fatigued yet the pain the next day is not at all what I would expect and I know the performance line is making all the difference in the world!

I am also going to add the Nightime recharge in the evening to support over night muscle recovery.

And as we began prepping today I can tell you – this is A LOT of food! And its beyond A LOT of food for my husband but these programs are tried and true – I know that if I follow the program the results will follow!!!