Chisel

An engraver runs a chisel over metal in fine passes, line by line. “Chisel” works the same way: moderate weights, high reps, and legs, chest and back in each of three workouts a week. The first month is machines and dumbbells only; start with the intro week.

For those who are new to the gym and want to get in shape. 3 workouts a week, 6 exercises each, and every workout trains legs, chest and back. Two 4-week stages: Base and Build. Weighted exercises are done for 15 reps in Base and 13 in Build, and bodyweight abs for 20 in both stages. In Base every exercise has 2 sets; in Build some exercises get 3. Rest between sets is 90 seconds on presses, rows, pulldowns and squats and 75 seconds on everything else. In Base the load rises week by week; in Build week 3 is lighter than week 2. The next step after this program is “Diamond Cut”.

For the first 4 weeks every exercise is done on machines or with dumbbells: a machine guides the movement along a set path, so good form is easier to keep. From week 5, one exercise in each workout is done with a barbell: squats in the first workout of the week, bench press in the second, bent-over row in the third. The app calculates the weight for each set. The first week is the lightest. A set ends when you could still do 3 or more reps.

Method: High reps, stopping short of failure.
Weighted exercises are done for 15 reps in Base and 13 in Build, and sets end at least 3 reps short of failure. Legs, chest and back are loaded in every session, with 90 seconds of rest on presses, rows, pulldowns and squats.

What studies found:

• In a calorie deficit, muscle gain slows down while strength holds (Murphy et al., 2022)
• Light and heavy weights produce the same muscle growth; heavy weights build more strength (Schoenfeld et al., 2017)
• Muscle growth does not require taking sets to failure (Refalo et al., 2023)
• Resting longer than a minute between sets gives a small edge in muscle growth (Singer et al., 2024)

The studies tested the principles; the program itself has not been tested in this form.

Body fat depends on your diet.