The Manny Norté and Reggie Yates 6 Week Challenge!

Capital Xtra DJ, Manny Norté, and TV presenter, Reggie Yates, are pitting themselves against each other in what they’ve dubbed the ‘6 Week Challenge.’ The winner will be the one who achieves the most notable physical development in that time, and there are absolutely no rules as to how they go about this, assuming they don’t resort to jeopardising one another!

Three weeks in, we catch up with Manny, aka ‘the name you can trust,’ and find out what it's all about, how you can involved, and whether the gym will prove to be Norté’s forté.

So how did the competition come about, and what’s it all in aid of?

Well, it started off with me on a treadmill running in the gym. I posted a quick snap of it Instagram, as you do, and then everyone started hitting me up saying that it had inspired them to do the same.

My friend Reggie then sent me a text saying ‘I’m coming for you, Manny,’ and so I replied,’ yeah come!’ to which he suggested setting ourselves a challenge: six weeks to get in as best shape as possible - so we both shared the idea on our social channels and before we knew it everyone was getting involved.

So does the element of rivalry make it easier to go about something like this i.e. getting fit?

Yeah yeah, definitely. Just the thought that Reggie might be doing better than me is motivation enough. I literally can’t stop!

That’s what we like to hear. That being the case, what does the typical Manny Norté meal now look like?

Prawns and grapefruit for breakfast (not together we later discover, but rather one after the other). Avocado salad and crayfish for lunch. Fish or chicken with broccoli, lettuce, cauliflower and cucumber for dinner. And water to drink. (At this point, Manny reaches into his bag for a two litre bottle of Evian, and it turns out he’s barely had a sip all day!)

So other than trying to drink more water, what other lifestyle changes have you made?

Well, I'm hitting the gym four to five times a week, mixing up the weights with a lot of core work, and loving the calisthenics.

I’m trying not to go out too late. No alcohol. No sugar. Just eating cleaner, really. Though I did have a cheat meal last Sunday. In fact, make that a cheat day. I had a Belgium chocolate crepe, and it tasted sooooooo good.

Crepes aside, how are you looking after week 3?

Looking good. Trimmed down a bit but still got my problem area, which is my gut.

And how’s Reggie looking?

He's looking good, too. He said he’s already lost a stone!

So are you keeping tabs on each other in order to help pace yourselves?

Yeah. Definitely. We actually sat down yesterday for a catch up.

But what happens after week six?

After week six, we’ll stop. Well, we’ll still train, but we’ll have two or three weeks break and then we start Phase 2 which will be bigger and better!

Sounds good, but who decides which one of you has won Phase One?

I mean, hey, maybe the public. We’ll be sharing our before and after photos and we’ll let our followers decide, and if I’m under any sort of pressure, I’ll just shave my chest and put oil on my body. That makes you look better, right?

Right! But other than volunteering to apply the oil, how can people get involved?

Just jump in using #6weekchallenge, and try not to cheat cos you’re only cheating yourself (so says the chocolate crepe fan, himself...!)

You can follow Manny and Reggie’s transformation journey at their respective twitter accounts, @MannyNorte and @RegYates, or better yet, get involved yourself using #6weekchallenge and give the boys a run for their money!