It’s when you have to crawl up the stairs the day after that you know your workout has been a success.

While the first four weeks focused on full-body workouts, where it was all about building basic form and strength, this week enters the next phase of focusing on specific parts of the body in order to be able to increase intensity and volume.

Push and Pull
The two workouts with Kayser this week followed a push-pull program.

An easy rule of thumb to remember when working out is that every movement needs to be counteracted – i.e bench press (push) paired with back rows (pull). This ensures your physiology develops evenly and prevents injury.

The two workouts this week were split into chest, shoulders and triceps on one day, and legs, back, and biceps on the other.

Stairway satisfaction
The last time I had a leg day that resulted in me not being able to walk up the stairs for the following three days was when I was still doing competitive sports.

However, this week I have finally revisited the glorious satisfaction that comes with not being able to move for the whole day after a successful workout.

Pushing through the burn
Kayser really pushed me to my limits, and it was only pure will that let me complete the last few squat jumps at the end of the second workout when my legs were crying out for me to stop from every single fibre.

It was the best feeling to make it through, and being able to collapse onto the floor was the biggest reward imaginable (something Kayser managed to capture on video. The footage can be seen on our social media channels – see factbox).

THE WORKOUT 1 – PUSH: 

– BB Bench Presses
– DB Incline Presses
– DB Shoulder Presses
– DB Lateral Raises
– Dips
– Cable Crunches

THE WORKOUT 2 – PULL/LEGS:

– Pull-ups
– Lying BB Rows
– Seated Rows
– Squats
– Leg Press
– Romanian Deadlifts
– Calf Raises

THE GOOD MOOD PLAYLIST:

Essential tunes to get your pump on

Workout:
– Danza Kuduro
Don Omar ft Lucenzo
– Counting Stars
OneRepublic
– Timber
Pitbull ft Ke$ha
– Can’t Remember to Forget You
Shakira ft Rihanna
– Hey Brother
Avicii

Stretching:
– Halo
Beyoncé
– Young and Beautiful
Lana Del Rey
– What I Did For Love
David Guetta ft Emily Sadé

Diet Tip of the Week: It’s HOT and all about the chilli

This week’s dietary super food is the chilli pepper! Including chilli in your meal preps has a number of benefits

7 key benefits:

– Chilli peppers contain the substance capsaicin which helps fight inflammation
Capsaicin also works as a natural pain relief

– Red chilli peppers, such as cayenne, have been shown to reduce blood cholesterol while increasing the body’s ability to dissolve fibrin (a substance integral to the formation of blood clots)

– Capsaicin also clears congestion as it stimulates secretions that help clear mucus from a stuffed nose or congested lungs.

– The high content of beta-carotene or pro-Vitamin A means chilli can boost immunity. Only two teaspoons of red chilli peppers provide about 6 percent of the daily value of vitamin C and more than 10 percent of the daily value of Vitamin A.

– Chilli can also help you lose weight – this is due to the substances in chilli peppers that significantly increase thermogenesis (heat production) and oxygen consumption in the body.

– Also known to lower the risk of type 2 diabetes, prevent stomach ulcers and help stop the spread of prostate cancer.