Pre-Wedding Day Workouts

Being a bride is one of the most exciting times in a women’s life. Although it can also be very stressful, there is a lot of preparation that goes into creating that perfect wedding day.

The expectations for a bride have been set so high, you want to have the perfect dress, with your hair just right, and the glowing bride face, and above all else be in the best shape of your life. This is a lot of pressure for one girl to handle! Staying active will be one of the healthiest and most rewarding ways to deal with all the craziness going on in your pre-wedding world.

Just remember this is YOUR special day with the one you love. It is the start to your wonderful new life, so be easy on yourself. Don’t forget, every bride is a beautiful bride, so enjoy the journey there and take some pressure off yourself.

Why Follow a Pre-Wedding Workout Routine

There are so many reasons to start getting active. But there are some especially unique ones as a new bride to be! On your big day you are going to want it to last forever, and thanks to pictures it can! This is a wonderful thing, and a great way to motivate yourself into getting yourself off the couch and into the gym. With all the planning and stress that goes into this big day being consistent with working out will really help you sleep regularly and have that much needed “me” time. There are endless health benefits to being active, as you start out your new life with your significant other you want to start it out right!

Real Goals

You need to have realistic fitness goals when you are making big changes. This will help you stay motivated, if the goals are too extreme you are more opt to get discouraged and quit. Don’t make your bridal fitness goal something unreachable like losing 25 kilos in a months. There is no reason to obsess over losing so much weight when you have so many other wonderful things going on before the wedding. Instead make it you goal to be healthier! This will lead to safer workouts and eating habits. You will feel amazing on your big day, and if you are consistent and patient your hard work will show.  If you can, start as early as possible that way you wont be scrambling before the wedding day.

Finding a workout buddy will help you stay motivated. A bridesmaid, or even your fiancé would make great workout buddies! It will give you both a break from all the wedding planning and time to catch up on other parts of your lives. There is a special bond you form with your workout buddy, they push you to do better and encourage you when things get tough. If the wedding planning is very stressful maybe choosing someone not involved in the wedding would be good. It will give you a break from all the wedding madness and a chance to vent about any silly drama that may be going on. Either way having this person there will help keep you coming back to the gym.

Target Areas

What most brides-to-be base their workouts around is the wedding dress. Each dress style will show off different parts of your body. Love your arms? Go for a strapless dress and focus your workouts on biceps, shoulders, triceps and back! Wanting a mermaid or more form fitting dress? Start doing squats and get some core workouts in. Add some cardio to every workout and be sure you are eating at every meal with smaller portions. For more detailed workouts check out our blog post, Women, It’s Time To Start Lifting Weights.

All dresses can be altered! Make the dress fit your body, not the other way around. Find a dress that will show off your favorite parts of yourself rather than having to make lots of changes to fit the dress. It is good to have a dress that helps motivate you to get active, but don’t let it be something that will cause stress.

Don't Stop After Your Wedding Ends

The wedding day has come and gone and it was everything you ever dreamed of and more. You are headed off to the honeymoon without a worry in the world. So after all that hard work you put in before the wedding keep it up after! Once you start working out consistently you will probably be hooked anyway, there is no better feeling than being healthy! But if you need that extra push just look back at where you started and how far you have come.

Bridal Bootcamp

Always warm up and stretch. Then do a cool down after the workout is finished. Rotate through these workouts taking a break at least once. Don’t go more than three days without working out! High reps low weights for burning fat, Low reps high weight for gaining muscle.

DAY 1 - CARDIO

If you like running then run! Start with a jogging warm up than alternate between 2-minute jogging and 30 second sprints. If you want to add a bit more of a challenge put the treadmill on an incline, if you are running outside try and find some hills.

DAY 2 - LEGS

Warm up on bike for 5-10 minutes. Do squats with weights (3 sets of 12). Lunges with dumbbells and back leg up on a bench (3 sets of 12). Leg raises laying on side Leg raises on all fours, raise leg up to ceiling.

DAY 3 - CARDIO

Fast paced jumps. There are so many jumps that you could do to get your heart rate up. Start with jumping rope (5 minutes) then alternate between frog jumps (10 sets), box jumps (10 sets), side jumps (10 each side), one leg jumps (30 seconds), and burpees (15 sets). Repeat this as many times as you can.

DAY 4 - UPPER BODY

Warm up on treadmill or elliptical 5-10 minutes. Triceps dips-hand on bench and your feet on the ground (feet on another bench to make it harder). Rocking planks - get in plank position and rock forward and back. Push ups - feet up on bench Bicep curls - (3 sets of 12)

REPEAT EACH WEEK, INCREASING REPS AND INTENSITY.

~ Katie