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Top Wedding Fitness Questions (and their answers)
By
Lynn
Bode
As a Personal Trainer for
brides-to-be, I often get asked the same wedding
fitness questions over and over again. Brides (and
grooms) usually are looking for simple and easy ways
to get in better shape for their special day.
While there aren’t any quick-fix
overnight shape-up plans, armed with the right
knowledge and techniques anyone can improve their
appearance in time for their wedding day. Here are
the most common questions along with answers to help
you get more fit in time for your nuptials.
My wedding is next month, how can I
drop 20 pounds? Bottom line – you really can’t. This
answer doesn’t get a lot of cheers, but it’s the
realistic truth. In a month’s time the most you
typically can expect to lose is about 8 pounds. If
you try unhealthy, starvation-type diets you might
be able to lose more than that. But, the truth is
that those extra pounds probably won’t make you look
a whole lot better. That’s because if you lose that
much weight in such a short period of time then you
just lose water and muscle weight primarily – not
fat! You’d be better off losing the 8 pounds in a
healthy way that includes increasing muscle mass and
decreasing fat. This type of weight loss will
actually improve your appearance. Plus, with the
drastic 20-pound loss, you are putting yourself at
risk for illness not to mention making yourself look
sickly for your precious wedding photographs.
With all the wedding planning, I
don’t have a single minute to workout. What can I
do? While wedding planning can make anyone’s life a
little crazy, it’s important not to lose sight of
the importance of regular exercise. Decreasing your
usual weekly fitness regimen is fine, but don’t
completely forgo it. Try to fit in even just 20
minutes three times per week. And, don’t feel
limited to traditional workouts. You can incorporate
your wedding planning and workouts together. For
example, enroll your fiancé and yourself in weekly
dance lessons. You’ll wow your reception guests with
your dance steps plus benefit from the exercise you
get during each lesson.
How can I get my upper body more
defined looking for my wedding day? You can’t spot
reduce. So, if you have a lot of fat in that area,
you will first need to reduce it. In basic terms,
this is done by burning more calories than you
consume. So, you need to participate in a healthy
fitness program that includes cardio, strength
training, flexibility and good nutrition. Once you
have decreased the fat, then you can concentrate on
strengthening the muscle groups in your upper body.
You can do this with dumbbells, resistance bands or
weight machines. Choose 1-2 exercises for each major
muscle group and perform 8-12 reps and repeat with
1-2 sets. With a good, targeted strength program you
could even see results within four weeks.
I really want to get in-shape for my
wedding, but I just don’t have any willpower. How
can I make myself exercise? Find a program or a
workout-buddy that will help provide you with
motivation, encouragement and accountability. Your
fiancé is a great first choice. But, you could also
enlist the help of a member of the bridal party or
your mother. Another great option is working with a
fitness professional. The fitness pro can create an
individual program for you or one designed for you
and your workout-buddy. Plus, being accountable to a
stranger can be much more motivating. After all,
your buddy may fear offending you when remarking
about a missed workout session.
Our honeymoon is at a beach. How can
I get firmer abs and butt for my swimsuit? As
mentioned above, you can’t spot reduce and you need
to take a comprehensive approach to shaping-up. With
that said, be sure to include exercises that
strengthen and tone those particular areas. For a
very challenging abdominal workout, try exercises
with a stability ball. There are also many great
leg/butt exercises that you can do with the ball.
But, plain-old squats and lunges are also effective.
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