Hey Brides! How to Get Fit for Your Wedding

Every little girl dreams of the day she’ll wear her wedding dress, kiss the man of her dreams and have the beautiful wedding she’s always imagined. But most women also really want to get in shape so they’ll look fantastic in that wedding dress! Even women who’ve exercised regularly, often increase their exercise regimen as brides to be.

Don’t try to drop a dozen inches in two weeks – it simply isn’t going to happen. But most women can make great improvements with a little determination and sticking to an exercise plan. Try some of our helpful tips to get fit for your wedding day!

If you exercise already, look at what you need to improve. This may involve getting a session or two with a personal trainer. Most brides truly don’t want another expense while planning their wedding, but seeing a personal trainer can save you time and help you avoid from over exercising the wrong muscle groups. A personal trainer can make suggestions on how to increase exercise to reach your goals and will customize a plan. Can’t afford a personal trainer? Try asking a friend who is passionate about fitness for some tips and advice!

If you don’t exercise, now is a great time to start. But you’ll want to be sure not to overdo it. If you are out of shape, starting with a super intense workout can put you at risk for injuries, and no bride to be wants to spend her time nursing overworked muscles when she has wedding planning to do! Start with gentle yoga or twenty to thirty minutes on an exercise machine like a treadmill or elliptical machine. Increase by five to ten minutes every week until you’ve reached about thirty to forty five minutes of cardio.

For the bride who wants to lose weight, the secret is a one-two punch of cardio and weight training. You need both pieces of the puzzle. Don’t worry about “bulking up,” that happens with guys. Most women workout with three, five, eight and even ten pound hand weights, depending on the exercise they are doing. The best hand weight is one that feels a little challenging but you can still get through all of the reps.

Give yourself one or two rest days to help get in shape and lose weight. If you lead a very sedentary life (working at a desk most of the time), then probably you would want to take one rest day instead of two. If you do a lot of walking, take care of young children, do gardening or other physical chores, plan on two rest days.

Remember you can’t change your body type as you lose weight. A lot of women get frustrated about their “trouble spots.” Whether this is your arms, legs, belly or another area, it seems that this area may have always bothered you and this is the area you’d really like to see progress. Realize that you may get fit and lose some weight, but if your body is an “apple” or a “pear” that your body will continue to have more weight in the belly (apple) or the hips (pear). Focus on finding that wedding dress that compliments the body you have, instead of looking to change the body type you have, which is simply impossible.

Our best tip: find a bride (or friend) fitness buddy! Research has shown that when you workout with a friend, you will exercise longer and more enthusiastically than if you do it solo. This means you have greater potential to lose weight, get fit and see the results you are hoping for. So find another bride who is getting in shape for her wedding dress, or a friend who wants to get ready for bikini season, and exercise together!