Expert Fitness Advice On How To Get In Shape For Your Wedding Day

There are few times in a woman’s life when getting in shape is more of a priority than just before their wedding day. Everyone wants to look their best when getting married but unfortunately there’s a lot of misconception about the best way to go about it. I get a lot of inquiries from brides to be on their fitness so I figured I’d do an article recapping the most frequently asked questions and answers.

How much time should I give myself for a body transformation before my wedding? I really want to look my absolute best and don’t want to unreal expectations.

As a general rule I recommend brides give themselves 12 weeks to transform their body before the wedding day. Of course this depends on what the primary changes are you’d like to see. You can tone and firm up nicely with eight weeks of hard work on resistance training, but if you’re looking to lose more than 10 pounds and really transform your body you’ll need more time.

Trying to do excessive exercise and drastically cutting calories in a rush will only lead to a catabolic state where you’ll break down lean muscle instead of building it. This is commonly referred to as the “skinny-fat” look. This is the last thing you want for your wedding day photos.

Sunken cheeks, bags under your eyes, and a lack of muscle definition will certainly not make you happy. Bottom line is must give yourself time to look and feel your best. Avoid the most common mistake of waiting until the last minute before starting a structured exercise and nutrition regiment.

What are the biggest mistakes you see brides making with their fitness and nutrition prior to their wedding day?

Without question the biggest mistake I see is brides waiting too late then rushing to try and lose weight. There’s also a tendency to crash diet and do a ton of cardio which almost always backfires. While cardio is certainly beneficial for fat loss, resistance training is essential if you want to change your body composition along with toning up.

Doing high intensity burst training and interval training will produce the best results in the shortest amount of time but you have to work up to it. This is one of the reasons why a twelve week window is so beneficial. You simply have to give your body some time to adapt to the increased workloads associated with high intensity training.

Some women like to do yoga, pilates, and other low intensity type workouts which is fine but when you really want to get “dialed in” for something as big as your wedding day, you’ll want to hit resistance training with focused effort and hard work. There simply is no substitute.

What will be the most effective type of workouts for losing unwanted body fat around my hips and stomach while getting toned and firm?

These are the two areas that seem to get the most attention as they’ll certainly be noticeable in most wedding gowns. It’s important to understand that “spot training” fails miserably in the real world. You can’t do enough sit-up’s to loose your belly or enough reps on that silly hip abduction-adduction machine in the gym. As a certified Charleston personal trainer I’ve written extensively on this subject. See my article on “The top 5 health club machines to avoid” for more information.

The best way to loose fat around your belly and hips is to work the large muscle groups with high intensity effort. An exercise like free weight squats will do more to help you loose fat in those areas than just about anything else. It may sound weird but it’s true.

The reason is because the large muscle groups, with your legs being the largest, will require more energy when you start working them hard by applying an overload stimulus. This will cause your metabolism to increase and you’ll actually move stored fat from your belly and hips to those large muscle groups to be burned as fuel.

Burst training for resistance and interval training for cardio will be your one-two punch for delivering your best body in time for your wedding day.

How can brides best tone their shoulders and arms to look gorgeous in their strapless wedding gowns?

Every bride wants to have nice toned arms and shoulders for their wedding day. Once again resistance training is essential. All the cardio in the world won’t help a bit here. You’ll want to basic functional strength training movements for best results. Exercises like biceps curls, triceps pressdowns, dips, push-up’s, and side lateral raises are just a few of the most effective movements.

As a general rule you’ll want to avoid the machines and either work with TRX suspension straps, free weights, or with bodyweight movements for best results. Don’t neglect the effectiveness of the simple push-up. It’s one of the best exercises to tone and firm your arms and shoulders.

How can brides best tone their back for those “glancing over the shoulder” photos?

Ah yes, having a trim and toned back will look so much better than those two rolls of fat hanging out the top of your wedding gown. Again, total body burst training will be best to lose fat and exercises that focus on rowing and pulling will be most effective for toning. Cable rows, resistance band rows, lat pulldowns, dumbbell rows, and seated rows are a few of my favorites.

Are there any specific exercises or stretches brides should do to help improve posture so I don’t look slouched over in my photos?

This is one of those areas that is often overlooked although many women suffer from poor posture with what’s called a “protracted shoulder girdle.” This is where the shoulders round forward and the head and neck tend to stick out. Weak upper back muscles are the primary culprit and should be the area to focus on. Performing the back exercises listed above will help along with stretches to improve shoulder flexibility.

What’s the best way for brides to lose those last 10 pounds a month out from their wedding?

Diet and nutrition will be your primary pathway to lose those last 10 pounds when you’re only a month out. Cardio will be very helpful but you must be careful to support your metabolism by providing enough calories. Drastically cutting calories and doing hours of cardio will not be the path you want to take like I explained earlier. Following what’s called a “Primal Blueprint diet” that is naturally low carb but still provides essential micronutrients and fuel for exercise will be the best way to drop those last 10 pounds.

I am extremely busy with work and planning for my wedding and don’t have time to exercise daily, what should I do?

To be blunt you’re going to have to make a decision on how important it is to you to have the body you want by your wedding day. I know this is a hectic, stressful time for a lot of brides but you absolutely must make time for exercise or you’re likely to be disappointed with the end result.

The reality is you can see amazing results with only a commitment to thirty minutes a day for exercise. The trick is to do the burst training where you won’t need a lot of time. When you’re working out with high intensity you’ll see twice the results in half the time. If you don’t know how to do the burst training, consider hiring a personal trainer to assist you.

It will be much easier to just show up and have your workout all planned out for you instead of wandering around the gym for an hour and accomplishing little.

Is there anything specifically brides should eat or not eat the week before their wedding to look their best?

This is a great question and an area that often gets overlooked. The last thing you want for your wedding day is to look all puffy and bloated. You’ll want to pull down your carbs and avoid high sodium content for starters. I’d also recommend you pull out all sodas and any processed-refined foods.

Stick with lean proteins, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and healthy fats the week of your wedding. Protein meal replacement shakes can also be a huge help during this time. Drink plenty of water and focus on greens and fruits that will help to balance out electrolytes.

What’s the number one workout tip or fitness advice you’d give a bride?

The best workout or fitness advice I can give to a bride is to clearly determine what you’d like to change about your body prior to your wedding. Get very specific and be clear with what you want to do. Then seek out the help of a fitness coach who can help you put together a plan that will produce the best results.

Once you have the right information and clear game plan it’s all about dedication, hard work, and focused effort. Go all out and put everything you have into your workouts. A clean diet with burst training and hard work will produce the best results every time.