Bridal Fitness Q&A

Look absolutely BEST on her wedding day is every bride’s dream. From hair and makeup to manicures and waxing, from bridal gowns to wedding shoes, every aspect needs to be perfect. To go the extra mine, the following are what you need to follow.

Q1. How can brides best tone their shoulders and arms to look gorgeous and fit in their strapless wedding gowns?

Answer: The best toning exercise for those lean, sexy arms are push-ups. Vary the placement of your hands on the ground to target the different parts of your arms. Try these variations of the basic push-up....hands out wide, hands by your shoulders, hands lower by your chest, hands together making a "heart" with your thumbs and pointer fingers. Start out doing as many as you can of each variation and work your way up to 15 of each.

Q2. How can brides best tone their back for those awesome "glance over my shoulder" photos?

Answer: The "breast-stroke" is a great back toning exercise you can do on your living room floor! Lay on the floor, stomach down. Stretch your arms out over your head. Arch your back up, lift your head and chest off the ground while doing the breast-stroke with your arms. Return to starting position and repeat. Do three sets of 20 reps.

Q3. What's the best way for brides to lose those last 10 pounds, 3 months before their wedding?

Answer:

• Eat every 2-3 hours. This will keep your metabolism burning! Stock up your purse with some easy snacks.
• No starches after 3pm. That means...no rice, pasta, potatoes, etc. for dinner. Eat your starches at breakfast and lunch. Load up on lean meats and veggies for dinner.
• Drink Up! Hydrate. Divide your body weight by two and that's how many ounces you need to consume a day.
• Cut down on the sweets. Try not to consume any processed sugar. Get your "sweet fix" from natural sugars.
• Don't eat within 3-hours of your bedtime. Try to get at least 7 hours of sleep each night.

Q4. There are a lot of BUSY brides who don't have time to exercise daily. What alternatives can you recommend to keep "active" during a normal day?

Answer: Buy a pedometer and wear it from the time you wake up until you go to sleep each day. Your goal is 10,000 steps a day. Take the steps instead of the elevator. Park further away and walk through the parking lot. Find some stairs on your lunch break and run up and down for 5-10 minutes. Take a 30-minute walk after dinner.