Preparing for your wedding isn't only a matter of securing your wedding location, sending out guest invitations, selecting the right flowers, caterers, etc. but also about looking your very best for what will be one of the most memorable days of your life. Or does it only comes down to selecting the right wedding dress, hair style, and jewelry; it also comes down to looking and achieving your own personal best by getting in great shape. By getting in great shape not only will you radiate more beauty but will feel more confident which will also radiate. Here are some effective ways that you can use to achieve your personal best for your wedding:
Don't be shy around the weights
Many women avoid intense weight training because they believe that it will make them big and muscular, this is unlikely because most women do not have the genetic capacity to build very large muscles. The majority of women with very large muscle have trained deliberately for them for years to look that way, and many take male hormones, so don't worry. Intense weight training is an effective way for you to increase muscle tone, improve posture and turn on your body's ability to burn body fat. Your weight training program should be intense meaning that you should push yourself or be pushed by someone else to train hard. It should also be progressive, meaning that you should be striving to increase thew weight you lift and/or the amount of repetitions that you can perform from workout to workout. The continued resistance will cause your body to become more toned, leaner and fitter.
Alternate for best results
Alternating your weight training workouts with your cardiovascular workouts has a synergistic effect which will speed up the pace in which your body burns fat and becomes lean. The extra cardiovascular exercise done on non weight training days will keep your body burning body fat as well as speed up recovery from your weight training workouts. 2-3 weight training workouts alternated with 2-3 cardiovascular workouts will produce excellent results.
Create an illusion to look leaner
If you want to look taller and slimmer in you dress then make sure that you exercise your shoulders and back muscles. Toning up these areas improves posture which makes the body appear more tapered, taller and leaner. Sculpting these two areas creates an optical illusion which can make you look 10-12lbs. lighter than what you actually weigh. To properly work these areas include exercises such as overhead presses, dumbbell shoulder raises, bent over rows, lat pulldowns and chin ups in your workouts. note: For proper instruction on how to perform these exercise refer to my book 12 weeks to Beach Body Abs.
To look stunning train your showy muscles
To look truly stunning look train the muscles of your chest, arms along with your back and shoulders. These areas will be the most visible in your wedding dress so it makes sense to pin point them for the most improvement. When exercising your chest select exercises that target the upper portion such as the incline chest press or incline dumbbell fly. For your arms include exercises such as bench dips, triceps push downs, dumbbell curls and cable curls.
Train your legs to burn off the extra fat
If you want to double your progress exercise the muscles of your legs. Leg training can be punishing but it is highly effective for increasing the rate at which the body burns fat and sculpts the entire body. Proper leg training sends a signal to the body which causes the body to increase it's own production of fat burning hormones. For best results be sure to include exercises such as the barbell squat, stiff legged deadlift, lunges and jumping squat. Another great way to work the legs is to perform sprints which can be done on flat land or on hills.
Eat a healthy diet to get real results
Eating healthy will drastically improve the effectiveness of your exercise program, getting your body to where you want it to be much quicker. When many people think about eating they often cringe, think about bland tasting foods and hunger. Don't worry, you can reach your goal of looking incredible without feeling miserable. To make foods to taste great consider using spices or adding fruit to dishes. To avoid the feeling of hunger choose foods that are rich fiber and water, which a filling effects. Consider upping your protein intake from lean sources of protein such as fish, poultry, eggs and beans. Protein has the effect of lowering hunger. Eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, along with lean proteins. Consume but limit your intake of calorically denser foods nuts, breads and pastas. Drink plenty of water to encourage fat loss and muscle toning.
Give yourself enough time
Give yourself enough time to get in tip top shape, particularly if you haven't exercised in a while. Giving yourself a few months will allow your body enough time to burn of body fat and tone up at a comfortable pace, freeing your mind of the stress of not knowing if you are going to be in shape or not. Give yourself about 3 months to get in shape, 3 months is not so long that you lose focus but enough to allow you to get in shape.
By applying these effective strategies to getting into great shape you will look lean and toned for your wedding day. For more effective strategies on getting in awesome shape for your wedding day check out my wedding programs for brides and Grooms.
