6 Month Pre-Wedding Fitness Tips to Follow

We get it, your wedding day is one of those moments where you want to look and feel your best. Getting in shape, or just healthier, is a little easier when you have something to work towards, right? So, once you have set the wedding date, you have a timeline to work with. Now, these pre-wedding fitness tips are beneficial at any point, not only in pre-wedding season, but in life! Handstand Personal Trainer, Kristin A. maps out what it looks like to consciously make healthy nutrition and fitness decisions during this time so that you are set up for life long wellness.

Kristen says, Who doesn’t want to look amazing in her wedding gown?!  Of course getting my clients ready for their wedding day is about helping them achieve their fitness goals so they can look and feel their best, but I like to encourage brides and grooms who enlist my help to look at getting in shape for their special day as getting in shape for the next chapter of their lives and beyond. Making personal wellness a priority is one of the greatest gifts you can ever give yourself and those who love you, and the benefits will continue on well past your wedding day and your honeymoon!

Consider budgeting a personal trainer into your spending: Consistency and accountability are key to staying on track during transitions in both our professional and personal lives. Beyond providing a training plan to meet your fitness goals, having a regular weekly or biweekly session will help keep you motivated and give you someone to check in with about your progress and challenges.  A trainer will also be able to help determine if your goals are attainable in the timeframe you have, and help you make adjustments so you can meet your short-term, wedding day, and longer term objectives successfully.   

If you have some concrete goals for changes you’d like to accomplish before your wedding, let your trainer know what they are so you can collaborate on a plan to reach them.  Training for a marathon and training for your wedding can be treated as event specific opportunities to achieve the next level of your personal best.

Photo by Charla Storey Photography

In the Morning:

Start your day with a full glass of water right when you wake up in the morning.  I start mine with a 16oz glass of warm lemon water. It gets your digestive system moving, helps your complexion, and starts your day with conscious, intentional self-care straight away.

Every body is different, but if you can, hold off on breakfast for 10 minutes to an hour after you wake up and kick start your metabolism and your mental focus with some simple cardio exercise. Get out for a run, jump on an elliptical machine or stationary bike, or just repurpose any place you have room to stand in.  All you really need is a jump rope (or an invisible one) jump in 1-2 minute high intensity intervals and walk or jog in place as needed to recover between sets. Keep this up for 10 minutes or up to 60 minutes.  A morning shower and healthy breakfast will feel so much better when you’re done.   

In the afternoon:

Aside from your designated training time on your own & with a trainer, integrate some little fitness boosters, toners and calorie burners into your day. Each time you use the bathroom throughout your workday, get in 10 pushups before you sit back down. If you skip the elevator and take the stairs, try running up Rocky style (safely of course). When you’re starting to drag midday, push your chair aside and do a set of 20 squats instead of surfing the news or checking your Instagram.  

Keep a set of lighter handheld weights (5-8 pounds) in your workspace and get in some arm and shoulder exercise once a day. I recommend this simple series with 10-20 of each: bicep curl, shoulder press, lateral raise, tricep extension. Add your favorite arm exercise if you have more time, or repeat the whole series twice.

Photo by Carla Choy, Recipe: Avocado Citrus Salad

Throughout your day:

Be mindful of what and how much you’re eating. Eating a healthy diet of whole foods and staying hydrated is the primary way you nourish and care for yourself every day. I’m not a one-diet-fits-all trainer, so once you’ve found what works for you: stick with it and limit your portions. For some of us, calorie counting is the only way to stay consistent. For others, a more intuitive moderation or learned portion habits can suffice. Either way, keep working towards loving self-discipline in your eating habits, and remember: if you put more in in the form of calories you consume, you will need to put more out in the form of energy you burn. Despite the very real complications posed by the genes you’ve inherited and your personal hormonal and metabolic issues, that’s one simple equation you can count on.  

In the evening:

After dinner and before bedtime is a great time to do some yoga, core exercise, and tension relieving stretching. Make sure to include some deep lunges, shoulder and hip openers, quad and hamstring stretches, and backbends and heart openers.  In the middle of your yoga routine, when you get down to the mat, try incorporating some of your favorite core and abdominal exercises (or at least the ones you’re most familiar with). I like to use the 100s from pilates, a pilates style bicycle, and some traditional fitness style crunches. End your yoga and core routine with a spinal twist followed by relaxation on your back in savasana.

Over the next 6 months:

As you move towards your fitness goals and your wedding day, keep a record of your progress and keep checking in with your short term, “event specific,” and longer term objectives. Praise yourself for your efforts and your achievements, and be kind to yourself when you come across plateaus and challenges. Keep reminding yourself that this is your adventure: you are in the driver seat of your own life and your own lifelong path to wellness–we’re never done! But that’s the beauty of it.

For a booty-kicking workout, try this slim-down circuit! And when it comes down to the week before your wedding, try this 3 day bridal detox!