2009-07-07 08:30:00 by FITGIRL
Get in Shape for your Wedding!
Is your wedding coming up? If so, you want to look and feel your best for the big day. Perhaps you have already started to exercise, but if you haven't, it's not too late! Preparation for your wedding day is one of the best times in life to start up or improve an exercise program. The anticipation of showing off your beautiful dress and beautiful smile in front of all your friends and family for such a special occasion is a huge motivator. You could build a habit of exercise and healthy eating for the rest of your life by harnessing your motivation to look your best on your big day.
Here are 3 areas to start thinking about today:
1. Effectiveness
Be sure that the time, energy and effort you put into exercise is effective. To get the most out of your exercise time, it is extremely important to exercise consistently with the optimal technique and intensity for you. This is where a personal trainer could be useful. A trainer can help you:
- find activities you enjoy,
- assess your program needs,
- ensure you are using the correct exercise technique,
- show you how to make the most of your time spent exercising in and out of the gym, and
- help you get into the habit of an active lifestyle.
2. Frequency
Make it your goal to exercise 5-6 days of the week. It can be easy exercise like a walk on some days and higher intensity such as running or weight training on other days. As long as you consistently increase your activity levels along with the intensity, you will feel and see a difference. Exercising this frequently helps you achieve your goals sooner and it helps to build the habit of increased physical activity.
Once you learn to incorporate exercise into your schedule most days of the week, it becomes easier to maintain the habit leading up to and after your wedding day.
3. Intensity
Whatever activity you are involved in, be it walking, running, weight training, boxing, biking, swimming, aerobics class, or something else, try to step up the intensity in the 8-12 weeks leading up to your wedding. This means increasing the speed, distance or time in your cardio training workouts. In general, you should sweat and be slightly out of breath during your cardio workouts. Aim for 20-45 minutes of activity where you are working hard enough to sweat and breathe more heavily 3-5 times a week.
These areas should give you some good food for thought as you think about making some healthy lifestyle changes! My next post will provide you with 5 great exercises to tone you up for the big day.
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Vivian Law, BPHE NSCA-CPT, has been a personal trainer for over 8 years, helping numerous people, (including Brides!) improve their fitness to lead healthy, active lifestyles. With a passion for healthy cooking, Vivian is also pursuing a certification in nutrition. Questions or need an exercise program? Contact Vivian directly at vivianlaw@sympatico.ca.
