Match your workout to your wedding dress for bridal body confidence!
Wedding seasons is nearly upon us and if you’re getting hitched this year, there’s still plenty of time to get your dream body to go along with your dress.
With all the stress that comes with planning a wedding, upping your exercise routine will help you feel great on the inside too, exercise releases endorphins to keep stress at bay, boosts your confidence and improves your stamina for the big day.
As Carly Yue, personal trainer and nutritionist for DW Fitness explains: “Weight training is the optimum way to get lean and toned, it’s extremely difficult for a women to build mass to the point of looking masculine, so dismiss those fears of ‘getting too bulky’ and embrace the weights area in the gym.”#
Read Carly's tips on how to get the best from your dress with a workout to suit your style…
Baby got back
Our backs are rarely on show, so are often neglected in our workout routines. If you’ve plunged for a daring backless dress for your wedding, ensure your back is toned 
and strong by incorporating these moves into your workout. Strengthening your back will also help with your posture for those all important wedding photos.
Bent over row:
• Holding a pair of dumbbells, keep your feet hip-width distance apart and bend at the waist and knees
• Hold your arms and the dumbbells extended out in front of you towards the floor.
• Squeeze your shoulder blades together and bring the weights up, keeping your elbows in.
• To complete one rep, lower the weights back down, keeping your elbows in tight.
Lat pulldown:
• Using the lat pulldown machine, adjust the weight so you can complete 10-12 reps
• Keep your hands shoulder width apart
• Lean back slightly as you pull the bar towards you
• Focus on keeping your shoulder blades pulled together
Assisted pull up:
• Using an assisted pull up machine or bar with pull up bands is a great way to build strength if you can’t do a pull up…yet
• Grip the bar with hands shoulder width apart
• Focus on pulling your shoulder blades together and lift yourself up to the bar
• Slowly bring yourself back to the start postition
What a Sweetheart!
With a sweetheart neckline, your shoulders, arms, neck and chest will be in the spotlight. Draw attention for all the right reasons with these workouts that will sculpt and 
tone these typical trouble spots:
Upright row:
• Stand with your hips feet distance apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand
• Lift the dumbbells up to just below your chin, keep your elbows sticking out
• Slowly bring back down for one rep
Tricep dips:
• Facing away from a bench, put your hands shoulder width apart
• Straighten your legs out in front so you are close to the floor
• Bend your elbows towards the floor to lower your body
• Push back up to complete one rep
Bicep curls:
• Stand up tall, feet together, with a dumbbell in each hand
• Engage the core and keep your shoulders back
• Curl the dumbbells up to your shoulders and slowly back down
Show stopping hourglass
A corset is sure to emphasise that waist and hips for a dramatic hourglass shape. For a smooth silhouette, you’ll want to increase the strength in your core and hips while trimming down your waist for maximum impact. To minimise back fat spilling over the top of your corset, you might also want to mix in some of the back exercises above.
Seated Russian twist:
• Sitting on the ground, lift your feet slightly in the air
• Lean back slightly with your back straight
• Twist from side to side slowly, focus on engaging your core
• Make it more challenging by holding a medicine ball
Skipping:
• Skipping is an all round fat burner that will help you to lose weight and sculpt your waist
• Try skipping with high knees or do double unders (two rotations of the rope in one jump) to test yourself
• Rotate the rope from your wrist not your shoulders for maximum effect
Side bends with dumbbell:
• Standing straight with your feet hip width apart, hold a dumbbell in each hand
• Slowly lean to one side, keeping your back straight and head up
• Slowly come back up to the starting position and repeat on the other side
Little Mermaid
For form fitting wedding dresses, build that booty with strength exercises that target the glutes. The glutes are the biggest muscle and need to be challenged to change, so to really build a firm round bum, you’ll need to target with a few tough workouts a week that hit the glutes, back, hamstrings and quads.
Squats:
• Standing with feet shoulder width apart, keep your chest up and face forward
• Sit down slowly into an imaginary chair
• Push up explosively, focus on engaging the muscles in your bum
• Ensure your heels stay on the floor throughout
• Mix up your squats with narrow and sumo (wide stance) and add dumbbells to really target all the glutes
Lunges:
• With one front in front of the other, bend at the knees and drop your hips, keeping your front knee above your ankle
• Keep your weight in your front heel and lift yourself back up
• Add dumbbells to make it more challenging#
Glute bridge:
• Lie on the floor and bend your knees
• Squeeze your glutes and push your hips up, hold and squeeze that bum!
• Slowly lower down for one rep, to make it harder add a bar or medicine ball held across your hips
Hey shorty!
If you’ve opted for a fun and flirty short dress, you’ll want picture-perfect pins to match. Women often store excess fat on knees due to high oestrogen levels, so clean up your diet to really help tone this trouble spot.
For long and lean legs, mix these into your routine:
Jumping lunges:
• As above with the lunges, speed it up by jumping from one foot in front to the other
Side lunge:
• Stand with feet shoulder width apart and take a large step to the left
• Keep your left knee above your toes and push back up
• Repeat on the other side
Step ups:
• Step up onto a weight bench or box with your right foot
• Focus on pressing through the right foot and don’t swing your arms
• Bring your left leg up to stand on the box then step back down with the right
• Rinse and repeat on the other side!
To find out how to lose weight for your big day read Carly's top tips for slimming down for summer!
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