For most brides, the upper arms are the only area on show. Whether you’re going strapless or have a dress with capped sleeves picked out, your arms need to be at their best for all the bear-hugging, hand-holding, bouquet-tossing, and glass-toasting you’ll be doing at your wedding. This is perhaps why most brides focus on their upper body fitness for the big day and with these exercises, so can you.
1. The Push-Up Progression: Wellness expert Lexi Walters instructs, ‘Place your hands on a windowsill, table, or bench with your toes on the floor. Keep your body in a straight line, with your arms fully extended. Bend your elbows 90 degrees; then push back up. Be sure to keep your abs engaged and your head in line with your spine. Continue doing push-ups for about 30 seconds. Next, hold yourself in the start position for another 30 seconds.’ For a more advanced version of this exercise, Walters outlines, ‘Assume a regular push-up position with your hands on the floor, palms below your shoulders and your abs contracted. Do 30 seconds of push-ups. Hold the push-up plank position for 30 seconds. Contract your abs and squeeze your inner thighs together.’
2. Cheerleader Raise: ‘This move will raise your heart rate as you target your shoulders, helping to take care of excess flab as you tighten and tone the muscles underneath,’ says Walters. ‘Stay motivated: Imagine those dumbbells are five-pound bouquets. Stand with your fee hip-distance apart, one hand on your hip, the other holding a dumbbell at your side. Raise the dumbbell above your head. Try to lengthen your opposite arm and leg away from each other. Then drive the knee toward the elbow. (The more the legs work, the higher the calorie burn.)’
3. Pullovers with Dumbbells: According to Walters, ‘You’ll be toasting your guests at some point during your big day – here’s a move that’ll make your arms look tight as you raise that glass. Lying on an exercise bench or large couch cushion, hold a five- or eight-pound dumbbell in both hands with your arms extended over your chest. Slowly lower the weight behind your head and return the weight back. Do 15 reps. (Want it harder? Raise your legs and bend your knees 90 degrees.)’
4. The Kickback: Walters notes, ‘An amped-up version of yoga’s Cobra pose, the Kickback can get you closer to those sculpted shoulder blades your backless dress is begging to reveal. Lie facedown on a mat with your legs together and a resistance band under your chest, holding one end in each hand, arms by sides. Lift your chest and reach your arms straight out at shoulder level in front of you, keeping your shoulders down. Hold for one count.’
5. Total-Body Burner: ‘This move will tone and sculpt just about everything, so you’ll want to add it to your routine no matter what your dress looks like,’ asserts Walters. ‘Come into a full push-up position, balancing with your toes on a step. Lower into a push up. Bring your left knee toward your chest, then raise the knee out to the side until it’s at hip height. Bring the knee back to centre, then lower your foot back to the step and return to start. Repeat the sequence for eight reps. Rest for 30 seconds, then switch sides.’
6. Cat & Cow: Walters explains, ‘This combo is an excellent stress reliever as well as back strengthener and toner, especially if you’re holding tension (invitations are late, mother-in-law just upped the guest list) in your lower back. Cow Pose: On hands and knees, inhale and lift head while making back concave. Cat Pose: On exhale, tuck tailbone, contract abs, and round back, head down. Child’s Pose: Draw hips back to heels, drop chest, rounding spine, and rest forehead on the floor, arms in front of you. Do 6 reps of the whole cycle. Rest in Child’s Pose for several breaths.’