IT'S WEDDING SEASON!
(Not literally)
After turning 30, it seems like everybody is getting MARRIED and having kids! I'm excited to hear about many of their impending marriages and have been fortunate to have been a part of a few special days.
In an ideal world you would have an unlimited budget and a year to get in the BEST shape of your life. This can be difficult with the go-go nature of our society today.
Well my friend and future Mrs., here are a few options for you to get you moving in the right direction.
Former client of mine looking extra fabulous on her special day.
What We'll Target
Shoulders and Back:
Especially if you have a dress that accentuates these areas of your body. The added benefit to training these areas of your body is improved posture! No one wants to be the slouching bride.
Legs:
Even though most dresses don't show off your stems, if your goal is to incinerate body fat as quickly as possible you're going to have to take full advantage of the metabolic impact heavy leg training will have on your physique.
A double dip for brides who might change during the reception or wish to look exceptional in a bikini on their honeymoons.
Arms:
This one will vary for each woman depending on their preference for how defined they want their arms to be. The plan below doesn't highlight the arms too much, but if you want slightly more definition in your triceps or deltoid area I would throw in isolation work for them.
Time Frame: 1 Year
This bride planned ahead and has the best chance at walking down that aisle exactly the way she envisions. She won't have to feel too pressured to be super strict, but you also aren't allowed to fall off the wagon every month only to panic 3 months out.
Cardio will NOT have to be the cornerstone of your plan, and while you will have to do some not as much because you planned ahead!
Nutrition wise you have some wiggle room for error. The biggest luxury will be the ability to experiement with your dietary breakdown and find one that works for your current lifestyle.
I.E: You're a doctor and work crazy hours, eating every 3 hours isn't really feasible. For this individual I would recommend the typical 3 times a day eating style, with a snack somewhere in there.
Time Frame: 6 Months
6 months is plenty of time to look great for your big day. Yes you should have started 6 months ago, but like the saying goes, better late than never.
The biggest change will be the cardio and nutrition components.
You'll have to exercise at minimum 4-5x a week, starting with moderate-heavy weights and finishing off with cardio each session. Nutrition will need to be a little more aggressive and on point (hey that's what you get for procrastinating).
For this woman I would suggest a carb/calorie cycle (a diet where you alternate between high and low level of carbs and calories) diet like this:
125lb woman interested in RAPID fat loss (this type of dieting works for those who are already fairly lean >24% body fat)
MENU 1 Baseline: 1000cal, 150g protein, 33g carbs, 30g fat
MENU 2, Higher Carbohydrates: 1250 cal, 150g protein, 95g carbs, 30g fat
MENU 3, Higher Carb and Calorie: 1500 cal, 150g protein, 125g carbs, 45g fat
MENU 4, Higher Calorie 1500 cal, 150g protein, 33g carbs, 85g fat
With the weekly distribution of those menus
Monday: 1
Tuesday: 1
Wednesday: 4
Thursday: 2
Friday: 1
Saturday: 1
Sunday: 3
Time Frame: 3 Months
3 months is still enough time to make significant change, it will however be very dependent on your level of commitment to a plan. Nutrition and exercise will need to turn the dial to an 11.
You now have to be active 5-6x per week and every session needs to include some form of cardio, high interval or steady state cardio.
The nutritional outline described above will need to be altered to include more lower calorie menus if greater fat loss is needed. I would be sure to structure the menu so the highest intensity days correspond with the highest calorie and carbohydrate days.
Sample 6 Week Workout plan (For Bride #1, One Year Time Frame)
Week 1
Day 1:
A1) Squat 5x8
A2) DB (Dumbbell) Row 5x8
B1) DB Split Squat 5x8 ea side
B2) Face Pulls 5x15
C1) Dead bugs 4x12
C2) Side lying clamshell 4x15
Day 2:
A1) (sumo or conventional) Deadlift 5x8
A2) Lat Pulldown, supinated (underhand) grip 5x10
B1) Cable Pullthroughs 5x12
B2) Paloff Press 5x10
C1) High-Low Farmers Walks 4x
Day 3:
A1) Hip Thrust 5x10
A2) Push Ups 5x5 (elevated if needed, never on your knees)
B1) KB Swing 5x10
B2) Farmer's Walks 5x
C1) Deadbugs 4x12
Day 4:
A1) Step up x 8 ea side
A2) Chest Supported DB Row 8x
A3) BB (Barbell) RDL (Romanian Deadlift) 8x
A4) Waiter's Walk 5x
A5) Med Ball Slams 10x
Repeat circuit 5x, rest 1-2 minutes between circuits, 15 seconds between exercises.
Week 2
Day 1:
A1) Squat 6x6
A2) DB Row 5x8 ea side
B1) DB Step Up 5x8 ea side
B2) Farmers Walk 5x
C1) Dead bugs 4x12
C2) Seated Band Abduction 4x15
Day 2:
A1) Deadlift 6x6
A2) Lat Pulldown, supinated (underhand) grip 5x10
B1) KB Swings 5x10
B2) Paloff Press 5x10
C1) Kneeling Banded hip thrust or Side lying clamshells 5x15
Day 3:
A1) Hip Thrust 5x10
A2) Push Ups 5x5 (elevated if needed, never on your knees)
B1) Squat jumps 5x3
B2) Single KB (Kettlebell) racked walk 5x
C1) Deadbugs 4x12
Day 4:
A1) BB RDL x 10x
A2) Med Ball Overhead Throws 8x
A3) Reverse Lunge 6x ea leg
A4) Med Ball Slams 10x
A5) Plank 30sec-1 min
Repeat circuit 5x, rest 1-2 minutes between circuits, 15 seconds between exercises.
Week 3
Day 1:
A1) Squat 4x8
A2) Chest Supported DB Row 5x8
B1) DB Step Up 5x6 ea side
B2) Farmers Walk 5x
C1) Dead bugs 4x12
C2) Seated Band Abduction 4x15
Day 2:
A1) Deadlift 4x8
A2) Lat Pulldown, supinated (underhand) grip 5x10
B1) KB Swings 5x10
B2) Paloff Press 5x10
C1) Kneeling Banded hip thrust or Side lying clamshells 5x15
Day 3:
A1) Hip Thrust 5x15
A2) Push Ups 5x6 (elevated if needed, never on your knees)
B1) Waiters Walk 5x
B2) Side Plank 5x
C1) Clamshells 5x15
Day 4:
A1) Landmine Squat x 10x
A2) Landline Push Press 8x ea side
A3) Landline single leg rd. 6x ea leg
A4) Landmine Anti-rotations 10x
A5) Plank 30sec-1 min
Repeat circuit 5x, rest 1-2 minutes between circuits, 15 seconds between exercises.
Week 4
Day 1:
A1) Squat 5x5
A2) Inverted TRX Row 5x8
B1) Seated DB overhead press 5x8
B2) Farmers Walk 5x
C1) Dead bugs 4x12
C2) Seated Band Abduction 5x20
Day 2:
A1) Deadlift 5x5
A2) Lat Pulldown, supinated (underhand) grip 5x6 (go a little heavier)
B1) KB Swings 5x10
B2) Paloff Press 5x8 breaths
C1) Kneeling Banded hip thrust or Side lying clamshells 5x20
Day 3:
A1) Hip Thrust 5x12
A2) Push Ups 5x6 (elevated if needed, never on your knees)
B1) KB One Arm Racked Walk 5x
B2) Face Pulls 5x15
C1) Clamshells 5x15
Day 4:
Round 1, 3 sets
Treadmill at 8mph, 8% incline for 25 seconds.
Goblet Squats (10 reps) and Push Ups (5 Reps)
Rest 2 minutes
Round 2, 3 sets
Treadmill at 9mph, 9% incline for 20 seconds.
KB RDL (10 reps) and TRX Inverted Rows (10 reps)
Rest 2 minutes
Round 3, 3 sets
Treadmill at 10mph, 10% incline for 15 seconds
Deadbugs (10 reps) and Medicine Ball Slams (10 reps)
Rest 2 minutes
Week 5
Day 1:
A1) Front Squat 5x8
A2) DB chest supported Row 6x8
B1) Seated DB overhead press 5x8
B2) Farmers Walk 5x
C1) Paloff Press 4x12
C2) Seated Band Abduction 4x25
Day 2:
A1) Deadlift 6x8
A2) Seated Cable Row, 6x8
B1) KB Swings 5x10
B2) Bear Crawls, 5x
C1) Kneeling Banded hip thrust or Side lying clamshells 5x20
Day 3:
A1) Hip Thrust 6x15
A2) Push Ups 6x6 (elevated if needed, never on your knees)
B1) KB One Arm Racked Walk 5x
B2) Face Pulls 5x20
C1) Clamshells 5x20
Day 4:
A1) KB Swings 10x
A2) Inverted Row 10x
A3) Kneeling Banded hip thrust 20x
A4) Med Ball Slams 12x
A5) Lateral Raises 15x
A6) Plank, 30sec-1 min
Rest 20sec between exercises, 2 minutes between rounds. 5 rounds total.
Week 6
A1) Squat 6x6
A2) Lat Pulldown, supinated grip 6x8
B1) Waiters Walk 5x
B2) DB Split Squat 5x8 ea side
C1) Paloff Press 4x12
C2) Seated Band Abduction 4x25
Day 2:
A1) Deadlift 6x6
A2) Chest supported DB Row, 6x8
B1) KB Swings 5x10
B2) Bear Crawls, 5x
B3) Broad Jump 3x
C1) Kneeling Banded hip thrust or Side lying clamshells 5x20
Day 3:
A1) Hip Thrust 6x15
A2) Push Ups 6x6 (elevated if needed, never on your knees)
B1) KB One Arm Racked Walk 5x
B2) Face Pulls 5x20
C1) Clamshells 5x20
Day 4:
Round 1, 3 sets
Treadmill at 8mph, 8% incline for 25 seconds.
Goblet Squat Reverse Lunge (10 reps) and Med Ball Slam (10 Reps)
Rest 2 minutes
Round 2, 3 sets
Treadmill at 9mph, 9% incline for 20 seconds.
KB Swing (10 reps) and DB Overhead Press (10 reps)
Rest 2 minutes
Round 3, 3 sets
Treadmill at 10mph, 10% incline for 15 seconds
Paloff Press (10 BREATHS ea side) and Squat Jump (5 reps)
Rest 2 minutes
Notes
- The first movement (A1) of every workout is meant to be the main "strength" movement of the day. Each week breaks down into less total reps with the idea that the top sets are a heavish weight. Here's an example:
Each main movement should be ramped up to a top set.
So you would warm up on say a deadlift as such: bar 5x, 75lbs 5x, 95lbs 5x, 105lbs 3x, 135lbs 2x, 165lbs 1x. You would base your reps off of that heavy single for the day.
Week 1: 5x8 (40 total reps) 65% of your "max" for the day placing your 5 sets @110lbs
Week 2: 6x6 (36) 70% 115lbs
Week 3: 4x8 (32) 75% 125lbs
Week 4: 5x5 (25) 80% 135lbs
- The Squat is merely the movement pattern. Depending on your skill level and what's available you can use dumbbells, kettle bells and/or barbells.
- If you need more cardio, I would perform it AFTER the strength training. 20-30 minute of a moderate intensity should suffice. Increase as needed.
If you have any more questions as this is simply a broad starting off point, please don't hesitate to ask. I'll be more than happy to walk you through this so you can walk down that aisle with confidence.