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This 1-Month Wedding Workout Plan Will Leave You Feeling Cool and Confident For Your Big Day

16/06/2019 - 11:20 AM

By the time you're one month out from your wedding, you've likely done everything except take care of yourself [1]. Enter this workout plan from Juliet Kaska, an NASM-certified personal trainer and fitness expert for the Vionic Innovation Lab [2]. With a mix of strength training, cardio, and stress-reducing tips, it'll help you tone up and calm down just in time for your wedding day [3].

First, a few reminders: make sure you warm up with some dynamic stretches [4] and cool down with some soothing static stretches [5] (after all, you need to stay limber for the dance floor). And while this plan isn't designed for weight loss, know that everyone's body is different. If you become worried that you'll lose too much weight before the big day [6], cut the cardio intervals in half or eliminate cardio completely some days, getting your heart rate up during every other session instead.

Week 1

Your Goal

Exercise five days a week for 35 to 50 minutes a day, completing cardio and strength training in the same session.

Cardio

Start with a 20-minute walk or jog outside or on the treadmill. The intensity level should be at a point where you can feel your heart rate increase, but you can still carry a conversation with someone. Bonus: Instead of music, download a 20-minute meditation to help quiet your mind from any wedding stress.

Strength Training

Week 2

Your Goal

Exercise five days a week for 35 to 50 minutes a day, completing cardio and strength training in the same session.

Cardio

Keep your walk or jog to 20 minutes, but ramp up the intensity and speed as you aim to travel an extra half mile. Bonus: Try mantra meditation [10], in which you repeat a mantra in your mind, for the duration of your walk or jog. Whenever something else comes to mind (Did the caterer reply to my email?), simply release the thought and return to repeating your mantra.

Strength Training

This week, you'll add two new moves and increase the reps or duration of the exercises from the first portion of the plan.

Week 3

Your Goal

Exercise every other day for 45 to 70 minutes, completing cardio and strength training — including a new weight-training segment — in the same session. You might also try a gentle yoga flow on your rest days to stretch and relax your mind.

Cardio

Add intervals to your 20-minute workout while continuing to practice mantra meditation. When you use this formula, your distance travelled should be further than last week:

Bodyweight Exercises

This week, you'll slightly modify or increase the reps or duration of the exercises from last week and add one new move.

Weight Training

You'll need one set of light dumbbells (one to two kilograms) and one set of heavy dumbbells (2.5 to five kilograms). Do one to two sets of 15 reps of each move, with a 30-second rest between sets.

Week 4

Your Goal

Exercise every other day for 50 to 75 minutes each session, completing cardio and strength training in the same session. You might also try a gentle yoga flow [27] on your rest days to stretch and relax your mind.

Cardio

Go for a 20-minute interval walk/run using this formula. Once again, your final distance should be further than last week, even as you continue to practice mantra meditation:

Bodyweight Exercises

This week, you'll modify the exercises to continue to challenge your muscles, then add a couple new moves during the weight-training segment.

Weight Training

You'll need one set of light dumbbells (two to four pounds) and one set of heavy dumbbells (five to 10 pounds). Do one to two sets of 15 reps of each move, with a 30-second rest between sets. Alternate between heavy weight exercises and light weight exercises — such as a set of chest presses, followed by a set of reverse flys — to increase the difficulty.


Source URL
https://www.popsugar.co.uk/fitness/1-Month-Wedding-Workout-Plan-46268836