Anokhi Fashion Lifestyle Entertaiment

The best piece of advice for brides planning a summer wedding is simple: Don’t stress it. Stress is your number 1 enemy at the best of times, and during the heady weeks leading up to your most special day, it is an absolute bully. It will make you eat foods you should avoid, prevent you from getting the rest you need, tell you that you have no time to go to the gym, and turn you into a raging, out-of-control monster. Yes ladies, if you don’t watch out, stress will turn the best of us into that gruesome creature mocked on TV and ridiculed by society—Bridezilla!

As you run around 100 miles per hour preparing for your wedding day, your busy schedule must not negatively impact your absolute need to eat right, stay properly hydrated, maintain an effective exercise regime, and get the rest your physical, mental, and spiritual health requires. Start by exercising regularly—and get a good balance of aerobic, fat-burning and resistance exercises that will build strong, sexy muscles. Finally, get all the rest your body requires so that you are alert at work, and emotionally confident during your busy social life. Losing that little bit of extra weight and that final bit of toning is every woman’s nightmare! Here’s what I suggest you do:

More cardio!

With the warmth of summer bearing down on all of us, go outside and enjoy the season. The great thing about cardio is that it’s most effective when done with another person. So grab the groom (or your best friend) and go walk, run, bicycle, swim, and dance and live life to its fullest! Love the season and the people you are with.

Aerobic classes

are once again the big rage and there are dozens of classes and options available these days. Focus on starting at your appropriate fitness level and then work up to the more challenging, higher-impact classes that require you to do 100 plus mini exercises, all in under an hour! These classes present a great social opportunity for you and your ladies or bridesmaids—enjoy getting fit together! As important as it is to do your cardio activity, don’t neglect your muscles. Great legs make a great-looking bride! With that in mind, I recommend you concentrate on your quads, glutes, calves, biceps, triceps, shoulders and abs. Shapely legs, strong sexy arms, rounded shoulders, tight sexy butts, and trim waists are highly coveted for every bride this summer.

Lunges and squats

are excellent exercises for shaping and defining your legs. Don’t be intimidated by those big pieces of machinery because they’re your ticket to long, lean, stallion legs this summer. Use a moderate weight with a high repetition count between 15 and 20.

Standing and sitting calve raises

create the sexiest natural accessories to your Jimmy Choos! Choose a moderate weight and focus on getting full calf extensions—up and down, and really work your muscles by squeezing tightly at the top and the bottom of the movement.

Dumbbell curls and kickbacks

are classic exercises to tone and define the bicep and tricep muscles. Whether your dress is strapless, halter or short-sleeved, nothing looks more elegant than a toned arm.

Your shoulders

need to match your hard-earned toned arms, so sculpt your shoulders with front, rear and side lateral raises. These exercises can be done with a variety of free weights, or with cable machines. Think of your upper body as a canvas to highlight elegant jewelry, the neckline of your dress or better yet, let your arms and shoulders be your priceless accessories!

Crunches

won’t burn the fat off your tummy, so make sure you do your cardio! Try doing the GlamFit secret cardio plan five days per week.

Amrit Dhaliwal is well-known as the world’s first pro Indian fitness model. She combines her diverse background as an international fitness/fashion model, certified trainer and body mind nutrition consultant to give unique insights on feminine health and beauty. www.amritdhaliwal.com.

In a fitness funk? Email her: amrit.dhaliwal@anokhimagazine.com

BY: AMRIT DHALIWAL / PUBLISHED: MAY 2010 ISSUE