Buff Brides: The Complete Guide to Getting in Shape and Looking Great for Your Wedding Day - Softcover

Fleming, Sue

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0375758550 ISBN 13: 9780375758553

Verlag: Villard, 2002

Inhaltsangabe

From dumbbells to wedding bells . . .

Whether you have six months or just six weeks until your wedding day, Buff Brides is an invaluable must-have for every bride-to-be.

Buff Brides is a comprehensive, fully illustrated fitness book by a New York City personal trainer who has helped hundreds of brides get into shape over the past decade. Providing clear, concise instructions and photographs for each exercise, Sue Fleming knows what brides want the most. From toned triceps for sleeveless dresses to flat abs for the honeymoon bikini, Buff Brides provides results.

Why Buff Brides? Well, are you

• Running out of time? Buff Brides features a 12-week crash course as well as the 24-week
optimal program that works for any body type!

•Short on space? No need to panic—all of these exercises can be done right in your own
home, with minimal equipment.

•Stressing out? Helpful stress-relieving stretches will calm your pre-wedding jitters!

•Having sleeveless-dress anxiety? Easy-to-follow exercises will show you how to tone
your arms and make your back look fabulous!

•Concerned about a specific target area? From thighs to abs to triceps, Buff Brides has
the exercise for every bride-to-be’s problem area!

•About to settle for the first dress you see? Buff Brides offers helpful hints for choosing
a wedding dress that best suits your body type.


Incorporating fitness tips, motivational secrets, and wedding-planning reminders, Buff Brides will help you look great and make it to the altar on time.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Sue Fleming earned her B.S. and M.S. in physical education and has been a certified personal trainer for the past ten years. She is currently the director of physical education at Riverdale Country School in Riverdale, New York, and continues to work with private clients, many of whom are brides-to-be. She lives in Manhattan.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Chapter 1
MOTIVATING YOURSELF

First and foremost, before you start any exercise program, you need to have had a physical and a clean bill of health within the last year. Once you get the OK from your doctor, you should be ready to start a gradual exercise program.

The hardest part about exercising is getting started. Everyone has a hundred excuses not to work out, including brides-to-be-and I've heard them all! Preparing for your wedding is time-consuming, but don't make that an excuse for not exercising. The time to start exercising was yesterday, but I'm willing to give you a break. The time to start is now, today, not next Monday! Don't think, "I'll do it later," because later never happens! Suck it up, put on your workout clothes, and get going! I tell my clients, "If it were easy, everybody would be doing it." Exercise is not easy; it's a commitment-just like planning a wedding. You wouldn't shortchange yourself on the cake and flowers, so why even think about shortchanging your own body? I always remind brides-to-be that the cake and flowers are forgotten after the wedding is over. But how many people leave their wedding picture on the mantel for the rest of their lives? If anything, that should be motivation enough! Who wants to look at her wedding picture year after year and regret not being in shape or even not feeling her best?

That's the beauty of this book. It focuses on simple, effective workouts that can be done in your own home. Most of the workouts outlined in the following pages can be completed, start to finish, in only an hour. That's all it takes! If you can, find a friend, a bridesmaid, your maid of honor-anyone who is willing to work out with you and motivate you-and do the program together. Brides often ask me, "When is the best time of day to work out?" There's a simple answer: The best time to work out is any time when you will actually do it. Try to schedule your workouts during the most convenient time of the day. If you have a busy schedule (as most of us do!), you must create the time. This book is not magic; you must make the commitment to work out consistently. Consistency yields positive results. I recommend working out at least three times a week; irregular training will take much more time to achieve results.

Most of all, make your training sessions fun! Wear exercise clothing that makes you feel good, even if you are training in the privacy of your own home. Put away the bulky leg warmers you haven't worn since 1987 and break out the sports bra! Reinforce feeling well by wearing something that makes you feel good!

The average American watches 12 to 15 hours of TV a week. Do you think on your wedding day you'll regret having missed another Friends rerun? Or will you wish you'd taken the time to get your arms looking like Jennifer Aniston's?

Incorporating exercise into your daily life should be a priority, whether you are getting married or not. Exercise affects your mood and will also increase your energy level. Again, schedule exercise into your day at a time when it's convenient for you, but don't procrastinate!

THE BEGINNING

Don't bite off more than you can chew. Most brides-to-be who start working out get frustrated early on because they try to do too much at the start. If the day after exercising you are so sore and achy that you can hardly move, you started at a level you weren't prepared for physically. More is not better when it comes to starting an exercise program. Feel good about your workouts, and don't expect your body to do something it can't.

The exercises described in Part II are designed to be done at home and in a limited workout space. I find that most of my clients lose motivation if they try to go to a public gym. Most of them have trouble just getting out the door! A simple workout that could be done in an hour becomes a two-hour ordeal. Getting to the gym, parking, and waiting in line to use the equipment can be frustrating and time-consuming! Most people don't have a lot of time to waste, and that is why the Buff Brides workouts are effective; they are simple and quick, and people stick with them!

With minimal equipment, you can sculpt, tone, and strengthen every major muscle group to improve the body areas emphasized by the type of wedding gown you have chosen. This book is geared to the bride-to-be who wants to save time, see results, and feel comfortable in her own home. Although this book focuses on strength training, I have also outlined some cardiovascular exercises that are crucial for a balanced workout. Stretching is another important part of your routine and should be done regularly to maintain and improve flexibility.

CREATING A HOME GYM:
SIMPLE ITEMS YOU WILL NEED TO BEGIN
YOUR STRENGTHENING PROGRAM

Creating a home gym can be very inexpensive. Of course, there are hundreds of expensive gadgets you can purchase. However, I am recommending what I feel is useful and will get the job done. You don't have to spend a lot of money to get into "bridal shape." Save the energy you'd spend on shopping for equipment and channel it into feeling good about your workouts and the positive results they will yield.

Dumbbells

Dumbbells come in various shapes, sizes, and colors. They also come in various prices. Think about it: a set of 3-pound dumbbells that costs $12 weighs the same as a set of 3-pound dumbbells that costs $25! Don't be fooled by fancy labels or advertisements. If you feel you'll be more inclined to use the more expensive dumbbells, go for them. But the cheaper models will do just as well.

Depending on your level of strength, start off with three to four sets of dumbbells, increasing in weight. Beginners should start off with 3-, 5-, and 10-pound dumbbells. Intermediate and more advanced brides-to-be should start off with heavier weights: 5-, 10-, and 12- or 15-pound dumbbells.

I am an advocate of free weights because you can't "cheat" as much as you can when using machines. Let me explain: machines make things easier for you, as they direct your movement patterns. Free weights allow you to train each muscle group separately; your dominant side can't do all the work. Sometimes while you are using a machine, your dominant or stronger side will compensate for your weaker side when you start to get tired.

An Exercise Ball

An exercise ball is an excellent addition to your home gym. Traditionally, exercise balls were used by rehabilitation and physical therapy patients. Today they can be found in almost every gym. An exercise ball strengthens your core muscle group, the abdominal muscles and muscles of the lower back. These important muscles stabilize your body. Think of your body as a wheel. Your core is the hub of the wheel; your arms and legs are the spokes. If your core is weak, it will be difficult to strengthen other parts of your body. Often, people arch their back or release their abdominals when performing an exercise. This is usually a result of weak core strength. Many people compensate for this lack of strength by using their hip flexor muscles when performing abdominal exercises. The exercise ball strengthens the abdominals through a full range of motion without using the hip flexor muscles.

Core strength is important in developing and improving overall muscular strength. The exercise ball is especially useful for people with lower back pain because the ball supports the back muscles during the exercises.

An exercise ball usually comes with a pump. This allows you to inflate and deflate it quickly for easy storage. An exercise ball can also be used in place of a weight bench, which is especially useful for small apartments or workout areas. I recommend a 65-centimeter ball for the exercises in this book.

Step

I highly...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Villard
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2002
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0375758550
• ISBN 13: 9780375758553
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Auflage: 1
• Anzahl der Seiten: 160
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Buchpark GmbH; gpsr@buchpark.de; ; Krügerweg 1; Trebbin; Brandenburg; 14959; Deutschland