Wedding Fit Part 2
Welcome to second installment in our Wedding fit series. In Part One we covered exercises that covered full body moves and cardio. I am excited about this week, because we cover biceps and triceps. Which is always a major area of concern for brides, every bride I know wants to have lean toned arms to show off in their wedding dress. Even if you’re not in a wedding this year, these exercises will help get you swimsuit ready for summer!
NOTE: Before attempting any of these exercises, please consult with your doctor to ensure that you are healthy enough for physical exercise.
Exercise #3: The Squat (Legs and Butt)
COUNT: For starting, do 4 sets of 8 to 12 body weight squats with a 30 second to 1 minute break in between.
- The Squat is one of the best all-around exercises that you can do for your lower body. Squats targets your Quadriceps but they also activate your core muscles and target your Glutes, Hamstrings, and Calves. If you’ve never squatted before, you may want to start slow and use a low seat. Practice sitting down and standing up. For squats, you should follow these guidelines:
- Start from a standing position, feet about shoulder-width apart and nice and tight in the core. Extend your arms directly in front of you at shoulder level and keep them there for the entirety of the exercise.
- Lower your body as far as you can by pushing your hips back and bending your knees, almost as if you were trying to sit on a low seat.
- At the low point of the squat, your thighs should be parallel to the ground and all of your weight should be through your heels. Try not to let your knees pass beyond the line of your toes.
- After you’ve squatted, stand straight back up to the starting position.
- NOTE: If squatting is too difficult, try placing a Swiss-Ball on the small of your back and position yourself so that the ball is pinned between your back and a wall.
- As you squat, the ball will roll with you and absorb a lot of the pressure from the squat. These are excellent beginner squats.
Exercise #4 & #5: Arms (Biceps and Triceps)
COUNT: 3 sets of 4 – 6 repetitions
- Your Biceps and Triceps are agonist and antagonists of each other. Where the Bicep helps to fold your arms in, your Triceps work to extend your arms. As such, you should probably consider working each of these muscles on different days. For Biceps, use an EZ-Curl Bar (or any dumbbells), keep the weight light, and follow these steps:
- Stand up straight, feet about shoulder-width apart, and remember to keep your core nice and strong, you don’t want to hunch over.
- Start by curling the weight up to your chest.
- Then, lower the weight about 2 inches and hold for a 10 second count.
- After a count of 10, lower the weight so that your elbows are at 90 degree angles and hold for another count of 10 seconds.
- Last, lower the bar even further, until your arms are nearly straight and pause there for another 10 seconds.
- Once complete, that’s one repetition.
- For Triceps, you will follow a similar routine:
- Lay down facing the ceiling on a flat bench (or the floor) holding light dumbbells.
- Start with the dumbbells held parallel to each other above your head.
- Lower the dumbbells about 4 inches and pause there for 10 seconds
- Next, lower the dumbbells so that your arms are at 90 degrees and hold them for another 10 seconds.
- Finally, lower the weight to the bottom position so that they are on either side of your head and hold them for a final 10 seconds.
- Once complete, that’s one repetition. Press the weights back up and repeat the 3 stops again.
Special Thank you to Muhamed Hack Personal Trainer and owner of Fit for you Fitness for guest blogging this series and for providing useful information to my readers!