I have chosen a strapless sweetheart cut so my upper body needs to be on point for my day. Whether you’ve chosen a standard strapless wedding gown or have straps or sleeves, having gorgeous boulder shoulders (just kidding on the boulder part) will give you the self confidence to keep that posture straight on your big day. Nobody wants to see you slouch in those wedding photos!

I posted on Twitter that all Google images coming up were of bridal models with waify arms. So my lovely fellow FitFluential Ambassador, Melody Jones sent me some of her wedding pics. She absolutely looked amazing on her day. You can find her over at http://willrunformargaritas.com!

Below find one of my favourite shoulder workouts to challenge you in your workouts leading up to the big day!

SHOULDER WORKOUT FOR THE BIG DAY

For this workout I like using lighter weights and higher reps to really get the blood flow going in the shoulders. Again I’ve linked each exercise to a video on bodybuilding.com where you can see how the proper form is done! Just click on female tab to see Jamie Eason demonstrate!

Dumbbell Shoulder Press - 3 sets of 20 reps. Ensure you are lowering your elbows slightly below your shoulders and tracking your arms to right above your nose at the top. Don’t forget no locking your elbows at the top!

Lateral Side Raise – 3 sets of 20 reps. Keep you elbows soft (don’t lock them) while doing the raises. Concentrate on squeezing your medial deltoids (side of your shoulders) at the top of the action. I try to keep my pinkies at the top of the motion to really hit the shoulder.

Barbell Shoulder Raise – 3 sets of 20 reps. Keep hands together slightly closer together than shoulder width apart. Lift barbell to right above boob level or chest level

Arnolds – 3 sets of 15 rep. I only do 15 reps for these because these really bring my muscles to failure. You’re basically repeating the shoulder press but also really hitting the front of your shoulders on the inner swing in. Definitely watch the video link below to ensure proper form before trying.

Rear Shoulder Raise (Seated) – 3 sets of 20 reps. Seated will ensure you aren’t putting any extra pressure on the lower back. If you choose to do these standing really engage your glutes so you don’t engage that lower back.

Again remember to stretch afterwards. Do the cross the body shoulder stretch and the interlocking your fingers behind back to get the front of your shoulders. Have fun!