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!

While I think skinny arms are soooo NOT in season, tight toned arms in a wedding gown are gorgeous. Just the right amount of muscle and definition is my goal for my wedding day. Definitely a focus will be on my triceps as they tend to hold a bit more fat than the front of my arms.

Here’s a great workout I love to do on arm day. Again click the exercise name for a link over to bodybuilding.com. You can check the female tab and watch Jamie Eason demonstrate the moves!

ARM WORKOUT FOR THE BIG DAY

Bench Dips – 3 sets of 15 reps. Keep your hands on the bench almost under your butt. Lower your butt near the bench to really get into your triceps.

Barbell Bicep Curls (21s) – 3 sets of 21 reps. 7 reps bottom portion of curl, 7 reps top portion of curl and 7 reps of the full curl. Keep your chest up and shoulders back will doing the motion. Don’t swing the barbell up and keep your elbows in by your side.

Tricep Pushdown - 3 sets of 12 reps. Keep your knees slightly bent and squeeze your glutes so that the lower back doesn’t hold the weight. Think into your triceps and squeeze at the bottom of the motion.

Hammer Curls – 3 sets of 12 reps. I love these because they make me feel super strong Keep your arms by your sides, elbows tucked in, and don’t bring your curl too far up. Keep your biceps engaged the entire motion.

Standing Dumbbell Tricep Extension – 3 sets of 12 reps. Don’t arch your back during this exercise. Stand with feet slightly hip width apart and again remember to squeeze your triceps at the top of the movement!

Don’t forget to stretch both your triceps with an overhead stretch and biceps with a chest stretch but turn your thumbs down to stretch the biceps.

I’m getting married this August! It’s starting to hit me how close it really is.

I’m slowly starting to get excited for the big day. It still seems so far out but with 8 months to go but I’m sure it will sneak up on me.

I’ve been methodically working through all the wedding planning to do lists. My favourite to do list is on theknot.ca and I get to check off things as I go and they magically disappear from my to do list. Every bride’s dream!

One of the year out items is usually start a fitness regimen. I luckily stay fit year round for fitness modelling opportunities however I have been thinking about other brides and what steps they can take to get that fitness routine down pat and focus on 3 key body parts that will get showcased on the BIG DAY.

Back, Shoulders & Arms!

Although I’m a big fan of women taking care of their overall fitness here is a back workout that I love to build some sexy lean muscle and get some definition. I’ll follow up in future blog posts with shoulders & arms!

BACK WORKOUT FOR THE BIG DAY

If you click on the exercise name it will link you over to bodybuilding.com. Then click on Female to see Jamie Eason (one of my favs) demostrate each exercise!

Assisted Pull Ups - 3 sets of 12 reps. Beginners take your body weight and subtract 20 – 30lbs (depends on your strength levels) and put the weight pin on that weight level. Intermediate take 60-70 lbs off your weight and advanced you are obviously doing your bodyweight in pull ups

Seated Rows – 3 sets of 12 reps. Remember to squeeze your shoulder blades together, and keep your elbows slightly out.

One Arm Dumbbell Rows – 3 sets of 12 reps each arm. Keep you back straight, shoulders square, and elbow close to your side as you raise the dumbbell. Think into your lat and squeeze.

Rope Lat Pulldowns – 3 sets of 12 reps. Keep your knees slightly bent and lower back support by squeezing your glutes. The only way you’ll feel this if you think into your lats and squeeze at the bottom of the motion!

Back Extensions – 3 sets of 10 – 12 reps. Keep your back straight, shoulders rolled back and squeeze your lower back muscles at the top of the exercise. Don’t lower your body to far down. Keep the back muscles engaged the whole time.

Remember to stretch well after the workout. My favourite is the pole stretch!