You know the results you want from a wedding workout plan.
Strapping shoulders perhaps in a strapless dress.
Bangin’ biceps and toned triceps!
A core firm and tight and a back to match
You want your most visible areas in your wedding dress to POP.
You can picture it now!
Making your way down the aisle with eyes on you, but no insecurities follow.
In fact, you’re not walking.. Your confidence is allowing you to float and sail up to the altar.
You’ve thought about wanting to add muscle to your body, but have some concerns.
Which is totally fair, especially if you’re new to exercise.. So here’s what you need to know
So, defined muscles….? And how it fits in your wedding workout plan
Defined muscles are simply muscles sans a layer of fat atop. It’s that simple. You may have heard sexy terms like;
Toned
Jacked
Firm
Chiseled
Sculpted
Shredded(shredded is for cheese and chicken that goes into burritos)
This is reason ka-jillion why conventional weight loss culture annoys tf outta me.
With language that seems different, it can get confusing.
No matter your preferred nomenclature, it’s all muscle.
If you’re a newbie seeking defined muscle for your wedding, you may worry about how you’ll look after lifting.
A popular concern I’ve heard women voice is the fear of getting bulky.
You may have a concern that you’ll start to get a bulky build after lifting weights and building muscle. Often when you think of lifting weights, associations of massive individuals with impaired flexibility come to mind.
Like, can’t scratch their back massive.
Or you might think of someone who flexes and suddenly their sleeves rip onto the floor.
You may even think of someone so massive, they can’t walk through a doorway without a side shimmy.
If you have that fear, I have awesome news for you!
Lifting weights alone will not result in that non-ideal scenario for you. There are many other factors that come into consideration for “getting bulky”
Those bulkier folk have tremendously rigorous exercise routines and even more rigorous diets that deliberately keep them in caloric excess. (Here’s the “best” wedding diet btw)
God forbid they wanna add a little spice or sauce to their chicken. Those extra calories could impede their progress!
If there comes a point you’re in the position of choosing flavor and satisfaction over aesthetics, I personally feel some things need to be adjusted.
Lastly, they may get some unethical, injectable assistance in the form of a booty shot where magically, they are pumped up.
If you don’t fall under the parasol of any of these aforementioned factors, you’re all good to go!
Let’s beef up my point more with good ol’ science!
Muscle mass gets regulated by a gene GDF-8 which encodes for a protein called myostatin. Myostatin acts as a brake pedal that gets engaged to keep excessive muscle growth in check.
Your concerns and worries are valid though!
Don’t feel nervous about lifting because womxn’s hormonal profile for bulking is different and it’s not an overnight transformation.
So, how do you build muscle and shed fat to get that “defined” look?
I’ll tell you how in two simple steps. Getting defined muscles may limit insecurities in your dress and empower you to bring out inner confidence because of how hard you worked for them!
Take my client Erlene for example.
The expectation of the two steps was set before we even started crafting her wedding workout plan.
On her wedding day, she was oozing confidence juice and loving how she felt in her dress.
Step 1- Lift Weights(and make em heavy)
Piggybacking off a previous point…
Unless you’re in a deliberate excessive caloric excess, it’s very unlikely you’ll be putting on a substantial amount of muscle mass that looks bulky.
If you do find you’re putting on a little bit too much muscle for your liking, do one of two things.
Use lighter weights and eat less.
The bulky bodybuilders eat more than what they use, or stay in a surplus.
Focus on compound exercises while lifting heavy
Compound exercises recruit more than one muscle group during a movement. A couple examples of these exercises include;
Squats
Deadlifts
Chest press
Pull-ups
Perform these more often than single joint exercises such as bicep curl. As the name suggests, it only works the bicep.
When lifting heavy on these compound movements, perform about 1-5 reps and 3-6 sets.
Why Heavy?
Wait, don’t get scurred! Heavy is relative and can fit nicely in any wedding workout plan.
Your heavy is different from your best friend’s heavy, which will be different from my heavy. (For the record, my heavy of choice is Heavy D so maybe we have a commonality).
All our heavy’s are different from Wonder Woman’s heavy and the Amazonian will fuck us all up, agreed?
Think about yourself and your specific needs and your capabilities. This’ll help you feel more comfortable, at least a tad when it comes to the term “lift heavy”.
Going heavy elicits a response from your muscles. Your muscles need a reason to grow. Intentionally putting mechanical stress on muscles in the form of heavy resistance is that reason.
You can’t yell “How ya gon pay ya bills this month muscles? Ya assed out!” and expect them to grow.
That’s not the right stress for the job.
Conversely, light n’ easy weights typically don’t put enough stress on your muscles to make them defined.
When your muscles break down from mechanical stress from heavy weights, they need to recover. That’s when they grow. So our muscles are growing, but where the definition at?
Step 2-To properly shed the layer of fat on top of muscles, eat less crap and feed yourself more nutrients.
Serve up nutrients because;
Nutrients limit deficiencies,
Nutrients aid in workout recovery and
Nutrients help you achieve optimal health.
The hierarchy of nutrients are as followed
Macronutrients
which consists of proteins, carbs and fats.
Micronutrients
which are vitamins and minerals.
Combine these with water and fiber and OOF!!
That’s the formula to a happy, defined, strong and efficient body ready for the wedding day.
In summary, if you’re looking for more defined muscles for your wedding day, do these two things..
One, lift heavy!
Don’t worry about getting bulky! You have genes in tact to regulate the process among other factors preventing immense muscle growth. Heavy weights give the muscle the stress needed to grow.
Say a 5 pound dumbbell shoulder press gets you tired and taxes your muscles. As you consistently lift heavy, in time that weight that burned you out becomes light.
What’s to follow is a great sense of accomplishment, more strength and more muscle.
Two, properly feed your muscles.
Make sure you consume your macros, vitamins and minerals. Food is your best friend here but supplementation is also an option if you don’t get your micros in your food.
Remember to drink plenty of fluids and intake fiber so you can be a defined machine!
Last tip, grab The Best Badass Bride Bible so you can ditch dieting, enjoy empowering exercise and bust body image issues so you can shed the ways of The Overwhelmed Bride-To-Be.
A toast.. To your newly defined muscles!
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