Here Comes The Bride

I recently attended a family wedding and, as is customary on these occasions, the Bride looked stunning, the whole day was planned to perfection and a great time was had by all.

When it comes to weddings, there’s no doubt that there’s a huge amount of pressure on the Bride. We might refer to the event as the “Couple’s Big Day”, but in reality it’s all about the Bride. The groom is merely the Best Supporting Actor.

And it’s probably fair to say that the majority of the pre-wedding planning and organisation ends up being done by the Bride. It may be a generalisation – but probably not too far off the mark – to say that most Grooms tend to have the attitude that everything will be grand on the day, so what’s all the panic?

But, unfortunately, things like this don’t just happen by themselves and in order to get the desired result, the groundwork has to be done.

And if we’re interested in achieving health and fitness goals, we can learn a lot from the focus and determination of our blushing brides.

At many times during the year we work with Brides-to-be, either in our Circuit Class Bootcamps, or as Personal Training Clients. And without exception, they are a joy to work with, because they actually follow all the training, nutrition and lifestyle advice we give them!

The difference between Brides-to-be, and those people who achieve less spectacular body composition results is down to the level of motivation. Here are some of the strategies and mechanisms that Brides – consciously or sub-consciously – use in order to make sure they look their absolute best on their Special Day.

S.M.A.R.T. Goals
Our bride will have a specifically measured dress that she is absolutely determined to fit in to. There’s no vague “I’d like to lose a bit of weight” “tone-up”, or “feel a little bit fitter” in this lady’s vocabulary. Add into the mix some regular dress fittings that will help her track her progress, and the all-important deadline of the wedding day itself, and she has all the ingredients to keep her motivation sky-high. This in turn ensures that the “action-based” part of the acronym – the healthy nutrition and regular training- are much easier to stick with.

Social Support
In most cases the Bride will have the backing of a circle of family and friends who all want her to look absolutely fabulous on the wedding day. This group will usually include a number of bridesmaids who will be “encouraged” by the Bride to also look their best! This type of social support, where people share a common goal, has been shown on numerous occasions to be a very effective component of achieving desired results. Even for the most motivated of people, there will be days when stress levels rise and the fitness or nutrition regime doesn’t seem to be going according to plan. On days like this it can be very tempting to give up or think that it’s just not worth the effort.

It’s at these times that it’s very important to have somebody who will listen to you and encourage you to stick with the plan, and help you to remember the “Big Picture”

Go Public
Weddings obviously involve a very big public commitment of the “In Sickness and In Health” variety. However there’s also the fact that the Bride is putting herself in full public view to be seen on the day, and for years afterwards, in video, photographs and even on Social Media. This type of scrutiny has the potential to be over-whelming and it should go without saying that it’s not a good thing to be obsessive about body shape, especially if it is achieved by methods that can compromise health.

However from a more positive point of view, it can be a very effective motivator to help keep someone on a well-balanced exercise and nutrition programme, knowing that not only will they look and feel their best, but that all their loved ones will have the photographic evidence of their achievement for years to come!

So, if you want to keep yourself on track to achieve your ideal body shape, take a few lessons from our brides: pick an occasion that will put you under a certain amount of public scrutiny, enlist the help of others to support you, and give yourself the all-important deadline to hit your target.