Any bride or groom can tell you that that simply mentioning the word wedding to any caterer, venue, or dress designer will usually cause the price of each service to inflate drastically. The same can be said of personal training, with some boot camps tagging on the phrase bridal body and charging upwards of $1,000 for what are essentially just multiple group fitness sessions. So, if you do decide to ramp up your fitness routine ahead of your nuptials, don’t get sucked into overpaying. Instead, try this simple 14-minute workout from fitness Instagram sensation Kayla Itsines. You can do it at home with no gym membership, no trainer, and no equipment.
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Itsines recommends that, as with any new fitness routine, you should approach your pre-wedding workout goals realistically. “I want women to focus on feeling confident and healthy for not only their wedding day, but their honeymoon, first year anniversary and the rest of their life with their partner,” she said. Once you’ve set those not-too-lofty expectations, incorporate high-intensity interval training into your exercise routine—along with some low-intensity steady-state cardio (LISS) and resistance training that you can learn about through her app—to get the best results in the shortest amount of time. “HIIT involves short bursts of intense exercise followed by a short ‘rest’ period. It can be done in 10–15 minutes and has the added benefit of what is known as the ‘after-burn’ effect, meaning when your workout is over and you’re sorting out your seating chart and speaking to the caterers, your body can continue burning fat,” Itsines said.
The pre-wedding workout she delivered below involves two rounds of one circuit, each lasting seven minutes. Start by setting your timer for seven minutes and aim to complete the exercises in the below circuit as many times as you can before the timer goes off. Once completed, take a 30-second break, and then reset your timer to seven minutes and complete the circuit again for your full 14-minute workout. “While you’re aiming to complete each exercise as quickly as possible, it is important that you maintain proper technique throughout,” Itsines added.
Roll out that exercise mat and get started!
Circuit:
In and out push-ups: 10 repetitions
Ab bikes: 40 repetitions
Snap jumps: 10 repetitions
X hops: 24 repetitions
Place both hands on the floor slightly further than shoulder-width apart and both feet together behind you, resting on the balls of your feet—this is called push-up position. Quickly jump both feet outward so that they’re wider than your hips, as shown. While maintaining a straight back and stabilizing through your abdominals, bend your elbows and lower your torso toward the floor until your arms form a 90-degree angle. Push through your chest and extend your arms to lift your body back into push-up position with your feet still apart. Quickly jump both feet inward to bring them back together. Bend your elbows and lower your torso toward the floor until your arms form a 90-degree angle. Push through your chest and extend your arms to lift your body back into push-up position. Continue alternating between push-ups with feet apart and feet together for the specified number of repetitions.
Start by lying flat on your back on a yoga mat with your feet extended out in front of you. Bend your elbows to place your hands behind your earlobes. Gently raise both feet, your head and your shoulder blades off of the floor. This is your starting position. At the same time, extend your left leg so that is approximately 45 degrees from the floor and bring your right knee into your chest. Extend your right leg completely so that is 45 degrees from the floor and bring your left knee into your chest. This creates a pedaling-like motion. Once you have grasped this movement, incorporate a twist with your upper body. This can be achieved by meeting the knee with the opposite elbow. For example, as you bring the right knee into the chest, twist your upper body over to the right so that it can meet your left elbow. Continue alternating between left and right for the specified number of repetitions.
Plant both feet on the floor slightly further than shoulder-width apart. Looking straight ahead, bend at both the hips and knees, and place your hands on the floor directly in front of your feet. Keeping your body weight on your hands, kick both of your feet backward so that your legs are completely extended behind you, resting on the balls of your feet. Jump both of your feet in toward your hands, ensuring that your feet remain shoulder-width apart. Repeat the specified number of times.
Plant both feet on the floor slightly further than shoulder-width apart. Looking straight ahead, bend at both the hips and knees, ensuring that your knees remain in line with your toes. Continue bending your knees until your upper legs are parallel with the floor. Ensure that your back remains between 45 and 90 degrees of your hips—this is called squat position. Propel your body upward into the air. Extend and reposition both of your legs to land in a lunge position with your left leg forward and right leg back. Ensure that your weight is distributed equally between both legs. Immediately propel your body upward into the air again. Extend and reposition both of your legs to land back into squat position. Immediately propel your body upward into the air again. Extend and reposition both of your legs to land in a lunge position with your right leg forward and left leg back. Continue alternating between lunge and squat movements for the specified number of repetitions. Each movement of the feet is equivalent to one repetition. Breakdown: The sequence will be: squat, lunge left leg forward, squat, lunge right leg forward.
Want more workouts like this? Download Kayla Itsines’s equipment-free guides.
