They must have just finished a tiring day of wedding dress shopping. From my restaurant booth behind them, I overheard the father say to his daughter across the table, “You better eat light tonight and for that matter for the next 14 months! If you don’t, you’ll get too fat for that dress and I’m not paying for alterations!”
Wow. Instinctively, I would have liked to lunge over the back of my seat and strangle the man. Instead, I settled for tearing my napkin into pea-sized shreds in my lap. Having struggled with an eating disorder for many years, including those important months before my wedding, I am all too aware of what was going through that precious girl’s mind: “I don’t want to get fat!”
What’s a girl to do? How does she honor God, her body and her husband-to-be? How does she prioritize her health, be conscious of her weight and not add to the already mounting anxiety of wedding preparation?God has graciously redeemed the time and used the years of my own pain to allow me to strengthen, encourage and teach others. Now, as a personal trainer, it is my daily goal to help women value their God given, innate beauty. I also want them to enhance their physical abilities and find an exercise activity that brings them joy.
Wedding preparation doesn’t leave you with a lot of time on your hands. Here’s a quick, simple and very effective program to get you started. But first, a couple rules:
Always put your spiritual health ahead of your physical health. Even if you don’t have time for a long Bible study before your morning workout, stop and pray. Ask God to honor the work you are about to do and to use your increased energy and health for His glory.
Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come” (1 Timothy 4:8).
The following workout is only 30 minutes, so it’s OK if you have to do it early on an empty stomach. But, always:
- Eat within 30 minutes of finishing your workout. Eat a balanced combination of complex carbohydrates and lean protein. Try oatmeal mixed with Greek yogurt and blueberries.
- Drink water!
- Always take at least one day a week completely off from exercise.
Pre-Wedding Workout
Set an interval timer for 45 seconds of work and 15 seconds of rest. Do each exercise for a full 45 seconds, rest 15 and then immediately start the next exercise. Complete the circuit 5 times:
- Squat down and touch your heals then jump straight up as high as you can and reach toward the sky.
- Lay on your back, point your feet toward the sky and do a lower abdominal crunch. As you bring your feet down, use the momentum to roll up to standing. Repeat.
- Pushups—when normal pushups get too easy try burpees, walking pushups. Move your hands to the left or right between pushups and then back again, or do pushups with your feet elevated.
- Get into a lunge position and then jump up and switch your feet in the air. Land with your opposite foot in front. Repeat.
- Mountain climbers—from a plank position bring one knee at a time toward your nose, add a jump when you’re ready or try jumping both feet in and out at the same time.
- From standing, bend at the waist until your hands touch the floor, walk your hands out until you’re in a full plank, do one pushup and walk your hands back toward your feet, stand. Repeat.
Completing this circuit will take you exactly 30 minutes, not including a warm up and stretching when you’re through.
…God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:20).
