5 Minute Bridal Body Workouts
It's wedding season! Being engaged is the bees knees... you’re loved up, party planning, going designer dress shopping on weekends and your girlfriends are showering you with attention. Then there’s the whole organising your dream holiday thing… yep, you’re having a pretty good time alright!But despite all this exciting, positive stuff going on, with the hundreds of things on your wedding “to-do” list, plus a full-time job to keep up and a savings account to manage, it’s sometimes hard to find time for the little things – like breathing deeply and sitting quietly with a meal. And if the little things are getting lost by the wayside, you can bet the bigger ticket items, like looking after your nutrition and fitness, are probably slipping off the radar too!The good news is that even just a teeny amount of high intensity exercise each day can completely transform your body – particularly if you do it when you first roll out of bed, when your body has used up a lot of its carb stores overnight and will look to burn body fat for energy instead of the fuel you’ve put in throughout the day.So if you’re a rushed bride who’s having too much fun shopping for shoes to worry about what to do at the gym, here are a few ideas on how to make the most of that mini fat burning window first thing in the morning, by doing 5-10 minutes of high intensity exercise before you even step into the shower!NB: make sure you do a little warm-up before you start – a few dynamic movements like a light jog on the spot, some starjumps, a few multi-directional lunges and some core activation (like plank or a few slow crunches) should do it!
Workout #1
10 x High Squat JumpsRest 10 SecondsRPT x 410 x Pushups (try ‘em 1-legged if you’re already a fit fiancé!)Rest 10 SecondsRPT x 410 x Lunge JumpsRest 10 SecondsRPT x 410 x Plank Opposite Arm/Leg Raises (or do crunches or leg lowers instead!)Rest 10 SecondsRPT x 4
Workout #2
Complete the following all within a minute: 10 deep squats, 10 pushup-thrusts (pushup, then jump both feet in to under your chest, before returning to start position), 10 bodyweight rows (supergirls). If you finish all of the above in only 40 seconds, rest for the remainder of the minute before beginning all the exercises again – but if you take 60 seconds to finish, you start all over again ASAP with no rest! Complete 5 to 10 of these 1-minute rounds.
Workout #3
This one’s a “Tabata” style workout. That means you’ll be working as hard as possible for 20 seconds, then resting for 10 seconds each round. You could make this a 5 minute session by choosing one full body exercise, like a burpee (add a pushup at the bottom of the movement to add intensity) and sticking to that one exercise for the entire 5 minutes (so all up you’d do 10 x 20-second burpee intervals, resting for 10 seconds between sets).Alternatively, you could make it a 12-minute workout by picking 3 x exercises (e.g. mountain climbers, lunge walks, lunge jumps, or step-ups and perhaps plyometric pushups where you complete a pushup, then jump your legs out and back in again, like a horizontal starjump) and doing a new one each 20 seconds (so you might do mountain climbers, lunge jumps, plyo pushups, then repeat from the beginning until your time’s up!)
Workout #4
Grab a chair, now do 20 repetitions of each of the following exercises, using the chair as your prop!Tricep PushupsHands on seat of chair, fairly close together. Feet on the floor and body in a strong plank position. Do a pushup, tucking your elbows into your rips as you lower yourself towards the chair.Single-Leg Chair Get-UpsSit on the edge of your chair with your back upright and hold your arms straight out in front of your body at shoulder height. Raise your right foot off the floor and without leaning forward, press through your left heel to stand up. Lower yourself back down and repeat for 10-20 reps per side, depending on how strong you are.Chair Butt RaisesLie on your back on the floor, both legs raised up on the chair, straight and with just your heels resting on the edge of the seat. Lift your hips up off the ground, as high as you can and squeezing your butt as you do so. Complete 20 reps, or if you’re more advanced, 20 reps each leg, with just a single heel resting on the chair seat. This one also works your abs!Lateral Step-UpsStand side on to your chair and place your left foot in the middle of the chair seat. Make sure of your balance, then drive up with your left foot until you’re standing up straight, right foot high off the ground. Lower right foot to the ground and repeat for 20 reps on each side.Leg LowersLie on your back on the floor, chair behind you. Reach behind your head and hold on to the legs of the chair for balance. Raise both legs up off the ground until they’re pointing up towards the ceiling at a 90-degree angle. Lower towards the ground, stopping before your back lifts up off the ground and bringing your legs back to the start position. Repeat for 20 reps.