Bridal Workout

Well, I am trying to keep up with this healthy bride thing, but it is alot of work. A couple of month ago I started the 100 Push-up Challenge. It really was not working for me and I fell off the wagon. I have sinse received some good work out advise from An Excited Bride (who looks great) and has inspired me again. I have been hitting the gym 3 days per week and attending a dance class another day. I have been really working my arms and back on the machines at the gym and have even started jogging for 10 minutes while working out on the treadmill. Wish me luck!! How is your workout going? Have any bridal workout advise?

I Am A Slacker

Well...I have not been doing that well with the 100 Push-Up Challenge. As I started week three, I just got lazy. I think that part of it is that my gym was closed for a week for remodeling. Well, I am reenergized since I read the post on the Excited Bride about her doing her 50 push-ups a day and the pictures showing how great she looks. I started redoing week three and I struggled yesterday. I will wrap up week three on Sunday. Wish me luck. How are the rest of you pushers doing?

PS: My arms will definitely get some exercise this weekend, because the broomjumpinggroom and I am are doing some painting around the home this weekend. I guess they do not call it Labor Day for nothing.

Week 3 and Counting !!!

I started on week 3 of the 100 Push-Up Challenge and it kicked my butt. I really struggled to get through the routine today. It will be worth it, so my arms will not be jiggling to their own beat when I walk down the aisle. It seems to get harder as the weeks go on, but I guess it was easy it would not be called a challenge. How is everyone else doing?

I Got the Power

I got the power. Anyone else remember He-Man and She-ra? I feel I am turning to She-ra as I continue the challenge. Well, I did day two of the 100 Push-Up Challenge. I do not feel to bad. It seemed to help when I did the crunches during the push-up rest period. I just ache a little in the morning, but the soreness seems to go away as the day goes on. I have more day this week, which I will probably do Saturday morning since I went to belly dancing class last night and want a day off. Keep up the good work all of you push-uppers.

100 Push Up Challenge...I Think I Am At 2

No, no, no. I have been doing the challenge as listed, so I have done way more than two. I finished week one and am on week two. I started week two on Tuesday. I did not feel to bad when doing them and seemed not to struggle to as much as I did last week. One of my goals of doing this is not only to strengthen my arms, but to become strong enough so that I can get lower the ground when doing the push ups. When I did the rest periods in between sets I did 25 crunches. max I plan on doing my push ups tomorrow and Thursday to finish out the week. How is everyone else doing? Keep up the good work.

My Arms Feel Like Spaghetti

Well, I did it. I started the 100 Push-Up Challenge. My arms are throbbing and I just did the initial test. On Wednesday, I will be starting the first day of week one. The author of the challenge suggest that you should skip a day in between to allow your arms to rest. No kidding, I need the rest, my arms hurt so much, I can barely lift my arms to move my hands to type this post. I hope the author of this challenge is right and it gets easier. Check back with me on Thursday and I will let you know how easy it got.

All Arms on Deck

All arms up...well not for that long, my arms are tired. When I was reading one of my daily reads Kate's Wedding and she had on there about the One Hundred Push Up challenge. I know that my arms are one area that I need to work on and have been told by several people that I need to do push ups to get my arms in shape for the wedding. I did them one day, but I only did 20....ok,ok, really I only did 5. How pitiful. So Kate, here is a shout out to you. I am up to the challenge, because if I do not do it, I will be flapping all the way down the aisle. Are you up to the challenge?

Are You Katrina?

Katrina is one of the new brides on Bridezillas. Katrina's issue was that she could not get her wedding dress zipped up. Katrina hoped that her mother would purchase her a new wedding dress since she could not fit into her current one. Her family tried to put her on a diet with no success. In the end, Katrina's mother had to purchase a full body griddle for her fit into her dress.I have been reading alot of bridal blogs and there is a common theme, although not the the extreme that Katrina was, ... which is looking great in our wedding dress. Many of us, myself included, are in a quest to shed some of those extra pounds prior to our big day. In this post and some to follow, I will talk about some of exercise and weight loss ideas that I have either used or found on the web.

In this post, I have a tip that I found from the web. In this article, the author gives you the best workout based off of what type of wedding dress that you are wearing. The four dress styles that they provide workouts for are:

• Open Back


• Sweetheart Neckline


• Arm-barring (spaghetti straps, strapless or halter)


• Form fitting or sheath gown

There are exercises listed for each dress style that work the areas of the body that are necessary to make you look your best in the style of dress that you have chosen. To read the article and get your workout on, click here. Good luck. Reply to this post to share your progress or exercise tips with others , you never know who you will inspire to become a Buff Bride.

Let's do the Cha-Cha Slide

Whew!! I am tired. I had such a workout this evening. My sorority Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc Columbus Alumni Chapter held "Steppin with the Sigmas" this evening. At this event we were taught several different line dances and how to do Chicago two stepping with a partner. The event was taught by Marc, of Steppin in the City Productions, and he teaches classes all over Columbus. I have been trying to get into his line dancing classes for years, but they fill up so quickly. It was great. I knew some of the line dances and look forward to having a 20-30 minutes of line dancing at my reception. A couple of my bridesmaids were there and I told them to get ready to work it out at the reception. It was fun, but it was definitely a work out. I came all cute in my shorts, t-shirt and flip flops and I really needed to have on was my exercise clothes. I am sure since I danced for almost 2 1/2 hours I had to sweat off at least 10 pounds

(I wish).

Some of my sorority sisters and I at the event.

The second part of the class was Chicago two step. This type of dancing is done with a partner. It was nice to see the couples dancing. It made me wish that my fiance was there so that we could learn it. Watching them, I think that I am going to have my fiance and I look into taking a dance lessons with Marc instead of taking the same ole' ballroom dance that everyone takes for their first dance. I think us doing Chicago two step would make our first dance more interesting.

To the left, to the left, to the right to the right.

This my cousin Nicole, in the skirt, and my sorority sister Robinette getting their step on.

If you have different dance ideas, reply to this post. I would love to share your thoughts of what your first dance would be like or different forms of dance that you take part in.

Teeth Whiting? Skin Embrassion? Workout?

When you become a bride you are sent into a whirlwind of creating a beauty routine so that you can be the pretty when all eyes are on you as you come down the aisle. I am no exception. My routine began last week with my 6 month teeth cleaning. While at the cleaning I asked my dentist about tooth whiting. All the while thinking, only if my insurance will cover it. Luckily, my dentist, Dr. Allen, is a woman after my own heart, CHEAP. She told me that the over the counter products for teeth whiting, such as Crest Whitening Strips (click and get a coupon), work just as well as having your dentist do the procedure, you just need to complete the process a couple of times before the your wedding. Let me mark that on my calendar....wedding April 2009, tooth whiting start January 2009.

I have been obsessed with having flawless skin since I got engaged. I have even started seeing my childhood dermatologist again, Dr. Williams. Besides, every time I go to see him, he relays my dermatological history from birth, he also gives me great care. He gives me something like a skin peel every time I go. When I first started getting it, the process creeped me out because the container that he bought the treatment in was foaming like a piece of dry ice on Halloween. I do not know why I continue to go early in the morning to see him, because after the treatment my face is so tight I can barely answer the phone when I get to work. But after the tightness is over, my face is smooth. Along with the face wash and astringent that he gives me my face should be in tip top shape for my wedding.

I have been working out for the past year, but I have pumped up my workouts ever since I got engaged. I don't want all the eyes on me to be focused on my dress and not my rolls or my giggly bottom. I need to tone since I have lost about 50, 40 to go. I have been doing belly dancing, walking and new to me I have been working on the elliptical machine. I have a little muscle in my arms, but it anyone our there has a great workout to get my flappers (arms) in tip top shape for my wedding please email to let me know.

When I thought about all the things that I have to do for my wedding, think about the creation of a wedding beauty routine seems like a bit much. As I thought about it some more, I have noticed that my fiance is not changing anything for the wedding. The most that he will do is to make sure his head and face are shaved. That's not fair, is it?

Beauty routine. Check. Just let me add one more time to my things to do list for my wedding.

Is this how Willy Wonka felt?

I have been watching wedding shows for years, grabbing ideas from most of them. The key now is to be able to work the ones that I like the most into my ceremony. The one idea that I know that I am using is, a candy bar. I have a sweet tooth anyway, so it works out perfectly. The trouble that I was finding was that, all the brides that I saw who had candy bars at their weddings were using colors like pink, yellow or red. These colors are little more appetizing that turquoise. My mom is questioning why I want our guest to be walking around with their mouths looking the color of Cookie Monster from Sesame Street. I began to do some research, to find where I could obtain bulk candy in the color that I need. My local Wal-Mart use to have a candy store in it, but of course when I need it, it closes. Once I again I begin to surf the Internet to find what I need. Wow..when they say the world wide web they surely mean it. Even though the candy was not within reach, I still felt like a kid in a candy store. I found blue raspberry gumballs, blue raspberry Laffy Taffy and turquoise buttermints on The Candy Warehouse. On the Groovy Candies website, I found blue raspberry sours and Now and Laters. Of course, I went to the M&M to find the perfect color chocolates. It is not in my budget to add Chuck and I' s name on them, but I guess it does not really matter anyway since people will be eating them not reading them. At least I am just looking at the candy and not eating the candy. That would not do much for my current weight loss program.

Now that I know where I am getting my candy from, I need to find the containers that I want to put them in to. I want them to be different shapes and sizes, to make the display a little more interesting. I have found a lot of 3 on Ebay for $.99. What a deal!!! My mom found a real crystal bowl at the thrift store, ( one of my favorite places on earth). I think I have decided that I am only going to have 8 selections of candy at the reception so I only need to look for 4 more. To complete the candy bar area, I need to find some candy scoops and find the perfect bags that I can put my monogram on (well I guess I need to get on the ball rolling on creating that) for my guest to take the treats in.

This planning stuff takes on many layers. I thought that picking candy would be simple, but there are several other things that I need to do so that the candy bar looks that way that I want it so that my guest and I are both satisfied.

15 pounds....50 more to go!!

Yeah, I got some great news today. I went to doctor and I have lost another 15 pounds since last month when I saw the doctor last. I have been trying to work out 2-3 days per week and watching what I eat since the beginning of last summer, when I realized that I was starting to look like Ora the Killer Whale. I have had my good months and I have had my bad months with my regular exercise and eating, so my weight would go up and down. I have been really watching what I am doing since I got engaged. I do not want to look like the Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man ( the big marshmallow man that got shot down in the first Ghostbusters movie) when I walk down the aisle. Losing 15 pounds in a month is a big deal, especially when I am used to losing 7-8 pounds a month. I was also surprised due to the amount of lemon creme Girl Scout cookies I have been treating myself to. Well, I am not going to complain something worked. When I first started this quest to committing to be fit, I had to find a variety of different exercises to do since I would become bored with just going to the gym and walking on the treadmill. I have been talking a hip hop aerobics class and a water aerobics class at the gym, walk with a co-worker when the weather is warm and take yoga once or twice a week.

The one workouts that I look forward to every week, is my belly dancing class. I have been taking belly dancing for almost a year now. I started taking classes in May of last year. My classes are taken at Habeebas Dance of the Arts http://www.habeebas.com/ . I really enjoy the way that my body moves and how the classes make me feel. Besides they are fun. I try to get to classes twice a week if possible, so that I can dance. My teacher is trying to talk me into performing with the troupe this summer. I said that I might depending on what dance I did. I really like the dances that we dance with the scarfs. We will see how the next few months go with the dance classes and wedding planning to see if and when I am going to perform.

The next type of exercise that I am interested in is pole dancing. One of sorority sisters took this class and said it really gave her a good upper body workout. I am trying to figure out when I can fit this into my schedule. This class has two-fold benefits, a great arm and leg workout and future newlywed benefits (if you know what I mean). Here is a place that offers pole and exotic dancing, called Dolphin Dance, http://dolphindanceexotic.com/ . Maybe I will see you there!