So! I’m going to come right out and say it, most “wedding dress workout” I’ve seen online are complete and utter bullshit.
Personal Experience and Motivation
One of my ladies is getting married soon, and having gotten married myself, I know how it comes out of nowhere really fast… like really really fast. She and I were talking about how she’d like to look for her wedding day. The usual hopes and dreams were there: toned arms, sculpted shoulders, etc. So I fist bumped her, told her hell yeah, and went off to do my homework for her programming.
The Reality of Wedding Dress Workouts
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’d like to think I know programming and how to do my job. I’ve been training people for 5+ years now, and while I definitely don’t know everything, I’m pretty confident in what I do. But I still do my research to be safe.
And sticking with the theme of confidence, I’m thoroughly confident I can say the wedding dress routines I came across are just generic women’s fitness pop marketing shit. I feel like a douche saying it but I feel that way, so here we are.
Sharing the Program
Instead of just turning my nose up and writing her programming for her alone, I figured I’d share it here in case it could help anyone else. It’s a 3x a week program (don’t worry, that’s plenty of volume to grow – besides, you’ll need time to rest and finish up prepping every little detail of your wedding… there are a ton of them), and we’ll focus on lifting big and strong. We’ll hit a lot of compound upper body movements but we’ll also make sure we build up your lower body, too, so you’re set for the dance floor and honeymoon.
Understanding the RPE System
I also want to explain my RPE system – pretty straightforward – if I write @2 out of a 10, that basically means if 10 is the absolute hardest and heaviest you can do, then it should feel like a 2 on that scale (this is usually for smaller muscles or very light exercises). And /ss/ means superset – do the two exercises back to back with minimal rest.
3x a Week Routine
Day 1
- Squats: 3 sets of 5 reps @6 out of 10
- Overhead Press: 3 sets of 5 reps @5 out of 10
- Hip Thrusts: 3 sets of 8 reps @5 out of 10
- Band Pull Aparts /ss/ Side Delt Raises: 3 sets of 15 reps @2 out of 10
- Hip Touches: 3 sets of 16 reps, 8 each side @bodyweight
Day 2
- High Box Step Ups: 4 sets of 16 reps, 8 each leg @bodyweight – 4 out of 10 (depending on how you feel)
- Reverse Grip Lat Pulldowns: 4 sets of 8 reps @6 out of 10
- Cable Reverse Fly /ss/ Lu Xiao Raises: 3 sets of 15 reps @2 out of 10
- Straight Arm Pressdowns: 3 sets of 12 reps @4 out of 10 – really focus on long range of motion and a good solid squeeze in the lats
- Side Laying Hip Abductions: 3 sets of 15-20 reps @bodyweight
- Straight Single Leg Raises /ss/ Decline Bench Crunches: 2 sets of 15 reps, each leg for leg raises, @bodyweight
Day 3
- Leg Press: 4×8 @5 out of 10
- Incline DB Press /ss/ Facepulls: 3×12 @4 out of 10
- 45 Degree Hyperextensions: 3×15 @bodyweight
- Dead Bugs: 3×20, 10 each side @bodyweight
- Standing Cable Rows: 3×15, each side @5-6 out of 10
- Rope Tricep Extensions /ss/ Side Delt Raises: 2×15 @2 out of 10
Run this split for at least 6 weeks and try to push the intensity. Listen to your body (we don’t need any nagging injuries walking down the aisle!) and slowly add weight.
Google any exercises you may not know for perfect form.