7 Minute Arm + Abs Workout

Written with love, by Jennifer Dene

Hey bridal beauty!

I'm spending a couple of orkouts focusin on common trouble areas, such as the triceps, abs, and inner and outer thighs, to help you feel wedding ready.

efore we dive in to today's workout, here' what recommend for your overall bridal workout routine:

2 x  full body workouts each week,
2 x cardio workouts each week (steady state or sprint),
1 - 2 x sculpting workouts each week,
Plus one day that's completely for rest. 

his week's arms and abs workout falls into that sculpting category. You can do it once, in addition to other exercises, or repeat the whole sequence three times through for a full workout. 

Come on over to Mind Body Bride and press play on the latest video that will help you feel bridalicious in no time!

With Love,
     Jennifer Dene

A Quick Workout For Honeymoon Worthy Abs

Written with love, by Jennifer Dene

Welcome back for our final week of fitness variations to take your workout from blah to babe!

Today we are elevating the humble abdominal crunch into a thing of fitness magnificence. Are you ready?

I’ve written before that I don’t always isolate my abdominal muscles during workouts, as too much targeted ab work can lead to injury. Over the last two week’s you have been strengthening your core with squats and planks, which are both terrific to do on a regular basis. The crunch variations below will be the perfect addition to your workout once or twice a week.

How To Do The Basic Crunch

Step One: Start by laying on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Take your hands behind your head and relax your head into your palms.

Step Two: Keeping your low back still against the ground flex through your upper torso to lift your head and chest away from the floor and direct your gaze to your navel.

Step Three: Lower back down to the starting position. On a crunch you exhale when you lift the chest and inhale to return.

The Variations

Rope Climber

This move targets your six-pack muscles as you slowly roll the spine up and down from the floor. Try to keep your feet still and not use any momentum!

Reverse Crunch

The six-pack is still engaged as you hold a static upper ab curl, but then you recruit your deep belly muscles to lift the hips and bring the knees to the nose. Often women forget to train the lower half of their abs so you will be thanking me for this one come the honeymoon!

Side Glides

This move flexes the spine from side to side to tone those oblique muscles in a different way than the normal bicycle twist. Keep your knees as still as possible as you reach towards your heels.

I recommend starting with 5 repetitions for each of these new moves and adding on once you feel confident. Press play for the quick video tutorial to see exactly how to do these moves, and then let me know which one is your favorite and why by leaving a comment below!

I can’t wait to workout with you!
      
       Jennifer Dene

7 Minute Ab Workout For A Beautiful Belly

Written with love, by Jennifer Dene

Happy Saturday beautiful bride!

I love working out with you each weekend - It’s such a fun and positive way to start the day. Today I have a deep belly burn workout that is perfect when done on its own or added to the end of our last bridal leg workout (phew, I hope you felt your legs after that one!).

I only isolate my abdominal muscles during one training session each week, as too much targeted ab work can cause structural imbalances and diastasis (separation of the six-pack muscles). Of course the core is active during every workout, especially in planks and squats, but I don’t recommend doing hundreds of crunches each time you go to the gym.

With that said, I do love a good belly burn workout every now and again and I have a feeling that you might agree. Let’s keep up that healthy new year motivation as we enter the third week of January.

What we’re focusing on today:

1.    Obliques

These are the muscles at the side of the waist: Cinching in your waist with sliders, bicycles and side plank will make that mermaid gown really pop!

2.    Rectus Abdominis

The Six-Pack: As I mentioned, I rarely isolate the six-pack muscles in my workouts, but today they are getting some love with a weighted crunch. There are three levels of this move so follow the one that suits you best. A femininely defined belly will look smoking hot in your honeymoon bikini.

3.    Transversus Abdominis

This is your deep low belly: This muscle is the most important abdominal muscle for supporting the spine and improving your posture — especially before you walk down the aisle. We strengthen the TA during our frog presses and plank pose, so continuously draw your navel into your spine during those moves.

Let’s Get Started! Grab your mat and one heavy weight (optional) and let’s do it to it!

P.S. after your workout is the perfect time to try a bridalicious smoothie. Get the healthy breakfast smoothie recipe here.