What bride doesn’t want to look and feel her best on her wedding day? With upcoming nuptials on the horizon, you may be wondering what the best wedding workout is for your dress style. The good news is you won’t need to log a whole bunch of hours at the gym or pay a ton of money for a personal trainer to put together a fitness and workout plan to sculpt the areas of your body that’ll show in your bridal gown. “Shedding for the wedding” doesn’t necessarily mean sweating your butt off at all hours of the day to sculpt your muscles and reach your fitness goals. Instead of a grueling full-body workout routine, the best wedding workouts will focus on some dress-specific toning moves. Find out which exercises you should be doing for your wedding dress style here!

Workouts for Backless Wedding Dresses

Is your wedding dress backless? Exercises for a backless bridal gown should focus on strength training for your upper body such as a toned back and strong posture.

Reverse Plank Lifts

While seated on the floor, extend your legs out straight in front of you. Place your hands behind your hips, about shoulder-distance apart, with your fingers facing forward. Lift your hips up while keeping your body straight. Slowly lower down to your starting position.

Superwoman

Lying face down on a mat, extend your arms straight over your head, parallel to the floor. Lift your arms and legs off the mat, focusing on squeezing your back and butt. Slowly lower down to the mat.

Tricep Dips

While seated on the floor, place your hands directly behind you with your fingers facing forward. Extend your legs out straight in front of you and flex your feet. Bend your elbows about halfway down while lowering your body toward the floor. Straighten your arms and return to your starting position.

Lateral Pull-Down

Holding dumbbells, stand with your feet hip-width apart. Reach your arms straight over your head and slowly pull your arms down. As you pull, squeeze your elbows close to your ribcage. Slowly press your arms back up the starting position.

Workouts for Mermaid Wedding Dresses

With form-fitting mermaid wedding gowns, your waist, thighs, and booty will be the focus. When you plan your bridal workout routine, the exercises you choose should complement these areas.

Reverse Lunges

Standing with your feet hip-width apart, step your right leg behind you, dropping both knees to a 90-degree angle. Push through your front heel to return to your starting position. Repeat on the opposite side and continue to alternate legs.

Hip Thrusts

Lie on a mat with your head and back flat. Keeping your legs shoulder-width apart, bend your knees with your feet flat on the mat. Lift your hips up as high as you can while pushing through your heels and squeezing your butt. Slowly lower back down to your starting position.

Bicycle Crunches

Lying on your back with your legs extended, support your neck with your palms while keeping your elbow pointed out. Reach your right knee to your left elbow and crunch your abs. Repeat on the opposite side and continue to alternate sides.

Curtsy Lunges

Starting with your feet shoulder-width apart in a standing position, cross your right leg behind your left leg as you bend both knees close to the ground. Push through your front heel to return to the starting position. Repeat on the opposite side and continue to alternate legs.

Workouts for Short Wedding Dresses

Whether you chose a tea-length wedding dress, a beachy bridal ensemble, or a mini dress, you’ll be showing off your legs on your big day. Leading up to your wedding, try exercises that sculpt your lower body and strengthen your stems.

Wall Sit

Standing with your back pressed flat against a wall and your legs hip-width apart, slide down to a squat position until your legs are at a 90-degree angle. Hold this position for as long as you can.

Butt Lifts

Get into position on your hands and knees, making sure your knees are directly under your hips and your hands are directly under your shoulders. With your right knee bent at 90 degrees and your foot flexed, press your leg up toward the ceiling while squeezing your butt. Lower your knee back down to the starting position. Repeat on the right side, and then do the same number of reps on the left.

Mountain Climbers

Start in a high plank position with your hands directly below your shoulders. Draw your right knee to your chest, and extend it back out as you draw your left knee to your chest. Keep alternating sides at a quick pace.

Calf Raises

While resting your hands on a wall or chair, stand with your feet hip-width apart. Raise your heels up from the floor into a tiptoe position. Slowly lower your heels back down and repeat.

Workouts for Strapless Wedding Dresses

Strapless dresses might be the most popular wedding dress style out there, and for good reason! The silhouette is fit to flatter, especially with toned arms and shoulders. The following exercises will get you ready to rock your strapless wedding dress. Hello, bride arms!

Pushups

Begin in a high plank position. With your hands directly under your shoulders, start to bend your elbows and lower your body down to the floor. With your abs engaged, slowly push yourself back up to your starting position.

Chest Press with Dumbbells

Lay with your back on a mat and your feet flat on the floor. With one dumbbell in each hand and your arms at a 90-degree angle, lift your arms up directly over your shoulders. Return your arms back down to a 90-degree angle.

Shoulder Press with Dumbbells

Stand upright with your feet hip-width apart holding a dumbbell in each hand. Slowly lift your arms out straight to shoulder height, knuckles facing up. Lower the dumbbells back down, and repeat.

On your wedding day, countless photos are the name of the game, and you’ll want to rock your best bridal body! The best bridal workouts are less of a hassle than you think. If you’re in a time-crunch with a never-ending to-do list or feeling overwhelmed by a time-consuming workout regimen, focusing on the areas of your body that will be seen in your wedding dress will save you time and sweat.