Fitness Friday: Dealing With Wedding Stress

Yeah right!

Although it’s an exciting event, planning a wedding may in fact be one of the most stressful and taxing thing a woman will face in her life. Every bride feels the mental, emotional and physical strain of countless errands, decisions, budgeting, juggling requests and trying to get everything perfect.

What can a bride do instead of reach for a Smartie-flavored energy drink or have a melt down in front of the florist? One of the most important keys in coping with high stress situations is physical exercise. Consider these benefits of moving our bodies daily:

Exercise:

-releases endorphins, the body’s natural “feel good” mechanism

-generates additional energy

-gluts the blood stream with optimism (positive brain chemicals)

-enhances mental clarity

-makes us more decisive

-leads to less emotional swings

-makes us more confident

-causes deeper, more effective sleep

-greatly helps to ease depression

-aids in digestion, allowing body to absorb more vitamins from food

-boosts the immune system

These are benefits every bride dreams of- and they are easily accessible to any bride of any age on any budget.

1. Do what you love. If you love group exercises classes, hiking, dance, weights or speed skating- do it. Do not think you have to do what everyone else is doing in the fitness world. However, if you feel like you’re in a rut, try something fun. I began Zumba classes during a particularly stressful time in my life, and not only did it give me a huge calorie burn, but it was so fun my worries and frustration began to melt away.

2. Make fitness a top prioritiy. Healthy living is not a luxury; you need to move your body daily for a minimum of 45 minutes for the rest of your life. Strapped for time? Make time with your fiance active time- walking, hiking, weight lifting, home video workouts like P90X, cycling. Begin the pattern now of an active lifestyle in your family.

3. A little something is better than a big nothing. If you missed a workout, don’t beat yourself up. But do start right away. If you’re new to the fitness world, don’t get down. Just begin from where you are and move forward. Fitness is not a secret club of skinny brides that you’re not a part of. Let that idea go. Healthy living is a way to experience joy- and to give joy to others. You must be healthy to offer all that you are capable of to your new husband and future family.

4. Learn to breathe. Your body needs oxygen- and particularly your brain. Most women breathe up into their chest (see your shoulders rising and falling as you breathe?) which cuts off 60% of your oxygen intake! So to feed your brain, calm your nerves and get enough air to get a great workout that doesn’t hurt, here’s how to breathe: Put your hands on your belly. Draw the air deep into your abdomen, feeling your belly rise and fall against your hands. Now put one hand on your chest. Do you still feel it moving up and down? That’s a signal you’re still chest breathing. Concentrate on fully filling your low lungs and stomach; then expel every molecule of air. Practice this breathing as you fall asleep, in yoga class, and use it whenever you feel stress or are working out. This is an athletic, calming breath.

5. Learn to gauge heart rate zones. For an effective workout that will get your heart stronger, burn fat, release endorphins and make you glisten– your heart rate needs to get to a challenging yet safe level for over 25 minutes. Putting your fingers on your neck and trying to count heart beats is NOT effective. In stead, use the Scale of Perceived Exertion. On a scale of 1-10: 1-2: You are on the Internet. 2-3: Walking. Smiling. Moving. 3-4: Walking briskly, jogging, light sweat. Can still talk. 5-6: Jogging, sweating, working, can still smile and give 3-4 word answers. 6-7: Working hard but could maintain exercise level for over 8 minutes. Could give one to two-word answers to questions. 7-8:Could maintain three minutes.8-9: Full throttle, sprint, anaerobic, hard, hold max one minute.

When you workout, you want to be warming up to a 5-6, and working up to that 6-7-8 during your workout. If you get dizzy, back off. If can gossip and chat up wedding details, work harder! If you are new, take time and build up to the higher heart rate zones over several weeks. There is no contest- just be patient and your stamina will grow.

You don’t have to always be in higher zones to the stress-reducing benefits of exercise. Many mind-body formats such as yoga, pilates, and martial arts can help you deal with wedding stress and still shape your body!