5 Quick Tummy Toning Exercises for a Mermaid Wedding Dress

Falling in love with a wedding dress is magical and toning your tummy for the perfect dress is worth the hassle. Completing a few quick and easy exercises to help tone your tummy is easier than it may seem. All you will need for these exercises is your body and the ground to begin your tummy toning journey.

All exercises have been approved as time-effective ways to tone the tummy by Brad Seng, the University of Colorado Boulder Triathlon head coach, D3 Multisport head coach, and Team World Vision nationals head coach.

1. Mountain Climbers

We will be ascending the tallest peaks with the best views for this exercise! Begin in a high plank position with your hands shoulder width apart. Make sure that your feet are together behind you and that you have a flat back. During the exercise, make sure you keep your core tight by thinking about drawing your belly button in towards your spine. Then, take one leg at a time and drive it upwards in towards your chest by bending at the knee and then bring it back to its starting position. Switch off legs quickly. Do this for a minute or complete 2-3 sets of 30-50 repetitions.

2. Russian Twists

Begin by sitting upright on the floor with your legs slightly bent towards you. Hinge backwards at the hips so your back is at about a 45 degree angle with the floor. Activate your core and pick up your feet from the floor. Then, placing your hands together, move them from the outside of one hip to the outside of the other hip, trying to avoid twisting in the waist. You can touch the floor each time and even add weight if you want the extra challenge. Do this for a minute or complete 2-3 sets of 20-40 repetitions.

3. Heel Touch

Start by sitting on the floor with your legs slightly bent and your back slightly off of the ground. Bring your hands out by your sides and slowly hinge sideways at the waist until your fingertips touch your foot. Make sure you are using your core and not your back. Alternate sides and continue for a minute or complete 2-3 sets of 30-50 repetitions.

4. Bicycle Crunches

Get ready to ride your bike, but in a new and improved fashion! Begin by laying on the ground in a crunch position. Make sure your arms are bent behind you with your hands on the back of your head. Slightly lift your head off of the floor without bringing your chin in towards your chest. Imagine that there is an apple between your collar bones and your chin holding your head in place. Next, lift your legs off of the floor so that the back of your calves are parallel to the ground. Then, activate your core and twist by bringing one elbow to the opposite knee. For example, you will bring your right elbow towards your left knee until they touch. Repeat with the other leg and elbow. Do this for a minute or complete 2-3 sets of 25-45 repetitions.

5. Walk

You simply cannot go wrong with a walk! Get ready to strut your stuff. Take a few extra minutes during your day to walk around the block, choose the long way to work, skip the drive for your errands, and more can help tone the tummy! Taking time to walk can be time consuming, but it can help speed up your metabolism. Take a brisk walk for 45 to 60 minutes a day to help speed up the process of toning your tummy.

Having a toned tummy is great, especially when the journey to get there involves getting outdoors and walking around. All of these exercises can be done quickly throughout your day and even before you go to bed at night.

Check-out ALL! the workouts in this series:

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4 min

5 Arm Exercises to Rock Your Sleeveless Wedding Dress

By Amelie Bauer

If you are looking to show off your arms while sashaying down the aisle, wow your loved ones, and give yourself a confidence boost on your big day, these five quick and easy exercises will have your arms toned in no time. As a bride, your life is full of “To-Dos” to cross off the list, which is why every one of these exercises can be done while making breakfast, in the shower, at a desk, or before bed. While these exercises are mostly bodyweight focused, you can add light weights or various household items to make them more challenging.

All exercises have been approved as time-effective ways to tone arms by Brad Seng, the University of Colorado Boulder Triathlon head coach, D3 Multisport head coach, and Team World Vision nationals head coach.

1. Arm Circles

Stand or sit straight up holding your arms out on either side of you in a T-pose. These can be done in large or small circular motions. Make sure to keep your arm muscles tight and your elbows locked. It is recommended to do 3-4 sets of 15-20 repetitions with circles done in both directions. Make sure to perform the circles slowly for the best results.

If you are looking to add some weight and do not have any dumbbells, grab a can of soup, a water bottle, or any object you would be able to hold easily and perform the exercise.

2. Lateral Arm Raises

Place your hands with the palms facing towards your hips with your hands at your sides. Slowly raise both arms up at the same time to make a T-shape. Stop when your arms are even with your shoulders. It is recommended to do 2 sets of 10-20 repetitions. You can do these without any weight, but can also grab nearby objects that weigh about the same and perform.

3. Push Ups

Purely a bodyweight exercise, push ups are great for your shoulders, arms, and core. To perform a pushup, make sure your hands are directly under your shoulders, legs straight out behind you, and your spine as straight as possible. If you need, bend your knees for a modified version.

To begin, bend your elbows and slowly lower to the ground. Make sure your elbows are close to your sides. Stop the push up when your upper arms are parallel to the floor. It is recommended to do 2-3 sets of 10 repetitions.

4. Downward Dog to Plank

This exercise is super easy to do before bed or after you wake up in the morning; you will get a stretch in while also toning your arms. To perform, begin in a push up position and move your hips up and backwards until you are in an inverted V position, aka downward dog. Your hands and feet should not shift where they are too much. Take a moment to feel a stretch in your calves. From here, slowly move back to the push up position you started in and hold for 10-30 seconds. It is recommended to do 2-3 sets of 10 repetitions.

5. Biceps Curls

This exercise is best done with light weights or light objects, but can also be done without weight. To begin, place arms at your sides but slightly out in front of your torso with your palms towards the ceiling. Engage your bicep by flexing and slowly curl your arm upward by bringing your hands toward your shoulders, making sure to keep your upper arm as still as possible. From here, slowly bend your arm back to the starting position. It is recommended to do 2-3 sets of 10-15 repetitions.

If you are looking for a challenge or have a busy hand, you can also perform single arm bicep curls with or without weights.

As a bride, life can move fast as you plan for your wedding, so having fast go-to workouts on hand can help take some stress off your shoulders and at the same time, tone them! These exercises provide you the flexibility to tone your arms quickly and are not an extensive workout.

Check-out ALL! the workouts in this series: