Tour de fours: A four-week fitness guide for your big day
The wedding season in India usually falls around December, which is right after we have all stuffed our faces with sweets for months on account of all the festivals. As you approach the happiest day of your life or of your friends or relatives, there couldn’t be a better reason or time to take up a fitness and diet routine.
Fitness expert Dhara Tanna shares a four-week routine of getting wedding-fit. “This can be done by following the golden rules for weight maintenance, i.e; 4-4-4 rulefour meals, four fillers, four days of exercise a week,” she says, adding, “It’s always a good idea to meet a nutritionist to understand your body and its requirements.”
WEEK 1: HIIT + PILATES
A combination of high and low impact workouts performed alternate days of the week will accustom the body to the pace and vigour required in the following three weeks. HIIT or high-intensity interval training is a cardio session involving small bursts of intense exercise alternating with low-intensity recovery periods. With 20 minutes of daily HIIT, one can gain better aerobic capacity, burn more fat, build a healthier heart, lose weight and increase metabolism. Pilates is a form of low-impact exercise to strengthen the core and spine. With slow, precise movements and breath control, Pilates enhances muscle strength and improves flexibility, mobility and posture.
WEEK 2: ZUMBA + YOGA
In the second week, the body will be accustomed to the movement and intensity of the workouts performed in the previous week. A fun but intense Zumba dance session is in order now. This workout style is great for weight loss and toning the body. With the body moving to fast paced music, different muscle groups are focussed all at once. The dance form boosts heart health and helps de-stress and improve coordination.
Couples can also do yoga together to improve movement of various body parts and flexibility. It’s a slow yet steady way to burn calories while relaxing the body.
WEEK 3: PILATES + CROSSFIT
For the third week, the focus shifts towards toning the body and building strength. Pilates, combined with CrossFit, contributes to an increase in muscle strength and tone.The CrossFit workout program incorporates multiple sports and training styles in one session, containing sets of functional exercises executed at high intensity. These functional exercises follow the best aspects of gymnastics, weightlifting and cardio exercise. CrossFit offers immense physical, mental and emotional benefits.
WEEK 4: SUNRISE YOGA
Early morning yoga sessions offer many benefits — from improving mental and physical health to bettering sleep patterns, elevating the mood, giving a jump-start to the body’s metabolism and getting the body in tune with natural rhythms. Couples can engage in sunrise yoga and combine mental and physical health to feel their very best as they start a journey together.
DON’T FORGET DIET
■ If weight loss is your goal, then the only thing you need to do is consume fewer calories than you expend. However, beware of crash diets as they will do more harm than good and even if you do lose weight, the body will first burn muscle and try to retain more fat. The most sensible thing to do is to fill up on your required amount of calories with foods that nourish you.
■ Make sure you load up on some good ol’ H2O. Fitness goals can also be achieved by simply cutting out sugar from your diet, along with limiting your intake of starchy foods such as rice and bread.
■ Processed foods also tend to have hidden sugar or excessive sodium that we all could with less of. So, stick to fresh produce like fruit and vegetables, lean protein like fish, chicken or paneer, and healthy fats like avocado and hard cheeses. Eating well, too, is essential to give your skin a radiant glow.