Getting Started
Whether you have one month, three months or six months to go before your wedding, you can make some great gains in terms of your body shape and ability to properly fit into your tuxedo. The pace of the program and the gains will differ depending on how much time you have.
To get trim, you need to do four things differently:
• Eat less food, every day.
• Perform cardiovascular activity at least three times per week, but only for 30 minutes of intense training.
• Strength training with weights at least twice per week concentrating on your back, chest and shoulders.
• Pick up the intensity of training. Don’t take breaks.
You do not need to spend a ridiculous amount of time in the gym to see results. In fact, you should spend no more than 30-40 minutes of high intensity training. Use your core muscles (lower back and abdominals), chest and triceps to perform a push-up. You will be using your core muscles, back and biceps to perform a pull-up. While pulling up, your chest takes a break.
You’d be amazed just how much eating less is critical to a groom’s success in losing a few inches before wedding day. It is the most important factor.
Finally, why the back, chest and shoulders? These large muscle groups are likely to show the most gain.
The Groom’s Tuxedo
Most Importantly. If you start any fitness plan, be sure to save your tuxedo fitting until closer to your wedding day. If you get measured for a tuxedo in December, for example, and then diligently work out for the next 3 months, be prepared to have a different physique by March.
You will be trimmer, your shoulders will be larger and your waist will be smaller. In other words, you’ll look great. But you will need to be re-fitted for your tuxedo. Granted, that is a small price to pay for a great body, but you can avoid all that trouble by getting fitted later on in the process.
A Groom’s Diet
To keep your metabolism in high gear, grooms ought to eat six mini meals throughout the day, rather than “breakfast, lunch and dinner.” Instead of gorging yourself on a huge chicken and pasta dinner, have a smoothie at 3pm and a smaller helping at dinnertime.
You will want to eat plenty of protein to build muscle as well as hearty portions of carbs to fuel your cardio workouts. The goal is to tailor your daily meal plan to your daily activity level so that you consume more protein on days that you strength train and more carbs on days that you cardio train.