Fitness Friday! Sexy Arms For that Amazing Wedding Dress with Kimberlee

Beautiful Bride Prep- Nutrition Tracking Basics & Upper Body Blast

Fitness Pro: Kimberlee Marino

Hello Brides! First, please allow me to tell you a little about myself. My name is Kimberlee Marino. I recently got married and had the immense pleasure of working with Amber J Photography. It was the best day of my life and I owe a huge thank you to Amber and Shelly for making it such a wonderful experience.

Professionally, I am a Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Life Coach, Group Exercise Instructor including Les Mills BodyCombat & CX Worx and Spin, and Certified TRX TEAM Coach. 
I currently work at Best Fitness, 911 Central Ave Albany, NY and have many clients who are getting ready for their weddings. I love helping people get to their goals. It’s so rewarding to see how hard work pays off for my clients’ as they look and feel better every day!

Ok, now on to you, you gorgeous bride-to-be! Does your dress show off a little upper body? Whether you have straps or are going for a fully strapless dress, you want to feel and look your best on your big day. Following some simple guidelines and putting in a little hard work can get you arms to be proud to put on display.

There are two parts that go into this process, nutrition and exercise.

First, we can discuss nutrition. The easiest way to stay on track with healthy eating is to track your food. Just having the accountability of writing it down will make you want to chose healthier foods. There are many apps that can help you with this.
You just have to set your calorie intake by calculating your Basal Metabolic Rate here http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/. Keep your calorie intake slightly below your BMR if you want to reduce your body fat percent. The apps typically track how many grams of carbohydrates, protein, and fats you eat. A healthy range to stay in is 40%carbs/ 30%protein/30%healthy fats. That way you know how to make healthy choices and eat the right balance of foods. OK, don’t get overwhelmed with all this. As long as you are
 choosing healthy foods and eating lots of veggies and not a lot of packaged foods, you should be heading in the right direction.

Now, let’s talk photo worthy arms. This is where the real fun starts! You can do this workout 1-2 times per week and watch that upper body transform.You won’t be able to stop checking out those sleek, sexy arms!


As far as which weight to chose for each exercise, you don’t want it to be so heavy that you can’t complete 12 reps but not so light that you can do more than 15. Your goal is to perform each exercise with really good form. You always want to keep your abs tight and your spine in neutral (flat back). The best way to make your time working out effective is to practice good form so you get the full benefit!

Dumbbell Bent Over Row 12-15 reps
Biceps Curl 12-15 reps
rest 30 seconds, repeat 3x

Dumbbell Bent Over Row

Bicep Curl

Dumbbell Chest Press 12-15 reps

Arnold Press 12-15 reps

rest 30 seconds, repeat 3x

 Dumbbell press

Arnold Press

Skull Crusher 12-15 reps

Plank-ups 12 reps, alternating hands

rest 30 seconds, repeat 3x

Skull Crusher

 Plank Ups

I'm No Doctor, But Here's a Way To Help Your Heart

BEING HEART HEALTHY:

I am not doctor, but I can tell you the healthiest hearts I know are the ones that freely give of themselves.   The Miracle Fashion Show gives us this chance.  Yes, it’s fun, fashion, music and a night to show off 14 beautiful ladies, but it’s also an opportunity to share about this beautiful gem in our backyard called The Capital RegionMiracle League.

COME:

Amber J Photography will welcome you Friday night on March 13, the doors to Sixty State Place (60 State Street Albany) will open at 6:15p.m.  Guests will be allowed to tour the building and meet with several vendors that have given of their time and selves to support us.

YOU WILL WANT TO MEET HIM:

AT 7pm we will welcome John Robinson.  I don’t want to give too much away, but he’s pretty awesome and I suggest you see why.

THEY WON’T WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS (they will win hearts):

However, for every person that walks through the door we asking for a $5 donation. Read on to see why...

As coach as a former player it’s easy to understand how beautiful of an instrument playing sports was in my life.  I know that a true athlete lives for the competitive sonnet composed inside each game.  Some of our local athletes will not play for our local high schools or make headlines in a local paper.  They will not earn college scholarships and you may never herald them for their athletic achievements, but they are here and they love sports.

GIVE:

Give because you can.  Attend because you can.  Share the information because you can.  We all can give a little more.

 Some of us can then return to our regularly scheduled lives after March 13, but hopefully with a heart that knows that on that night you DID something or maybe, just maybe we capture your hearts for forever.  We hope we made you smile :)

THANK YOU!

Our Models : Abby(Bethlehem), Shaylyn (Spa Catholic), Samantha (Middleburgh), Megan (Middleburgh), Effia (Charlottle Valley), Sydney (Cobleskill), Brianna (Middleburgh) Allie (Cobleskill), Chloe (Cobleskill), Emma (Amsterdam), Emily (Cobleskill), Kayla (Cobleskill), Brooke (Dover) and Olivia (Bethlehem), Nathan (Cobleskill) have invested a few night in the past couple of weeks getting ready to put on a show that you will LOVE! These models have all signed under Amber J Photography as models for Amber J Seniors or Epic Teen Images.

The Bethlehem Boys Swim team has donated their time to escort these amazing girls.

Saratoga Sound DJ will be your host for the evening and has generously donated their time as well to make this happen.

Our make up Artist include Jessica, Glory, Bailee and Alexis all of whom are beautiful women and give our girls extra attention and love throughout our work together.

And most generously: Sixty State Place and all of their amazing personnel.

Upstate NY Photographer -Bridal Fitness

So, here it goes. You have your wedding date and you have your eye on the dress or perhaps you already have the dress! However, you have made it a goal to lose a little weight or tone up a bit before the big day approaches.  That is a very common goal for most brides (ahem and photographers). 

Personal: On the personal side of this ( I am a girl after all), I understand the desire to look your best on your wedding day.  Being fit is something I strive for on a daily basis and I will let you in on a little secret..weight can be a struggle for me. I purposefully adhere to workouts and everyone who knows me knows I can pound nachos! (Like a boss, I might add). I encourage you to be fit, not only for your wedding, but for life.

 Please remember, you were proposed to because you are loved  and because someone is IN love with you, not because of what size you are or how toned your arms look.  Strive to be healthier because it's good for you and not for anything more.  You are already beautiful and you are getting MARRIED!!!!

Professionally: I found this article if you are interested in a more in depth look to staying on track toward your fitness goals.
http://www.shape.com/lifestyle/bride/ask-bridal-fitness-coach-how-do-i-stay-motivated

He already loves you :)

Point of inspiration: