Healthy Bride News

Brides call in the wedding trainer to get buff

Monday, July 26, 2004

By SUSAN PAYNTER
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER COLUMNIST

No bull. The first annual Running of the Brides will literally tulle down the streets of Seattle at this year's Seafair Torchlight 5K.

On Saturday, a couple dozen soon-to-be brides, their maids of honor, supporters, friends and fitness trainers will meet to warm up at the newly opened Seattle Wedding Trainer office on Third Avenue.

Some will wear thrift-shop wedding gowns. Some will be in tasteful white shorts and tees. Seattle Wedding Trainer founder Christi Masi will be there to fit them all with veils and sashes. Drinks and perhaps a banner or flag also will be provided. Then they'll jog to the starting line, their running shoes kicking off a "Wedding Training" trend that's been big for years in NYC. But here? Fuhgeddaboudit!

Masi's not sure why the packaging of bridal boot camps hit the East Coast first. Maybe because the East takes a more elaborate, aggressive, industrial-strength approach to the wedding biz in general.

Web sites for East Coast wedding trainers show young women in martial arts uniforms and boxing gloves surrounded by pitches for being a "buff bride by the big day."

But Masi's been thinking about starting a Seattle wedding training in camp ever since she and her partner, Lisa McCrummen, met while working at Starbucks. McCrummen is now the marketing director for the business, which sort of opened in March but really got rolling in May.

The idea for the Running of the Brides came to Masi when she was out for her daily run. That's the time she does her best thinking, unless you count the times she's out climbing Mount Rainier.

"What's so cool is that brides are so very motivated," Masi said. "The deadline is ahead of them. It's a time in life when they're figuring out who they are and where they're going. And they want to look and feel fabulous, not just for the wedding and honeymoon, but as a lifetime commitment to health."

Six months before the big day would be the ideal time to start. But you can accomplish a lot in three and that's the number of months most brides aim to allot.

Masi also offers a six-week Bridal Boot Camp, an outdoor workout 1 1/2 hours a week, which also gives brides the chance to bond, compare notes and exchange the names of caterers as they bound up stairs, down paths and around park benches.

Getting in shape for the wedding is nothing new, of course. But these clients can be very specific about their goals, right down to the way they want their upper arms to look in a certain white dress. Jump back, New York, these brides are serious about biceps.

They're doing bicep curls and pull-ups and push-ups and overhead presses. They're doing lateral raises and front raises and working their butts off with that honeymoon swimsuit firmly in mind.

One client who is 29 and marrying in October is already in fairly good shape. But obesity runs in her family and that's a trait she's sweating and determined to avoid.

Other women focus on problem areas. For Jennifer, it's the family belly. Her mom has it. Her sister has it. It's the one "something borrowed" she does not intend to take with her to the altar.

Running Green Lake was the goal of a third client, a 40-year-old bride who quit smoking a few years ago and is determined to be fit from now on.

"She's worried about the wedding dinner, the caterer backing out and all the rest. But fitness is right there on her list," Masi said.

It's also on the list of every wedding training business now advertising -- usually several rungs above "favors" and right under "floral designs."

Masi, who has been certified by the American College of Sports Medicine, says most clients are fairly realistic about how much they can sculpt and tone and tighten by their wedding days.

"In 12 weeks you could lose about 25 pounds if you're really good and get into a program combining cardiovascular work and strengthening, she said. "But people understand they have some constraints. The idea is to be fit and strong and look as good as you can."

But genetics are genetics.

"We accept that different breeds of dogs have different body types. And that a Chihuahua will never be a greyhound," she said.

Now that's an analogy most brides would run a fast 5K to avoid.

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