No matter how packed your schedule gets in the months before your wedding, one thing you don't want to drop off your to-do-list is working out. Here's why exercise is truly a bride-to-be's best friend.
It boosts energy.
Exercise is one of the all-time best ways to burn off stress and increase your energy. In fact, a Swedish study found that just a few minutes of exercise creates the same kind of chemical changes to DNA in your muscles that ingesting caffeine does!
Moving your body keeps your skin beautiful.
You already know that you "glow" after exercise— that's extra blood flowing to your skin. That blood brings extra oxygen with it, which in turn boosts the production of skin-plumping collagen. At age 65, regular exercisers have skin cells that look more like those of 30-year-olds under a microscope, scientists at McMaster University in Ontario discovered. And sedentary people who start doing aerobic workouts twice a week can reverse certain signs of aging in their skin after just three months. If there's a fountain of youth and beauty, we've found it!
Exercise keeps you smiling.
Moving your body releases feel-good endorphins into your brain, which improves mood and helps protect you from getting the blues. Regular physical activity lowers blood pressure and cuts levels of stress hormones in the body— it also relaxes the muscles in your face, making you look happier and less tense.
You'll be able to fight off colds better.
Sniffles on your wedding day? No way. Working out on a regular basis strengthens your immune system so that your body can fight off colds and flus. Just remember that too much exercise— as in intense daily workouts— can do the opposite, making you more susceptible to getting sick.
Workouts help you think more clearly.
Multitasking is the name of the game right now— you need your mind to be quick and clear. Physical activity has been shown to cut your reaction time, memory, and even increase creativity. (Take that, complicated DIY wedding favors!)