Similar to the tale of the Beauty and the Beast, Beauty and the Bride (BATB) will examine a relationship fraught with mistrust, deception, fear, and hopefully, a happy ending.  BeautyXposé will follow BATB as she traverses the perilous landscape of wedding-day beauty leading up to her September nuptials.  Have a question for BATB?  A topic you’d like her to cover?  A conspiracy you’ve uncovered in the Wedding Industrial Complex (WIC) you’d like exposed?  Email her at: beautyandthebride@beautyxpose.com.

Continuing my quest to look stunning for my wedding day, I’ve recently started re-attending kickboxing classes with one of my fabulous bridesmaids.

Cardio is always a challenging task for me. And keeping it exciting and interesting is always difficult. Because of this, kickboxing is a great fit. It adds variety to my workouts while also adding three serious motivation factors.

1. Yes Sensei! Having the owner of our dodjo barking out instructions and walking around checking on form is quite motivating. And not quite as intimidating as it sounds.

2. Peer pressure. Being in a room with 15 other women and a wall of mirrors makes you want to think twice about skimping on those sit ups.

3. You go girl! The awesome part about having a friend with you is the encouragement and shared pain. When she’s holding the hand targets and sees my punches drop or my kicks weaken, she’s always there with just the right amount of pushing.

Working out is always a challenge for me. What do you do to keep it interesting?