Bridal boot-camp gets girls in shape for big day

08 September, 2008, 05:48

Young women in the US are taking a gruelling boot camp-style training course to achieve their perfect weight for their wedding day. The 1,300 dollar programme is structured around the training principles of the US Marine Corps – a combination of unconventional drills which you will never find in a yoga class.

Dressed in camouflaged military outfits, they endure gruelling workouts until exhaustion to ditch unwanted pounds.

Cynthia Conde, the founder of Bridal Boot Camp, takes pride in pushing clients to breaking point.

“These women lack discipline. They need someone to be accountable to and that is what I am. I'm someone they can be accountable to. I'm their drill sergeant,” Cynthia says.

Thirty-minute workouts, four days a week is what it takes. From push-ups and mountain climbs, to pulling sleighs, only when nothing more is physically possible, will Conde allow a short rest. But even in that half hour, some in the platoon nearly give up because of the pain.

Working out while wearing make-up is forbidden and strict dietary guidelines are enforced.

Conde says clients can drop up to thirty-five pounds before their big day.