It's 7am on a beautiful summer day in New York's West Village, and while most of the picturesque neighborhood is just starting to shake itself awake, Heidi Bretschger, a 25-year-old account executive for designer Cynthia Rowley, is already hard at work ‑- at the gym. "It's definitely a challenge to get up early and work out multiple times a week," Bretschger admits, "but I've got a goal to meet, and a deadline that's coming up." Watching the petite blonde attack her sit-ups with gusto, one would think she's in training for a decathlon or mountain climb. But what she's actually facing is a lot bigger: her wedding.

Since 2003, the New York Sports Club chain has offered an intense 12-week training program designed to address the concerns of brides-to-be. Originally called "Buff Brides," the program was renamed "Wedding Ready" in May 2005, and has been modified to include grooms, bridesmaids, mothers-of-the-bride and anyone else who needs to get in shape for a big event (including high school reunions). Along with 24 personal-training sessions ‑- which the client must commit to using at least twice a week, no excuses ‑- the package includes an initial fitness assessment and a tote bag stocked with a Polar heart-rate monitor, journal, water bottle and discounts on stress-relieving massages. (Nonmembers who purchase the program also receive a three-month NYSC membership.) But more than anything, "Wedding Ready" gives harried brides some much-needed structure, a respite from making decisions ‑- and tons of motivation.

"Brides are fun to train because they really see their goal and are ready to go," says Cindy Gryte, a longtime NYSC trainer who has worked with a number of soon-to-be-marrieds. "All I have to say to them is, 'Wedding dress!'" Bretschger, who specifically asked for this package as a Christmas present, agrees. "The thought of having 200 people look at me in my dress is a great motivator," she laughs. In fact, Gryte has found that gown-related issues ‑- and the realization that pictures last forever ‑- are the main reasons the brides sign up. "I had one client who had never been to a gym before," she remembers. "But when she went to her first fitting and couldn't zip up her dress, she panicked, and ended up allotting money for workouts in her wedding budget."

While sessions are tailored to address a client's needs and trouble spots, Gryte likes to mix up the routine, combining cardio with weights, resistance and core work to both vary the experience and encourage allover toning. A typical session might include abdominal work on a medicine ball, boxing punches with weight cords, a series of jumps and lunges and lots of tricep pulls and pushes to get ready for those strapless numbers. On other days, clients may go through a rigorous circuit/obstacle course which, according to Bretschger, "puts the Army boot camp to shame."

Throughout it all, Gryte keeps the focus on creating tone, upper-body definition and a strong core, not on losing weight; though dropping pounds is a natural side effect, the program is not about the scale. "I just want the women to feel good and healthy, and be happy and confident," she states. When women do lose weight, it's being done in the proper way, with the trainers providing guidance and nutritional advice. "Most brides lose five pounds or more in the weeks before the wedding," Gryte explains, "but that's from stress and not eating. I never want to send a bride walking to the altar looking gaunt." She also doesn't want to see a bride slouching her way down the aisle: As an added bonus, many of the exercises that focus on the back muscles and posterior delts ‑- including the backstrokelike "pec dec" series ‑- help keep shoulders from rounding forward, improve posture and make the brides really aware of their stances.

Once they've experienced the increased energy, focus, fitness and endurance the program can bring ("I'm sure I'll be the last one on the dance floor," smiles Bretschger) most clients end up continuing their training long after the cake's been cut. "They come in worried about looking good for the wedding and the honeymoon," says Gryte, "but then they get hooked on feeling good, having a stress release and working toward a goal." Case in point: Katherine Lane, one of Gryte's "Wedding Ready" graduates. Married for nine months, Lane has continued her twice-weekly sessions and is currently working toward a new goal: climbing Kilimanjaro. Which, after planning a wedding, should be a snap.

"Wedding Ready" is available at all Sports Club locations; see MySportsClubs.com for more info. Similar programs are also offered in New York by the trainer/nutritionist team at the Wedding Trainer (WeddingTrainer.com), in L.A. by Bridal Boot Camp 90210 founder Doug Rice (Trainer90210.com) and in the Seattle area by an all-women boot-camp group also named the Wedding Trainer (TheWeddingTrainer.com).