Christi Masi leads ‘boot camp’ for women about to walk the aisle.

Here comes the bride…her muscles she can’t hide.

Nor does she want to. That’s the point of enrolling in Christi Masi’s Bridal Boot Camp, which helps women get in better shape and cope with the anxieties surrounding their big day.

“It’s really about pivotal moments in a woman’s life. Getting married is one of them,” Masi said. “A big part of the classes is stress relief.”

The experience is different than taking a class at a gym.

“We’re outside, and it’s with a group that is going through a similar experience,” Masi said, adding that group members spur one another on and share wedding-related traumas and tips.

Masi, a bride of 17 years, holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Washington.

Before she decided to enter the physical fitness arena full time, she worked for Starbucks for 11 years, back in the company’s early years. She then earned certifications from the American College of Sports Medicine and the National Strength and Conditioning Association, followed by a Fitness Specialist/Personal Trainer certificate in 2002.

The Hansville resident was out for a run one day when she got the idea to have a “Running of the Brides” during SEAFAIR’s Torchlight Parade (see box).

She pulled a few friends together and, dressed in white with veils, they hit the downtown Seattle streets. That experience led her to launch Bridal Boot Camp.

Although she was training for a triathlon before her wedding, Masi understands how stressful that “pivotal moment” is for women.

Besides worrying about invitations, cake and flowers, brides are consumed by how they’ll look in their wedding gown.

Bridal Boot Camp, a six-week program that meets for 90 minutes once a week, is designed to help brides deal with their anxieties. Masi caps enrollment at 12 because anything larger decreases the individual attention she wants to provide.

The camp is all women, all the time, and it’s meant to be social as well as serious. Masi’s role is to show her clients that small steps work, lend constant encouragement and make sure they have a good time.

She regularly reminds them to “hang in there and stick with it. It’s not quick.”

Lori Dennis, a recent boot camp graduate in sales and promotion planning, signed on after reading an article about Masi.

Her wedding was in 16 weeks, her stress level was skyrocketing and her gym membership was gathering dust.

A “pretty fit person to begin with,” she was skeptical about how much the program would help her. After the first two nights, she thought she wasn’t being challenged enough.

After a couple of training sessions with Masi, she was thinking, “This is kicking my butt.”

Now she’s sorry it’s over.

“I thought Bridal Boot Camp was a clever little hook,” Dennis said. “But my fitness level is obviously jumping and I discovered gosh, this is fun.”

That was Masi’s plan all along. She’s as quick to laugh as she is to motivate and she loves hearing her brides’ stories.

“Only one has cried on me,” Masi said. “She got past it.”

Know the drill

At their first boot camp session, clients must write down what they want to accomplish. Masi helps them set very specific goals because “at the end of the six weeks I want it to be a celebration, not a disappointment.”

Then comes fitness testing, utilizing a baseline — no norm chart — such as how many pushups and sit-ups the client can do.

The sessions focus on cardio and resistance work with bands and calisthenics, in addition to walking and jogging in parks and along waterfronts. Stairs and hills are favored “equipment.”

Low-impact versions of exercises are offered and Masi leaves no one behind.

Veterans agree that Masi works them hard, but the good time they have and the results they achieve make it very worthwhile.

Sharon Wallace signed up for concurrent boot camps in Tacoma and Seattle after seeing Masi’s Running of the Brides on TV. Her wedding date was set for June 2005, and she wanted to get in better shape.

“I don’t like going to a gym,” Wallace said. “I had to be accountable because I paid the money.”

She got the nice-looking arms she wanted and increased the amount of pushups she could do.

Boot camp was a great stress reliever, too, she said, so much so that she’s now taking Masi’s Extreme Boot Camp in Seattle and training to run a half-marathon.

The length of time Masi works with brides varies from six weeks to nine months. The brides who opt for six weeks of training are in pretty good shape to begin with, she said.

Masi’s boot camps also draw women who want to shape up for other pivotal moments in their lives, such as high school reunions, 40th birthdays, 25th wedding anniversaries, pregnancy and menopause. The clientele ranges in age from 22 to 50-something.

Masi recently released a 45-minute DVD called “The Healthy Bride’s Boot Camp Workout,” with music by Dave Bristow and photography by Pete Saloutos, both of Bainbridge.

She is awaiting the January release of her book, “The Healthy Bride Guide” (Sasquatch Books).

She maintains a private fitness studio in downtown Seattle, where boot camps meet, and trains clients in and around Bainbridge, where she has taught classes at Island Fitness.

Although her occupation is rewarding, Masi said, she does take time for herself. Mountains are her vacation destination.

“I climb for me. I’ll never be a guide,” said Masi, who began climbing with the Everett Mountaineers in 1993.

Since then, she has climbed all the major peaks in Washington, including Rainier seven times via four routes, as well as Kilimanjaro in Africa twice and Aconcagua in Argentina.

The release of her DVD caused her to cancel plans to climb Denali last May.

She’ll travel to the Garwahl region of India in October to conquer more peaks.

Before she takes off, there are more arms to tone and hills to climb with brides who wonder if they’ll ever look good in their gown.

“What I think works the best is to stay really goal specific. If you have a finish line, it’s a lot easier to stay focused,” Masi said. “You’ll have to appreciate the steps you take.

“You have to give yourself permission to not be perfect, and in the long run you will be more successful.”

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Recruiting station

The cost for Bridal Boot Camp is $110. A second night a week may be added for an additional fee. For more information about Bridal Boot Camp, or to order “The Healthy Bride’s Boot Camp Workout” on DVD, see www.theweddingtrainer.com.

Christi Masi and a group of brides will don veils for the Second Annual Running of the Brides along the SEAFAIR Torchlight Parade route in Seattle 6:30 p.m. July 30 for an 8K (4.97 miles) run. Masi will provide the entry fee, veils, beverages and a place to stow valuables.

“Brides” wear white attire (mostly dresses) and veils and carry bouquets. “We run as a group and stay together, so there’s no need to be fast,” Masi said, adding that all women are welcome. “We are just there to have fun.” Meet time is 6 p.m. at the Central Building, 810 Third Avenue in Seattle.