The Heavy Dress Workout: Because Wearing a Ball Gown to the Met Gala Takes Stamina

The mid-century couturier Charles James was no minimalist, with the most elaborate of his confections (think umpteen yards of tulle, satin, and velvet molded over multiple petticoats, padding, and boning) weighing in at a whopping eighteen pounds. His creations were also notoriously difficult to get into, meaning clients like Babe Paley, Marlene Dietrich, and Millicent Rogers had practically fit in a full cardio workout before they even arrived at the ball.

This year’s 2014 Met Gala, which celebrates the designer’s extraordinary technical craft and devoted circle of society swans, promises to attract a lineup of similarly commanding evening dresses on May 5—which got us thinking. You need serious stamina to pull off an oversize frock.

You also need the right silhouette. Major gowns require a toned arm (slender but not too muscular, or it will throw off the whole look), a beautiful back (imperative for strapless or sweetheart necklines) and proper posture (slumping in a dress that took months to make just feels wrong).

“I’d compare it to wearing a weighted vest around all night,” says celebrity trainer David Kirsch, who whips bombshells like Kate Upton into shape for shoots and red-carpet events, of the necessary endurance. “Core strength is crucial,” he adds. For a sleek upper body and strong abs, the trainer suggests planks, side planks (and more planks), and reps on a mountain climbing machine in the weeks leading up to the event. “I’ve also been seeing great results with heavy, weighted ropes,” he says of the training apparatus. “Attack the floor with them like the floor’s your worst enemy. You can vent your frustrations while combating upper arm jiggle and cinching and tightening your waist.”

Since gliding across the threshold of the museum’s grand doors or ascending a staircase with the requisite gravitas requires presence, posture is key. “The way you carry yourself can completely alter the way you look in an evening gown,” says the personal trainer Casey Schwab. Like Kirsch, she stresses the importance of a steely core. In preparation, “you should engage your [abs] all day, whether you’re walking, driving, watching TV, or sitting at your desk. She also suggests “fun” core exercises like crunches, Russian twists with a ball, kick-outs, knee-tucks, vertical knee raises, back extensions, and pronated and supinated V-ups. Tighten your abdominal muscles, belly button to spine, and keep your chest up and shoulders back. Find that beautiful curve in your lower back.

Stretching also helps support proper posture. Tight chest muscles will cause you to slouch, so in addition to core-strengthening exercises and high-intensity interval training (great for toning and fat burning), Schwab recommends setting aside 30 to 60 minutes a week for targeted stretching, spending significant time on each problem area.

In the final countdown to the gown, Jacey Lambros, a former Rockette who trains fitness-minded fashion types like Gucci Westman at Manhattan’s Body by Simone, suggests serious cardio (30 to 60 minutes of running, spinning, or dancing, five days a week). “In order to endure hours in five-inch heels and a heavy, structured dress, you need supreme balance, calf strength, and cardio fitness,” she says.

Belles of the ball in training take note: You are your workout.