Singer-songwriter Victoria Monét is booked and busy this summer, opening for Bruno Mars on the European leg of his The Romantic Tour. Performing on stage in front of thousands of fans night after night requires stamina and strength—one of the many reasons the 37-year-old prioritizes weight-training, which she’s been doing consistently since 2017.
“I'm a strong believer in willpower. I really believe that if you want something bad enough, then you will make it happen,” she tells Women’s Health in the latest episode of Strong Like. “For me, fitness, health, and wellness is one of those things. It's a non-negotiable.”
Victoria trains with Omar Bolden, a former NFL pro and current student of Chinese medicine. “He’s been getting me all these gains all these years, and [has been] very patient with me and with my body through pregnancy, PCOS, and all of its changing dynamics,” Victoria says.
The pair give WH a peek at the regimen that keeps Victoria strong and stage-ready.
Victoria’s workouts always start with a warm-up to help prevent injury and prime the body. She moves through a full-body flow that includes moves like the world’s greatest stretch, fire hydrants, and 90/90 hip rotations.
“She's opening up her shoulders—which is important for mobility—her hips, rotating her thoracic spine. This is primal movement for all of us,” Bolden says. “We all could use a little bit of this every day.”
Once warm, Victoria moves on to dynamic core exercises, like wood chops and crunch throws with a medicine ball.
“Victoria's an athlete, so we don't just want visible abs, we want a core that supports her, not just in her day-to-day movements, but while she's on stage,” Bolden says.
“He definitely works my entire body, but I'll be wanting glutes,” Victoria says with a laugh. “I'll be like, ‘Can we do legs and glutes?’ Because I want this nice and thick and powerful.”
To that end, Bolden next has Victoria do double-banded barbell hip thrusts. Those are followed by elevated squats.
“We often think that the only way to achieve maximum glutes is through genetics, and that's just not true,” Victoria says. “You can build them right here in the gym.”
Lifting weights with Bolden is only part of Victoria’s fitness equation. Another feel-good practice she’s recently started is Tai Chi, training under April Littlejohn.
“Tai Chi really helps you get rid of the stress, get your mind right, especially in the morning,” Littlejohn says. “It can help you lose weight. It brings balance, meaning, peace, and it kind of ties all the other working out together, so that Victoria can do all that she does without going insane. She's a great student, because she's dedicated.”
Check out Victoria’s gritty—and graceful!—moves by clicking play on Strong Like above.
Amy Wilkinson is a contributing entertainment editor at Women's Health, where she edits the magazine's celebrity cover stories and writes health features. She has previously held editor titles at Entertainment Weekly and MTV News. In 2021, Amy completed her 600-hour teacher-training at Core Pilates NYC to become a comprehensively trained Pilates instructor.
