With warm and empowering messaging, instructor Mercedes Owens leads this 30-minute glutes session with tons of laughs, all while putting in the work. “Everything doesn’t have to be pretty or perfect. Sometimes you have to trek through the mud, get dirty, and walk away from things stronger,” she tells the class during the lower-body burn. So not only will you leave this session challenged, but empowered, too.
Residing in Los Angeles, California, Owens teaches regularly at Barrys, and also works with the Nike Well Collective as a Nike Trainer. In this session, she focuses on lower body exercises, emphasizing the muscles of the hips and glutes. The best part? There’s no equipment necessary.
Owens recognizes that everyone might have a different level, ranging from total beginners to those more seasoned. For more beginner-friendly modifications, look to assistant Poofy Moffitino, on the right. For those dealing with any type of knee problems, or in need of modifications, Owens recommends looking to Poofy for other ways to decrease the intensity of the movements. Simple examples include performing a hold instead of repeated pulsing motions, or regressing to a reverse lunge instead of a more complicated curtsy lunge.
To ramp up the volume, assistant Madisyn Maniff, on the left shows ways to increase intensity. Whether that’s performing lunges with continuous pulses, or not letting your knee rest at the bottom of a donkey kick, Owens and Maniff show that there’s so many ways to switch things up. “You can always take this workout, repeat it, use your time under tension or pulsing to measure your growth,” Owens says. “That’s what’s so amazing about this, you can add bands, or you can add ankle weights.”
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Name: Mercedes Owens
Outfit and Shoes: Nike
Instagram: @mercedesowens
Name: Poofy Moffitino
Outfit: Alo Yoga
Shoes: APL
Instagram: @itspoofy
Name: Madisyn Maniff
Outfit: Fabletics
Shoes: APL
Instagram: @madisynsloane
Jade Esmeralda, MS, CSCS, is a Staff Writer, Health & Fitness. A life-long martial artist and dancer, Jade has a strong passion for strength & conditioning, sports science, and human performance. She graduated with a Master of Science degree in Exercise Science and Strength and Conditioning from George Washington University.
