On Each month we celebrate members of the Iron Lion Pride for their contributions to our awesome community and for their accomplishments inside and outside the gym.
For January 2020 we are naming our first co-Lions of the Month: Akosua Matthews and Dale Wiebe!
Akosua and Dale have been pillars of the Iron Lion community since 2018. They recently welcomed their first child, Kwesi, and he’s quickly become part of the Pride as well. Akosua’s commitment to fitness throughout her pregnancy and Dale’s impressive personal record-setting during our recent in-house powerlifting competition make us proud to call them our own.
Coach Spencer recently sat down with Akosua – with Dale phoning in since Kwesi was napping – to talk about their fitness journeys.
S: What were your goals when you first joined Iron Lion?
AKOSUA: I’m a litigator and people come to lawyers when their lives have fallen apart for one reason or another so you’re dealing with a lot of human misery repeatedly and it can kind of wear you down. I was about to hit rock bottom and I really noticed that I needed some kind of a positive physical outlet but I was hesitant to join a gym because I have a history of joining a bunch of crossfit gyms and signing up for memberships and then getting kind of destroyed and not being able to stick with the commitment. So I didn’t join right away, what I did was I started cycling to and from the office. I was able to keep that up over several weeks and noticing quite a few benefits, namely that by the time I got home I was relaxed and able to engage in family life. I felt I could take it to another level so I started off with the kettlebell classes and did that for several months and eventually there was a call-out for women in a certain age range to join for private sessions. That was the point where I decided I had to make a change even though I’d wanted to for probably the better part of a decade. But it takes a while for people to finally pull the plug and so the timing just seemed right then.
You were here first, of the two of you.
AKOSUA: Yes. That is very key.
We want to make sure we get that on record. Dale, what were some of your goals when you started with us?
DALE: So that was back in July 2018 as part of a series of changes. I quit my job at CAMH, things were not working out, it was hugely stressful and had negative impacts on my health including high blood pressure and high cholesterol and it was time to make a change. Before that my exercise had become limited to cycling – I’m a cycle commuter or was for a long time – and I wasn’t able to do that anymore because of a severe ankle injury that I sustained just on the steps in our home. I was out of commission for almost a year with that injury and it just wasn’t getting any better with physio. I needed a little more personal attention and that’s why I wanted to join the gym. I wanted to learn safe movement and prevent injuries. I was getting older, I was in the fortieth year of my life, and I figured it was time to work on getting stronger and fit for a longer period of time.
What’s interesting is that there are lots of parallels between your stories. How have things changed now in terms of your goals?
AKOSUA: I’ve gone through quite a bit because I had a huge period of time where I was at the gym pre-partum, I guess is the term, and I got pregnant and continued training throughout that time, and now I’m five months postpartum. I think the big thing is that I’ve been able to stick with it even though I travel quite a bit for work. The recent shift is we’re new parents now.
I’m now doing two semi-privates a week, a little bit fewer classes, but it’s still the same kind of consistency throughout the week. I guess my goals really haven’t changed. I don’t have a weight loss goal at all and I never have. For me it’s just about showing up and being here and reaping the mental benefits of consistent training. It’s been helpful to come to this type of gym because Ron and Steph do check in on you. So it’s not as easy to sloth off here as with other gyms I think, where you don’t have that connection or those relationships. Over the years I’ve gotten a number of friends to join and so now it’s become like a community and so that’s reinforced our commitment as well. And with Dale joining as well it’s easier to attend because it’s now a family thing we do.
You have gotten stronger, I’ll point out.
AKOSUA: That too.
What about you Dale? How have your goals changed since you started?
DALE: I guess when I started I was just looking at injury recovery and safe movement. And then, since feeling a whole lot more comfortable and feeling that life was getting physically that much easier, the opportunity came up to join the powerlifting team, so I pivoted and really looked at trying to build strength while I still have the testosterone to do it.
Last night was an amazing night for you in powerlifting. Congratulations. You’re both very close to the heart of our community. Kwesi is celebrity number one around here, he’s almost our mascot. What is your favourite part of being members of this community?
AKOSUA: Two things. First is that this community is not your standard fitness community. It’s taught me that fitness comes in all kinds of shapes and abilities and even skin tones. There’s a tendency for a lot of gyms to have a particular clientele, which can be isolating. I’ve learned not to judge a book by its cover. Someone who may not fit a certain physical mould can actually be quite strong and quite capable. We’ve learned a lot in that respect and as a result we feel very welcomed and it’s been easy to personally go through my own physical transformations in a community like this because it is non-judgmental and approachable. Secondly, we’ve made friends here who have really gone to bat for us as we’ve transitioned into new parenting.
DALE: Just to elaborate on making friends, you know, it’s not just gym friends. We’ve hung out with friends from the gym outside the gym so we’ve made that leap.
AKOSUA: People have checked on us, brought cookies over, held our kid. Those are not things I thought I’d get, joining a gym, but they’ve become invaluable and have actually kept us connected and kept us sane during some hard times.
Last question: what’s your favourite exercise or activity to do at Iron Lion?
AKOSUA: I’ve always loved kettlebells and that love has not died so I’d like to do more in the future, but I’m now starting to get interested potentially in powerlifting. It seems like a really cool sport, Dale’s really gotten into it and doesn’t stop talking about it at home, so I’m thinking about joining in and my training has evolved to potentially get me ready for that. As a woman I think it’s really empowering to learn how to lift because it’s one of those areas of the gym that has been somewhat the preserve of men, so I’m really excited to get involved with that and see where that takes me.
DALE: I’ve also enjoyed kettlebell classes a lot. Really digging the powerlifting. But then the overarching stuff: really focusing on muscle balance, and, if I could borrow the term from Renee [Hlozek], focusing on the butt stuff.
It’s all about the butt stuff here.
[general chuckling]
AKOSUA: I think that’s the best way to end this.
DALE: Butt stuff. Mic drop.
Thanks so much, Akosua and Dale – and Kwesi too!
