For this Brooklyn-based educator, strength training with an Equinox COACH has led to physical gains and mindset shifts.
Forged at Equinox is a series highlighting an Equinox member’s foray into a new workout regimen, with help from an expert coach. The following conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Suzie Matthews has long known the benefits of resistance training and becoming stronger. In fact, she first began personal training and lifting weights nearly 20 years ago — back when only 17.5 percent of women reported doing so two or more times each week.
Within the next few years, though, squatting and lunging became painful due to nagging knee issues. She quit her lifting routine and runs. And over the following two-ish decades, Suzie stayed active by hiking through the New Mexico mountains, power-walking half- and full marathons, and completing yoga teacher training.
By 2023, Suzie was ready to regain her strength in her new home of New York City, where she snagged a new job in education. She needed a pro to help her do so safely and effectively. That July, Suzie showed up to her first session with Sharina Reza, a COACH + at Equinox Hudson Yards, armed with her concerns and goals; she had issues with her back, knees, and hips, and, along with her muscular strength, her mobility had room for improvement, she recalls. They began training together in-person twice a week, prioritizing basic movement patterns like hinging, with Suzie completing “homework” on the weeks when other commitments get in the way of their sessions.
“Of all the clients I've trained, Suzie was on top of it. She showed up, she did the homework,” says Sharina. “Starting from the complimentary session, I showed her the dynamic movement pattern she should do to warm up — dead bugs, glute bridges — and after that, Suzie always came five to 10 minutes early, warmed up, and she was ready to go and conquer that session.”
Her progress over the last six months has been impressive, says Sharina. Suzie started off with bodyweight squats and can now barbell back squat 65 pounds. She can bench 75 pounds and barbell deadlift 95 pounds for six reps each. Setting PRs nearly every session has become the norm, says Sharina. And it’s had a profound effect on her mindset.
“Lifting heavy things makes me feel like I can lift heavy things,” adds Suzie. “Meaning, I can do more — not just things in the gym but outside, too.”
Here, Suzie and Sharina open up about their progress in the weight room — and how it’s helped the educator reach new heights in other aspects of her life.
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In addition to those PRs, what improvements have you seen from your sessions?
Sharina: “With the shoulder press, I first gave Suzie 7.5-pound weights, then we didn't do the exercise for a while because I was staying away from shoulders; I remember it being the tightest part of her body. When we went back to it, I remember I gave her the 10s and she was like, ‘This is easy.’ I gave her 12s, then the 15s all in one day. I was like, ‘Okay, what just happened?’ We used to stay away from the movement, making sure her shoulder was okay, but then I was like, ‘You know what that means? You could do banded pull-ups.’ And she's been crushing it; we're averaging three to four banded reps, and that's a lot for someone who hasn't really done it.
“I also remember when we started we were very careful with lunging because of her knees, and now we're actually doing weighted lunges. And we've attempted walking lunges once, which we're going to try again. We’ve gone a long way.”
Suzie: “It's come to the point where Sharina has to force me to take rest breaks. I'm like, ‘I can keep going and going,’ and she's like, ‘No, actually, you need to stop. Don't say anything, don't do anything because rest is really important as well.’ That wasn't something I was expecting…I think the lateral lunges have also been really helpful to me for stability, building up strength, and mobility. I've noticed even in my yoga practice that I can do Skandasana when I couldn't do it before.
“I never feel pressure to get to a particular number [for lifting weight]. It's just sort of like, ‘Let's see what we can do today.’ If you stay consistent, then you're going to get to where you need to be.”
Lifting heavy things makes me feel like I can lift heavy things. Meaning, I can do more — not just things in the gym but outside, too.
How do you accommodate Suzie's joint issues during your sessions?
Sharina: “When we started training, I was very big on getting her glutes to fire, doing a lot of core [work]. The awesome thing is Suzie already has that mind-body connection through yoga. So it was easier to get her to connect with her body to move through that movement. For programming, we started with the ViPR and doing simple movements, like pushing the ViPR forward and hinging and getting comfortable being in that position. With a lot of my clients who have back issues, if they can't master the deadlift or hinging properly, they tend to use their low back and not engage their core or their glutes.
“Then, it was just progressive overload over time and seeing how she moves in each session. If she was having a conversation with me and doing eight, nine, 10 reps, that was too easy for her. I would take notes, then next session, we would start a little bit heavier. What we ended with last week would be the warm-up and then we would progress that way."
Suzie: “With a lot of our sessions, I’ll take a photo of the weight and share it with my family. My sister was always like, ‘Be careful, your back,’ and I was like, ‘Don’t worry, Sharina will never let me get hurt.’ My trust in her is just absolute.”
Sharina: “I always also check in with Suzie. How is her knee doing? How is her back doing? Did she eat lunch? I need to know where her mind is at because I know she's teaching all day — she might have a stressful day, so maybe we don't do that [weight]. Or maybe her shoulders are bothering her, so we take another approach. Instead of a pull-up, I’ll put her on a lat pull-down or a TRX row. We can still do a workout effectively without pushing her too far.”
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How has your training helped you tackle your long-distance walks?
Suzie: “When I was in Spain [walking 100 miles on the Camino de Santiago], it rained almost the entire time. One of the last days I was walking, I was completely drenched. I turned to the person next to me who was speaking English and I was like, ‘But I can deadlift 100 pounds.’ It's not like I'm bragging, but I think there is something beneficial about having a little swag, to have that belief in yourself…You can get into a mindset [similar to] where if you're going to lift a heavy thing, you have to know you're going to do it. And you can't really have a doubt about it. You just have to be like, ‘I know I can do this.’
“There were even times I stopped on the side of the road and did some of the flexibility and mobility things Sharina and I talk about to feel better in my body, because I truly feel better in my body every time I work out with Sharina.”
Physical improvements aside, why should other members consider working with an Equinox COACH?
Suzie: “After our sessions, like the next day, Sharina will be like, ‘How are you feeling? How was your back? Are you sore?’ She checks in to be able to adjust and plan for the next time. I appreciate the text reminders, and I think that relationship is really important. I feel really lucky that — for some reason — I got placed with Sharina.
“I also have a tendency to just go on to the next thing, next thing, next thing. What I appreciate about Sharina as a trainer also is that she says, ‘Let's celebrate that thing that we just did. Did you notice that when you last did the shoulder press, your shoulders were too far forward because of your mobility, but because of all of the stretching that we've done, you can now pull back more?’ Or things like, ‘You're going deeper on your squats.’
“I think that one of the benefits of working with a coach is that they’re someone who is going to be able to help you see the things that you can't see yourself. Sometimes the progress feels much more incremental than when you look at it from the beginning to the end. It’s important to celebrate all those milestones. They’re a built-in cheer squad but also someone who you know will continue to challenge you. I really appreciate working with people who, despite my back, my hips, my knees, are able to be like, ‘No, you can do hard things.’”
Want to train with Sharina? Do so virtually with her curated workout plan. Click here to get started.
Images by Katelyn Kopenhaver