Person of the Week: Sierra Adkins, Compassionate Power Lifter

“I get to help others. That is the only reason I really do it. I’m very passionate about creating relationships, and these people trust me to further their journey. Even when challenges are thrown my way, I get to learn. I’ve had some difficult issues but also learning moments.”

Sierra gets up every weekday at 2:30 a.m., travels to the Complete Fitness gym (former S & G Painters’ building) to exercise and lift weights, and teaches her fitness and wellness classes from 5:00 a.m. until noon, depending on the day’s schedule. She then heads home to care for her younger children, greet and feed the kids and her husband Aadam, and goes to bed about 7:30 p.m. She also works two evenings a week for several hours and sometimes teaches at The Yoga Barre in Tipp.

Sierra grew up in Tipp City, went to Tipp Schools, and has relatives named Chaffee who owned, at one time, the building housing Chaffee’s Brewhouse. She met husband Aadam, an ultramarathon runner from Wapakoneta, as a senior in high school when both worked at the Dayton Mall. She says, “he wouldn’t leave me alone.” Aadam had a co-worker at the mall ask her for her name, then Aadam walked over and said, “Hi, Sarah.”

Oops! But they’ve been married now for 18 years and have five kids ranging in age from 3 to 17. Sierra says the babies were all natural childbirths in the hospital, with the kids attending and helping, such as cutting the cords, sleeping beside her, and then going to school the next day. She says, “I wanted them to understand the process and be involved as a family.”

She states, “Now we’re a football family,” with two of the boys playing football in Tipp City schools. So, the whole family is looking forward to this fall.

Sierra is a personal trainer and group exercise instructor, and teaches Barre (Pilates and ballet). After years of working out and lifting weights, she became a powerlifter. “I became passionate about women in the weight room,” a predominantly male domain. But it all began about 15 years ago when she was pregnant with her second child and started working out with a trainer to lose weight.

Over the next two years, she had another child, kept the weight off, and began realizing how much the trainer had impacted her life. “I felt very drawn to help people, to take the same journey I was on. It felt that was my way to serve others, to help them do something they could feel passionate about.”

I asked Sierra to describe her worst job experience. “Covid was a challenge! I transferred all my classes to the city park and my driveway and bought all the necessary equipment myself. I thought that’s what I was supposed to do.” Then I asked about her funniest experience, and she responded slowly, looking somewhat embarrassed. “Well, it was a clothing malfunction.” I quit asking questions.

Finally, I said to Sierra, “From an outsider’s perspective, it looks like you’re just giving classes.” She replied, “It’s creating those relationships and community with other people who have the same goals. It's very health-oriented, and you take it outside the gym. And the social aspects…almost like a family.”