A lifelong athlete, Katie grew up playing softball and volleyball and running around with the neighborhood kids. Despite always being active and working in gyms since 2005, she never anticipated a career in fitness. While working on a Bachelor’s degree in Political Communication at The George Washington University, Katie was introduced to rock climbing. She continued rock climbing after college, which led her to both weightlifting and her future husband (and co-owner of Power Plant Gym). After deciding that politics was not her thing, Katie worked various jobs including positions at a globo gym, a bookstore, and an environmental non-profit. Eventually she realized that her passion was truly in strength training and fitness, so she left her desk job in 2012 to become a full-time personal trainer. Katie is infinitely enthusiastic about getting stronger herself and introducing literally everyone to strength training.

Katie has actively trained for and competed in powerlifting, strong(wo)man, CrossFit, and Olympic-style weightlifting. She currently competes in multiple strength disciplines, coaches a team of badass ladies (and guys too!) in strongman and powerlifting (#katiesladies), works with personal training clients, and teaches LIFT sessions and FIT classes.

Katie is a strength coach for six collegiate teams: women's basketball, lacrosse, and softball at Widener University; women's basketball at Jefferson University; and men's and women's volleyball at Neumann University. Katie is also an adjunct professor of physical education at Widener University.

CERTIFICATIONS & COURSE COMPLETIONS

American Council on Exercise - Certified Personal Trainer (ACE-CPT)
American Council on Exercise - Orthopedic Exercise Specialist (injury prevention and post-rehab recovery)
USA Weightlifting - Sports Performance Coach
Titleist Performance Institute - Level 1
CrossFit Level 1
CrossFit Kids
Body Positive Fitness Alliance Affiliated Professional and Regional Director
TRX
Hands-on Olympic weightlifting training in Russian, Chinese, and American styles with international competitors/coaches including Ilya Ilyin, Dmitry Klokov, Coach Ma, Lu Xiaojun, Liao Hui, Vasily Polovnikov, Norwood Weightlifting staff, Cara Heads, and others
Red Cross First Aid, CPR and AED (Adult and Child)

SPECIALTIES

Strongman/Strongwoman
Powerlifting
Women's Strength and Conditioning
Collegiate Strength Training
Strength and Conditioning for Beginners
CrossFit
Strength Training for Teens

Brian has spent the past 20+ years advancing his career as an interactive designer, web developer, and photographer. His former clients include AstraZeneca, Campbell's Soup, Expedia, Wawa, Universal Pictures, and Comcast. Brian currently serves as a UI Developer at Think Company in Center City Philadelphia.

Though his career has largely kept him in desk chairs, Brian has always been very active. In 1998, Brian starting training in Aikido and earned his 1st degree black belt in 2000. During that time he mentored members of his dojo and travelled across the country for demonstrations and seminars with his teacher, Rev. Zenko N. Okimura. In 2006, Brian expanded his fitness pursuits into CrossFit and weightlifting. He also took up rock climbing in 2005 and convinced (his then-girlfriend) Katie to try CrossFit at a new gym in Delaware. The rest is history.

After a brief stint competing in CrossFit, Brian has since focused primarily on Olympic-style weightlifting. He has taught Olympic weightlifting seminars at area gyms since 2012. Brian is wholly dedicated to furthering his own knowledge of and skill in the sport, and has attended training sessions with some of the best lifters in the world. He actively competes in weightlifting, and qualified for 2015 Pan American Masters Championships and Masters World Cup.

CERTIFICATIONS & COURSE COMPLETIONS

USA Weightlifting - Sports Performance Coach
Hands-on Olympic weightlifting training in Russian, Chinese, and American styles with international competitors/coaches including Ilya Ilyin, Dmitry Klokov, Coach Ma, Lu Xiaojun, Liao Hui, Vasily Polovnikov, Norwood Weightlifting staff, Cara Heads, and others

SPECIALTIES

General Strength and Conditioning
Weightlifting Technique
Programming for Weightlifters

Aaron started lifting in high school and began training in CrossFit in 2009. After a brief stint in running in cycling, he returned to CrossFit in 2011 and earned his CF Level 1 in 2012.

Now Aaron coaches kettlebell training, Fit, and weightlifting at Power Plant. He brings great energy, knowledge, and fun to all his classes and 1-on-1 sessions.

QUALIFICATIONS

National Strength and Conditioning Assoc. - Certified Personal Trainer (NSCA-CPT)
StrongFirst Level 1 (kettlebell)
USA Weightlifting - Sports Performance Coach
CrossFit Level 1
CrossFit Kids
Red Cross First Aid, CPR and AED (Adult and Child)

SPECIALTIES

Powerlifting
Kettlebell training
CrossFit
Olympic-style weightlifting
General Strength and Conditioning

Justin played baseball and football for a short time in high school, but never really took to team sports. After graduating he realized he wanted to stay in shape, especially with a family history of diabetes and heart disease, so he joined a gym and started running on the treadmill off and on for a few years. Though he enjoyed running, tendonitis in his right foot made it hard to continue. Searching for other options to stay in shape, Justin stumbled upon weight training and road biking and took to both immediately. Adding yoga to the mix gave him a good balance of flexibility, cardio, and strength based proficiencies. While a back injury sidelined him from weight training for almost ten months, he continued to do yoga, which helped his recovery. Justin’s main focus now is on powerlifting.

Professionally, Justin took a non-traditional path after high school. He bounced around jobs until he became a master machinist. Though he loved that job, he wanted to do something that made more of a difference in others' lives. He went back to school and finished a degree in strategic communications from Temple University. Now his primary pursuit is in fitness and helping other people learn and get strong.

Justin has been with Power Plant Gym from Day 1, and has since completed his personal trainer certification through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) and his CrossFit Level 1. You can find him at the front desk at Power Plant, teaching Fit classes, and working with personal training clients.

CERTIFICATIONS & COURSE COMPLETIONS

National Academy of Sports Medicine - Certified Personal Trainer (NASM-CPT)
CrossFit Level 1
Red Cross First Aid, CPR and AED (Adult and Child)

SPECIALTIES

Powerlifting
CrossFit
General Strength and Conditioning

Tiffany has been a Power Plant member since 2016. She helps us keep the gym organized and plan member events. She's also responsible for the kind and creative signage all around the gym 😉 If you're looking for a friendly face and someone to talk with about the Power Plant community, Tiffany is your girl.

Nick played basketball and baseball year-round through high school. After a junior-year growth spurt he became one of the best pitchers in Pennsylvania and was set to play Ivy League baseball. Then at the height of his skill, Nick tore his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) and his baseball career ended. Knowing he had to continue to have a physical challenge in his life, Nick started lifting weights. Since then he has competed in powerlifting with plans to branch out into natural bodybuilding.

Originally intending to train collegiate athletes, Nick worked in strength and conditioning at the University of South Carolina and Temple University with mainly football, but also sand volleyball, track & field, rowing, and swimming. He interned at Apex Athletic as a biomechanist where he worked with the Columbia Fireflies, a New York Mets minor league affiliate.

Now Nick is committed to helping athletes of all experience levels. He brings his passion for lifting to every client he works with and every program he writes. In addition to working with clients 1-on-1 and programming for many of the members at Power Plant, Nick also has a thriving online coaching community, which you can find through his Instagram @nick_boleto. He also runs a Drug Free Powerlifting group on Facebook, with a mission of helping as many people as possible with their strength training pursuits.

QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science (Univ. of South Carolina)
Strength Intern at Univ. of South Carolina and Temple University
Published peer-reviewed researcher

SPECIALTIES

Powerlifting
General Strength and Conditioning
Online training
Biomechanics