Dr. Benjamin Geierman graduated in 2019 with his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Chatham University and in 2017 from Grand Valley State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Clinical Exercise Science. He also earned his Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) from the NSCA in 2017.

Ben is known by his peers as a passionate “pain nerd” and enjoys consuming a borderline irresponsible amount of literature on the dynamic and multifactorial experience of pain. He especially enjoys working with folks experiencing persistent spine and extremity pain along with guiding active individuals experiencing everyday aches and pains back to their valued activities. He is a long time hockey and fitness enthusiast and enjoys getting on the ice and in the gym recreationally as often as possible.

Along with Dr. Miles, Dr. Ben is the co-creator of Principles of Musculoskeletal Management and also the author of our Research Roundup Email Newsletter series.

Ben has been recreationally powerlifting for the past 6 years and hopes to complete in his first meet in the near future. His mission is to guide people experiencing pain and disability to return to their meaningful activities with enhanced resilience, decreased suffering, and improved overall confidence in their movement while striving to optimize overall fitness for all patients and encouraging behavior change to decrease the risk and impact of lifestyle induced chronic diseases.

Dr. Hays graduated from the University of Florida in 2012 with his Doctorate of Physical Therapy, and he graduated longer ago than he cares to remember from The Pennsylvania State University with his B.S. in Biology. He is an Orthopedic Clinical Specialist through the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties. Additionally, he has been a USA Weightlifting Level 1 Sports Performance Coach since 2018 and previously held his Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the NSCA.

Hays is the owner of Premier Physical Therapy in Clearwater, FL, and his clinical interests are barbell athletes (CrossFitters and powerlifters) and high school athletes. One of Hays’s professors at UF was on the forefront of pain science education, so Hays finds a way to overcome fear of movement with his patients using concepts of graded exercise and exposure. His goal in the clinic is to get all of his athletes lifting a weight and back in the gym as soon as safely possible by incorporating their desired lifts in their rehabilitation.

Hays is the creator of Olympic Weightlifting Fundamentals, one of our CEU-approved self-paced online courses. He has competed in local amateur Strongman competitions and is an avid golfer, competing in local leagues. His goal is to provide an example of “lift for life” for his patients and his children.

Dr. Susie Spirlock is a coach, physical therapist, and movement optimist who brings an incredibly unique approach to both training and physical therapy practice. She believes that strength training IS rehab when it comes to treating pain and overcoming injury. Education and authenticity are at the center of what she does. People love her research-backed brain gains that they can confidently apply to their own training. Clients & colleagues love working with Susie, often describing her as quirky & fun, yet undeniably knowledgeable.

Susie earned her Bachelor’s of Science in Exercise Science from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington in 2016 followed by her Doctor of Physical Therapy from Western Carolina University in 2020. She practiced in an outpatient orthopedic clinic for the first 3 years after DPT school, and then transitioned to all remote rehab and fitness coaching after launching her business, Move Your Bones LLC, in 2022. She has recreationally been lifting weights for the past 7 years with a training style incorporating powerlifting, bodybuilding, and multi-planar movements.

Within her education and certifications, Susie has developed particular expertise in human movement, training principles, and program design. She uses this knowledge to train clients online, helping hundreds of women get confident under the barbell, navigate injury, and fall in love with strength training.

When she’s not in the gym, you can find her snuggling or walking her two dogs, Winnie & Mowgli, watering her 37 houseplants, creating content for social media, or escaping to the mountains for a long hike!

Meet Cristian! Cristian holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Texas Tech University and later became a Physical Therapist Assistant after graduating from Tarrant County College. His passion for rehabilitation was ignited during his time at a sports medicine clinic owned by the head physician of the Texas Rangers, where he gained invaluable experience and a deep interest in evidence-based treatment approaches. It was also there that he developed a newfound appreciation for strength training, recognizing its vital role in both rehabilitation and enhancing sports performance.

As part of the Barbell Rehab team, Cristian helps create and edit content for our social media channels, including managing the podcast. He also contributes to a variety of creative projects, including designing materials and handling background tasks for our live courses. On top of that, he's diving into videography to bring even more engaging content to life.

Outside of work, Cristian is a proud father to two energetic boys, just 18 months apart. They certainly keep him busy, but he loves creating fitness content with them by his side. His goal is for them to grow up seeing fitness as a fun, natural part of life, rather than something to be dreaded.

Looking ahead, Cristian plans to earn his Strength and Conditioning Certification in the near future, with big goals to continue blending his passions for rehab, lifting, and content creation.