I have been coaching and working as a personal training for 13 years in a variety of gym environments before starting Northern Strength and Performance in 2019 with Denis Brown "The Bastard of Iron" to create the perfect training place.

I have a vast experience in body composition, weight loss, strength sports, conditioning and nutrition, covering the full package!

I have been competing in strongman for 8 years and am now a national and international competitor in the men’s opens class.

I strive to be friendly and accommodating to everyone, and am committed to helping anyone become the best version of themself!

I am a fully qualified level 2+3 personal trainer since 2019, following my own journey after a substantial weight loss which changed my life through fitness. 
I am first aid qualified and DBS checked to be able to coach children and people with mental health conditions, I have a lot of varied experience working with all type of people and conditions. 

​

I started strong woman at the back end of 2019, winning some novice comps at the beginning of my journey, and then I placed 2nd at UKs Strongest Novice.
I have also placed 4th at UKs Strongest Opens Woman, 5th and 4th respectively at England's Strongest Woman 2022 and 2024 as an u82kg athlete, 
I then placed 5th at Britain’s Strongest Woman as an u82 athlete in 2024 also.

I also have a successful gym just round the corner  from NSP running 121s and bootcamps for cardiovascular fitness and strength training, see Jo Spence Bootcamps on Facebook! 

I have a huge passion for coaching strongman & strongwoman and helping people achieve there fitness goals.

I am a fully qualified Physiotherapist, recently graduated from Teesside University. I changed careers in 2020 following the COVID 19 pandemic from pest control to physiotherapy, big jump, I know! 

​

The reason I started my physiotherapy journey was due to my love of strength training, yet seeing the risk of injury that is potentially involved, and also the barrier to entry for strength training which a lot of people face, such as fear of injury and not feeling confident, prompted me down this path.

​

I also work as a physio for Darlington Mowden Park Rugby Team, and have a PHICIS level 2 qualification. 

​

I have been strength training since 2019 and it has taken over my life, the joy and accomplishment it brings is too good of a feeling not to share, and with extensive evidence base behind strength training, I believe it is beneficial to everyone. 

​

I have competed in strongwoman since 2021, completing over 30 competitions during that time, notably I have won Worlds Strongest Natural Woman in the u82kg class in 2023 and came 2nd at Europe's Strongest Woman in 2024.

​

I completed my strength & conditioning coaching qualification in 2025 to give me the ability to coach and physio at the same time, so if you're looking for someone specialising in injury rehab, return to sports, or you're just wanting to dip your toe into the world of strength training then I'm your girl!

​

I started coaching in 2015, gaining experience developing my coaching style out of Lifestyle Fitness Hartlepool. Alongside this I had also started helping a handful of my Strongwoman friends online with training.

From 2016-2020 I worked at Spartan Performance under the guidance of Jack Lovett. This really sharpened my coaching skills, working with a variety of athletes from different sports and a huge range of people just wanting to look and feel better. Jack has a great reputation for hosting workshops and seminars with well respected coaches. Throughout my 4 years at Spartan I had the pleasure of learning from the likes of Andy Bolton, Delroy McQueen, Dmitry Klokov, Christian Thibeaudeau, Dan Green, Adam Bishop and Amit Sapir.

A decade into my career and I’ve had the great fortune to help a number of women (and a couple of blokes) achieve great things in the Strongwoman, including Donna Moore, Claire Myler, Chloe Brennan, Harry Rogers, this is by no stretch an exhaustive list.

My most notable personal achievement in Strongwoman has to be winning the 2017 Arnold Amateur Strongwoman World Championship. An experience I will never forget. A real dream come true. I also held the middleweight Englands Strongest Woman title for 4 years running. AND I’ve never been beaten at a Harness Truck Pull… so far.

Coaching competitive strongwomen/men is my specialty, but helping people build muscle, strength and confidence is where my passion lies. Nobody knows how potent a drug strength training is, not only to their health but to their self esteem. I firmly believe that training, in whatever form that appeals to the individual, is for everybody. All ages, all genders, for the entirety of their lives. Every single person deserves to feel good about themselves, understand and overcome hard physical work and trust their bodies to handle whatever life throws at them