Lee Zimmerman grew up in Northeast Philadelphia where his family belonged to Temple Beth Ami. Lee attended George Washington High School where he was a 4 year varsity hockey player and won an academic award for weightlifting. In 1992 he found the sport of powerlifting and competed competitively for the first time in Dover, DE. As a competitive Drug-Free Powerlifter, he has won 35 National Titles and 8 World Titles, was twice recognized as the best pound for pound lightweight lifter in the world based on poundage lifted, and is still a competitive athlete today in both Powerlifting and Ice Hockey.
He married his wife Andrea in 1999 and they settled in Northeast Philadelphia. They have two amazing children Sam (a soon to be graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy) and Julia (a rising Senior at Central High School.) They celebrated the Bar and Bat Mitzvah’s of their children at Old York Road Temple Beth Am where they worshiped and their children attended religious school and continue to support and are involved at Temple Beth Ami as well.
Lee is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He also holds a Performance Enhancement Specialist (PES) Certification through the National Association of Sports Medicine. Bringing over 20 years of experience training athletes, Lee is renowned for his wealth of knowledge in many different training disciplines and methodologies. Lee received his Undergrad Degree from Skidmore College in 2004, where he graduated with Honors. He also holds a Master of Science Degree in Performance Enhancement and Injury Prevention from California University of Pennsylvania where he also graduated with Honors. Lee was formerly employed in health and fitness at the JCC Klein and then became the lead Exercise Physiologist at Holy Redeemer Health System’s Human Performance Lab, where he had worked training many Special Populations for over 17 years. Lee holds a Level 4 Hockey Coaching certification from USA Hockey. He spent 12 years coaching his son’s hockey teams with the Philadelphia Blazers. He has been a Philadelphia Maccabi Coach along with Craig Levitz for the Boys ice hockey team since 2018. The team under their direction has earned two silver medals and two bronze medals and also became the first team in tournament history to defeat Toronto.
Lee opened Counterstrike Conditioning in 2009 where he continues to coach personal training clients and is a much sought after coach for sport specific weight training and conditioning for athletes of all ages. In 2023 with the support of members of his gym and veteran Bill Baehr he started a non profit Operation Counterstrike to support Active Duty, Veterans and Their Families. Its primary purpose is to provide care, personal training and treatment of military veterans with a goal of alleviating symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder.