In the Community: PLATE28
written by Stephen Miwa
All too often, the excuse of not having enough time to workout and take care of one’s health is given. Wife, mother of three, and now entrepreneur, Katie Mueller, is challenging that oft-given excuse with company PLATE28. Her boutique, fitness studio located in Hinsdale, Illinois offers a completely different workout in two unique ways: 28-minute exercise classes and classes exclusively run on Power Plates. While Katie is now fully immersed in PLATE28 as both its owner and one of its instructors, business ownership was previously not something she had really thought about.
Katie first heard of the Power Plate from a friend, Kelly Milne. After much discussion, they decided to open up PLATE28 as their own concept and to create a place that could provide not only a great workout but a supportive community. “We never looked at ourselves as entrepreneurs, however, we were confident we could create something unique and different that would challenge the excuse of not having enough time to workout.” says Katie.
Katie continues, “Our goal was to provide an opportunity to make the entire community stronger, both mentally and physically.”
Opening the studio with this thought process in mind required significant research. Katie and Kelly spent months working with Power Plate’s corporate office educating and developing the group fitness programs that they would use. They toured and took classes at many boutique fitness studios across the country. “We studied, brainstormed, hired consultants, conducted mock classes for our friends and then were able to execute a plan to create our studio concept.” says Katie. Katie continues, “We knew we needed to provide a great workout but our main focus was to differentiate ourselves, to create an experience people couldn’t stop talking about.” With all of the planning complete, PLATE28 opened its doors in January of 2018 with their studio of nine Power Plates making it the first Plate studio in the Midwest.
The common questions, “what does the Power Plate do?” and “how does it allow for full body workouts in 28 minutes?” are asked all the time, and the answers exemplify Katie’s reasons for starting PLATE28. The Power Plate is a certified medical device with a vibrating platform, and these vibrations are the key to all. The vibrations amplify and accelerate anything that would normally be done on the ground. It accomplishes this by engaging the soft tissue making muscles contract on their own in the form of involuntary reflexes. “Because of the accelerated characteristics of the plate, we do a 2 minute warm-up, a 2 minute cool down, and the remaining 24 minutes is the workout period which focuses on strength, cardio, yoga or HIIT training depending on which type of class you attend” Katie explains. Other tangible benefits to using this machine are both increased circulatory and hormonal function. The vibrations increase blood flow and levels of serotonin which is a contributor to feelings of well being and happiness. It also lowers cortisol and increases human growth hormone levels. With these hormonal flips, the body allows for a faster metabolism and a more efficient way of burning of dangerous visceral fat.
With over a year and a half under her belt, Katie has just bought the PLATE28 studio outright. She is the sole owner and is excited for the next phase of growth. Katie is always looking to improve PLATE28, and, with her self-proclaimed “exercise A.D.D”, is working to introduce more class offerings and new equipment. “Keeping things fresh in the studio is very important to me,” says Katie. “I am very proud of the team I have built and the shared commitment to a fun and effective workout. As a collective team, we don’t want anyone to get bored, or to get stagnant in their results.”
Refreshing the studio isn’t the only thing on her mind. “Down the road, my ultimate goal is to work with other people like me, who are positive and interested in improving the well-being of those around them. I want to give people an opportunity to open a PLATE28 studio so that they can feel all the benefits of what we do here at PLATE28.” Katie continues, “18 months ago I was a stay at home mom. I had no idea how fulfilling it would be to have a career, be an entrepreneur, and still have the flexibility to be involved with my kids. I’ve really been able to find a career that still allows me to have something of my own and in the day to day lives of my family and friends. Ultimately, I would love to enable other women and men to do the same.” With Katie’s amazing enthusiasm and drive, we look forward to seeing Plate28’s growth and expansion in the years to come!
Plate28 is located at 5819 S. Madison Street, Hinsdale, Illinois 60521. To view their class schedule and to book your first class please visit their website at
www.plate28.co