Meet Mat Grove PerformancePro director, certified Strength and Conditioning Coach and ex professional rugby player. Mat also looks after the financial and operational side of the business.
Life before PerformancePro
Mat was born in Exeter and grew up in rural Devon. At school he excelled at athletics and football then started rugby at Exeter Chiefs Junior Academy aged 15.
From there, Mat’s ten year career as a professional rugby player, including time with Exeter Chiefs (see pic below) and Northampton Saints, encompassed Premiership and Championship experience. Six knee surgeries eventually ended his professional career. From then on Mat was know as ’the best player in the gym’ and most of his time was spent in and out of physio rooms!
Mat was selected in wider squad for England Sevens when he moved back to play for Exeter chiefs. He travelled to Dubai and Hong Kong tournaments where he ended up playing for St George Samurai. When Mat’s contract ended at Exeter he needed a change so his agent set him up at Salford Reds Rugby League. Mat enjoyed his time there but first team opportunities were limited and a new challenge beckoned.
It was at this point that Mat started making the move into Personal Training and Strength and Conditioning. He studied for a BA Honours in Sports and Exercise and at Post Grad level in Strength and Conditioning. Hungry for more, he went on to qualify as an UKSCA and NSCA Certified Strength & Conditioning Coach.
After working for a small private gym in Manchester for Chris Clarke, a successful ironman triathlete, Mat moved to London. He played part time rugby in National 3 for Barnes whilst plying his trade as a freelance Personal Trainer.
Mat and PerformancePro
It was during his postgraduate studies at St Mary’s University that Mat met Daniel Boulle and introduced him to Anthony Purcell. In 2013, the three teamed up to establish PerformancePro,
“Performance Pro has been a challenge, placed in the most competitive city in the world. We are still here 4 years on to tell the tale.”
Mat finds that the hard-working and dedicated approach he took as a team player in his professional rugby career is a good fit when it comes to PerformancePro’s intelligent approach to fitness,
“At PerformancePro we don’t use short term fads to get our clients to their goals. Ours is a sustainable and intelligent approach using science-backed training regimes. All our trainers are hugely personable, committed to making the client experience as comfortable and rewarding as possible. PerformancePro is about real human beings training in the real world.”
Life beyond the gym
Away from the gym and the office, Mat still loves rugby!
“For me, rugby is the ultimate sport. It combines all the physical attributes of strength, speed, anaerobic and aerobic fitness with having to maintain bulk to be robust enough to take hits. In rugby you also have to have the mental toughness to grit it out when training and especially in games.”
Mat’s own fitness
Mat’s top three daily ‘must do’s’ from his own training regime are quite simply:
- Mobilise
- Lift big
- Eat clean
