Professionals Serendipity 
Tamborine Mountain is a diverse community, but no matter who you are, it’s important to keep your body healthy. It’s a good thing there’s no shortage of ways to stay in shape in our community, the latest and most unique of which is Exercor Fitness. Matt Stevens, owner and personal trainer, explains the intriguing new approach he’s bringing to staying your best on the mountain.
by Kyle Hitchmough
How would you describe what you offer here?
What we’re doing at the moment is like a personal training studio, it’s one-on-one, one-on-two, maybe even one-on-three personal training sessions mainly, and there’s small group fitness we tailor to 6-8 people in groups, where we work on three different types of classes. There’s strength, conditioning or fitness, and mixed metabolic, which is like mini circuits and things like that.
What does the name “Exercor” mean?
Exercor untangled, means “the heart in fitness”. “Cor” is Latin for heart, and then “exer-cise”. Exercise in heart, heart in fitness, and when people hear “core” they think of that body structure, so that’s where it comes from.
What is the benefit of a facility like Exercor over a traditional gym?
The benefit of coming to somewhere like Exercor is that you learn the underpinning movement qualities that help you understand how to lift things like weights at the gym. By coming somewhere like this where it’s got that structure, it enables you to not have to think. You can come in, do what you’re instructed to do, and have that guidance, which builds confidence. Once you’ve built confidence, you can take those skills back to the gym. My business model at the moment is quite flexible and casual in terms of membership.
You have your three standard classes as described, but are you able to tailor those routines to suit clients’ unique needs?
Absolutely. If somebody comes in and one of the main movements we’re doing for the set is a squat, for example, but they’ve had a knee injury or some lower back limitations, then the benefit of having those small group classes is we can modify that. We use the resistance bands and other implements to modify the movements to still get progression for that client, so they’re included in the session but can-do things differently. One thing I really love about the mountain is its community-based feel, and one thing I want to try to push more into the future is families. I’ve got a couple of families that train, parents and their children. It’s one session, could be 30 or 45 minutes and it has a really good effect, not only on the physical health, but on the other aspects of health as well, especially that closeness in the family. Another aspect I want to move towards is NDIS support, so people with disabilities being able to come in and access that type of support.
Are there any notable trends in your clientele?
Yeah, it’s definitely mainly the professional group. It gives them that set time frame in their busy life when they know they’re coming in for that exercise and they can get everything they need and go, and the cost is pretty low so they can maintain regular visits. Over time I want to integrate more teenage-based training, because I feel like there’s a demand for that, and other groups like seniors, but it’s definitely that middle bracket
Are you a local? What’s your opinion on the Tamborine Mountain area or community?
The community itself is the biggest reason why my wife and four kids stay on the mountain. It has great schools; my wife works at the school and two of our kids go there. Being familiar, having people to count on in the community here, we’re so well-resourced with people’s professional skills, and it’s still accessible to all the major health services on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane as well. The community itself is sort of evolving. I’ve only been up on the mountain for about 7 years, so I’m not even close to being a local but it’s friendly, it’s safe and it’s a happy, healthy place to be. That’s why we chose to open here.
Do you have any personal favourite things to do on the mountain?
We love our cafes! We live pretty close to Mountain Brew café which is very family-friendly. They’ve seen three of our kids go from babies to who they are now. The various parks and different things are great, and then we like the waterfalls and rainforest walks and that kind of thing. The sports fields are so generous, we love to go and take the dogs or just kick a ball around.
What does a place like Exercor really provide to the area?
It provides another professional service in terms of health and fitness that people can access at a reasonable cost. There are already so many really great trainers up here, but I’m just well-experienced from working with all people and movement from toddlers right through to senior adults, and I’ve done quite a lot of work with professional athletes too. Having a mix of experience and study means I’ve done a lot of research into the best ways to train people.
What do you enjoy most about doing this?
Seeing the progress of the clients and what they can tolerate versus what they think they can tolerate. Seeing them on the exercise bike and feel like they can’t do one or two more reps and then having that sense of confidence and self-esteem grow with their movement and confidence in their body.
Is there anything else you wanted to go on the record?
It’s very much an open-door policy. If the door is open, I want people to feel welcome to come in or at the very minimum send me a message or give us a call if they want to find out more. If they feel like they just can’t exercise, there’s always a way, and I’m always accessible to help them.
We are always looking for new topics for our blog. If there’s something you like to see more of, email your suggestions to: social@professionalsserendipity.com.au, or email the writer at kyle.hitchmough@hotmail.com.
