Surviving The Silly Season: How To Make Sure You Enjoy Your Holidays Without The Guilt

Caitlyn Davey • July 8, 2025

With Christmas and New Year just around the corner, the holiday season is bound to add to the kilos. Family dinners, outings with friends, comfort food here and there – no matter how much you run from it, these two weeks do inevitably cause some damage. However, all is not lost post-holiday season.Enjoy your holidays If you’ve been consistent throughout the year, or even for the most part, it’s completely alright to binge a bit during the silly season. It’s the most wonderful time of the year, so chill out. Stop worrying You need to allow yourself to live your life for a bit. “Stop worrying so much about the next couple of weeks,” says James. “Stop stressing so much as if everything you’ve done and learnt over the last year is just going to go back within two weeks. If people focus more on the 50 weeks around the 52 weeks, we would be a lot more successful, and this would be a very stress-free time,” he adds. “Christmas parties has come up a little bit more, people are going to go on holidays, if you think pretty solid for a long period of time, you’re not really going to do much damage apart from a few bad hangovers. You might feel subjectively a little bit worse, but that’s also because people are not eating as many nutrient dense foods.''Just don’t get hung up on that, people get really stuck in their own head and think, ‘I feel like shit, I ruined everything,” says Sean. “If you're talking about fat regain, especially from a deficit, you’d have to over-consume a crazy amount of food. I think people also have this understanding like ‘Ah if I eat, it’s going to go straight into my body fat,’ but that’s not how things work, you have a lot of metabolic processes that come into play. If I eat more, the energy in-energy out equation comes into play - energy in equals energy out. We need to understand that if you put energy into your system, even though you’re not training necessarily, subconsciously you’ll expend more energy; non-exercise activity thermogenesis, you’ll have more food and you’ll have an increase in your thermic effect of food.” What’s the worst that could happen?While you are completely responsible for the outcome, which may be good or bad, one thing to remember is that there are still several ways to move around that don’t constitute exercising and second, it’s just two weeks – relax. Sean says it’s normal for someone who actively trains to feel a little out of place when they don’t for a bit, he admits to feeling the same. “If you are someone who trains regularly, and you’re going to stop for two weeks, you’re going to feel a little bit worse because you are used to moving, and moving makes you feel good,' he says. 'It does make me feel good. When I went on holiday, I used to think, ‘this is my time not to do anything,’ but then I find myself in a few days in my holiday feeling a little bit sad. I enjoy moving, it doesn’t mean flogging yourself in the gym, it just means to get outside, move a little bit. Once your heartbeat goes up a little bit and you’re like, ‘I’m done for the day,’ it makes the good timed a little bit more enjoyable. You’re not going to stress about having beers at night or eating pub meals every day.”  James says it's not the end of the world, even if you do put on a little weight, or lose a little (depending on your goals).  “The worst thing that could happen in people's lives, this is how privileged we are, is that over Christmas, they gained a couple of kilos,' he emphasises.  'Come on! What is so negative now in this day and age is that gaining body fat is looked at as the worst thing. When you get really lean bad things to happen, the same thing if you go on the other end of the spectrum. But you gained a couple of kilos so what? I guarantee within a few weeks post, you’ll be back down to pre-Christmas body in no time.”Enjoy your break, relax. Listen to the Rebuild Health and Fitness podcast episode about Silly Season on Spotify.If you need help with your nutrition, now or in the future, get in touch - we can help.  

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February 16, 2026
If you live in Wynnum or Capalaba, you’re not short of fitness options. There are 24-hour gyms. Bootcamps. HIIT studios. Yoga classes. Running clubs along the waterfront. But despite more access than ever, many people still feel stuck. Tired. Plateaued. Unsure whether what they’re doing is actually working. For many adults across Brisbane’s bayside suburbs, the missing piece isn’t more cardio or more intensity. It’s structured strength training. What Strength Training Actually Does (Beyond “Toning”) Strength training isn’t just about lifting heavy weights or looking muscular. It is one of the most well-supported interventions in exercise science for improving: • Lean muscle mass • Bone density • Insulin sensitivity • Resting metabolic rate • Functional capacity • Injury resilience When you lift weights progressively, your body adapts. Muscle fibres increase in size. Neural drive improves. Connective tissue strengthens. Bone responds to load. This isn’t aesthetic. It’s physiological. For adults in their 30s, 40s and 50s — especially busy professionals and parents — maintaining and building muscle becomes increasingly important. From around age 30 onwards, we gradually lose muscle mass if we don’t train against resistance. Strength training slows — and can even reverse — that decline. Why Many People Plateau in Traditional Gyms Joining a gym in Wynnum or Capalaba is easy. Progress is harder. Many people follow random workouts. They jump between machines. They try classes without a long-term plan. They train hard, but without structure. The body adapts quickly to repeated stimulus. If load, volume or intensity don’t increase over time, adaptation stalls. This principle is called progressive overload — and it is fundamental to strength development. Without it, workouts feel hard but don’t necessarily lead to measurable progress. That’s why tracking lifts, planning training blocks, and adjusting volume matter. Effort is important. Structure is essential. Strength vs “Burning Calories” A common goal across the Wynnum and Capalaba community is fat loss. Many people default to high-intensity cardio to “burn more calories”. While cardiovascular training improves heart health and work capacity, resistance training changes body composition in a different way. Muscle tissue is metabolically active. The more lean mass you maintain, the more energy your body requires at rest. Strength training also improves glucose regulation and insulin sensitivity, which influences how your body uses carbohydrates. In simple terms: Cardio burns calories during the session. Strength training improves how your body uses energy long term. The most effective approach often combines both — but strength should not be overlooked. The Importance of Coaching in Strength Training Not all training environments are equal. There is a difference between access to equipment and access to coaching. Research in motor learning consistently shows that technique improves faster and more safely when feedback is specific and timely. Good coaching reduces injury risk, improves force production and builds confidence under load. For beginners, this means learning correct movement patterns. For experienced lifters, this means refining efficiency and progressing safely. In both Wynnum and Capalaba, more people are moving away from “do it yourself” gym models and towards coached environments that prioritise progression and accountability. Because consistency — not intensity — predicts long-term success. Strength Training for Real Life The real benefit of strength training isn’t what happens in the gym. It’s what happens outside it. Carrying children. Lifting groceries. Walking the stairs without fatigue. Reducing back pain. Improving posture after long desk hours. Strength improves quality of life. For people living and working in Brisbane’s bayside suburbs — balancing work, school runs and community commitments — training needs to support life, not compete with it. Two to four well-programmed sessions per week is enough to create significant improvements in strength and body composition when done consistently. You do not need to train every day. You need to train intelligently. What To Look For in a Strength Training Gym in Wynnum or Capalaba If you’re considering starting strength training locally, look for: • Structured programming rather than random workouts • Progressive overload built into sessions • Coaches who adjust for injury, mobility and experience • A community that supports consistency • A clear pathway for beginners Strength training should feel challenging — but sustainable. It should build confidence, not intimidation. A Quiet Shift in Fitness Across Wynnum and Capalaba, there is a noticeable shift. People are moving away from extreme short-term “transformations” and towards long-term strength development. They want: Energy that lasts. Bodies that feel capable. Training that fits into real life. Strength training isn’t a trend. It is one of the most researched, effective and sustainable forms of exercise available. If you’ve tried everything else and still feel stuck, it might not be motivation you’re missing. It might be structure. And structure changes everything.
January 19, 2026
If you’ve been thinking about getting back into training — or starting properly — this is your chance. From February 2–8 , you can train free for a full week at Rebuild Capalaba with unlimited access to our group sessions. No pressure. No judgement. No gimmicks. Just well-coached training, intelligent programming, and a community built around progress — not perfection. What Free Week Includes • Unlimited group training for 7 days • Coaching-led strength, conditioning, and cardio sessions • Scaled options to suit all experience levels • A supportive, ego-free training environment Whether you’re returning after a break, testing something new, or simply curious about what training should feel like — Free Week lets you experience it properly, without committing upfront. Free Week runs Feb 2–8. Spots are limited. Book your week and see how it fits into your life.
November 24, 2025
Try a Session. Meet the Coaches. See What You’re Capable Of If you’ve been thinking about starting, restarting, or finding a gym that actually supports you — Taster Day is your opportunity. This is a free, one-day event designed for real people. No pressure. No expectations. Just great coaching, a welcoming community, and a chance to see whether Rebuild is the right fit for you. December 6, 7:30am at Rebuild Health and Fitness - 10 North Road Wynnum West. This session is FREE for people to join.
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