What Progress Truly Looks Like And How To Achieve Your Goals

Caitlyn Davey • July 8, 2025

 'It's putting off what you want in the moment, for what you want most.'There may come times in your health and wellness journey where you plateau, or struggle to hit your goals. It happens to plenty of people, they work and work but struggle to see results or achieve the goals they set out to reach. So how do you overcome roadblocks and hurdles and ensure the road to success? There are some steps you can take to ensure you get to where you want to go. James and Sean speak about it on episode 26 of season 2 of the Rebuild Health and Fitness podcast, to help you reach your goals. Here's what you need to know. Unknown roadblocksWhether that’s falling sick, an important commitment, or any setback that causes a sudden hindrance to your goal – sometimes it’s inevitable and how you power through is what defines the sort of person you are.“You will get stuck, you can set amazing goals, but you need to understand that things will come up that you didn’t plan for and they’re going to get in your way, side-track you and how you respond to it will be the determining factor to whether you will succeed or not,' says Sean. 'We see it with covid popping up everywhere, these mini setbacks that you don’t plan for and the next thing you know is that you’re testing positive and suddenly you don’t know what to do anymore.' Stockdale ParadoxWhile it’s important to have this big goal that you want, there will always be smaller steps you need to take. And while that’s being thought of, it's equally important to have faith in yourself and belief that you will come out stronger.Sean explains the Stockdale Paradox fits in well with the discussion of goal setting, setbacks, and progress. “The Stockdale Paradox refers to your ability to retain the faith that you will prevail at the end regardless of the difficulties but at the same time, confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. You can have this really good goal you want to hit but because of your current situation, you will get there but it’ll just take you longer. People get too hung up on getting stuck in the mud when they face difficulties.” Motivation and disciplineSean believes you shouldn’t let not having motivation be the thing that keeps you from progressing forward. “One of the early roadblocks people fall into is a drop in motivation. I think understanding that motivation is one of those things that gets you going but commitment to your core keeps you going.”He outlines two types of motivation: Intrinsic motivation is where you’re motivated by personal reward, or where you’re performing an activity for its own sake. For example, when people go for runs because they enjoy the feeling that running gives them, they’re not going on runs to avoid some sort of punishment.Extrinsic motivation is where you’re motivated to earn a reward or to avoid punishment. For example, when someone is training to win a gold medal, or when you’re training to be someone else, you’re not doing it for yourself.Sean adds, “I think some extrinsic goals are fine but if you're truly going to be successful long-term, you need to have a decent reason from within yourself that motivates you and pulls you back when you’re questioning whether you want to put in this effort or not. Effort is required and just because you’ve got simple tasks doesn’t mean you don’t need to put in effort.”For him, discipline really defines you as a person and is the key indicator to whether or not you will be successful. “Having that little bit of control and discipline around key behaviours and actions will be the biggest indicators of success. You can never fully get what you want out of life unless you have some discipline and make some sacrifices in life. Some of those sacrifices aren’t terrible ones but may just be some ingrained habits that you've had and may make you feel weird when you drop it,” he says. Making tough choices and doing things you don’t enjoy In life, nothing comes to us easily. There’s always a certain amount of discomfort required to reach a goal or to make progress from your current state. Though this might make the process tougher, and to a certain extent might slow things doing, what you need to focus on is the end result. Sean prefers to live a life satisfaction knowing he’s worked his way up on the success ladder, despite all the painstaking hard work that’s gone into it. “At some stage in your journey you need to do things you don’t enjoy, you need to lift weights, you need to put in the steps, you need to get your heart rate up, or you’ll either suffer the consequences or the brutal reality of you not achieving your goals. I’d rather suffer on my own terms doing things that will make me a better person, or stronger, or fitter, or suffer the consequences of me being lazy and not willing to make those sacrifices.”James says it's all about choices. “With all this, it comes back to your choices, you can always make choices around your goals and the sacrifices you make. I don’t want to make it sound like people aren’t trying hard enough, it may not be your fault that you’re in the position that you are in right now but, it’s 100% your responsibility to fix this. That small step of taking some sort of action is the first step you can take into making progress towards your goals,” adds James. 

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Why Strength Training Might Be the Missing Piece in Your Health Routine

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.

Join Rebuild Capalaba's Free Week Feb 2-8

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.

Join Rebuild Wynnum's Taster Day

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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