Rest, Recover, Reset: Why Christmas Might Be the Best Training Week of the Year
At Real Good Fitness, we talk a lot about showing up, doing the work, and building strong, capable humans. But there’s another side to training that often gets overlooked, and Christmas is the perfect reminder of it.
Rest.
Not the “collapse-on-the-sofa-because-I’m-broken” kind.
Real rest. Intentional rest. The kind that allows your body and mind to reset so you can come back stronger.
As the year winds down in Long Ashton, Brislington and Portishead, most people fall into one of two camps:
1. The ‘I’ll train harder because I’ve eaten more’ group, or
2. The ‘I’ll get back on it in January’ group.
At Real Good Fitness, we take a different view.
Rest Isn’t Falling Behind — It’s Part of the Plan
Your body doesn’t get stronger during your sessions.
It gets stronger when you recover from your sessions.
Christmas gives you:
More sleep
Less rushing
Fewer alarms
Lower stress (mostly…)
More time with the people who matter
These things don’t undo your fitness.
They support it.
Your nervous system needs downtime.
Your muscles need repair.
Your mind needs a pause from the constant “go”.
Training hard without rest is like revving an engine without ever letting it cool; eventually, something gives. Christmas builds in the cool-down your body has been asking for.
The Real Good Fitness Ethos: Strong Humans, Not Broken Ones
Real Good Fitness has never been about punishment.
It’s never been about earning your food or burning off yesterday’s mince pie.
That stuff belongs in the bin with your old “new year, new me” flyers.
Our ethos is simple:
Move well.
Get stronger.
Show up consistently.
Look after yourself.
Be part of something bigger than exercise.
Rest is part of that.
This isn’t a six-week “blast”.
It’s not a phase.
It’s a long-term journey, and long-term journeys need pauses.
Christmas Isn’t an Interruption — It’s a Reset Button
Take the week. Seriously.
Let training simmer in the background.
Walk. Stretch. Breathe.
Play with your kids.
Nap without guilt.
Eat Christmas dinner without thinking about macros.
Move because it feels good, not because you’re chasing numbers.
When classes restart in January, you’ll notice something:
You feel fresher.
You move better.
You WANT to train again.
You’re mentally lighter.
And your body is ready to build again — properly.
This is the power of rest.
If You Still Want to Move, Make It Gentle
Walks, mobility flows, maybe a cheeky kettlebell if you really miss us.
But these shouldn’t be big sessions.
They’re meant to support recovery, not interrupt it.
The Takeaway: Rest like an Athlete
Athletes don’t sprint 365 days a year.
They train in seasons.
They peak, they taper, they rest.
You may not see yourself as an athlete, but we do — because you’re training, improving, building capacity and working towards your own version of performance.
So this Christmas, don’t beat yourself up for slowing down.
See it as part of your pyramid — the quiet layer that keeps everything else strong.
Rest well.
Recover fully.
Come back ready.
And from all of us at Real Good Fitness:
Have a brilliant, calm, restorative Christmas — you’ve earned it.