Why We Stay Open Over the Holidays
It’s not uncommon, in fact, it’s expected that a small gym such as ours will shut down for Christmas, and through til New Years and then again at Easter. So why then, do we choose to stay open?
The easiest way to answer that question is to remind people of why we do what we do. We run a gym with excellent technical coaching that gets great results for our clients very consistently, but we are a community. If I have to choose between someone’s training outcome and their mental well-being, it’s always going to be an easy choice (and the winner is definitely not lifting a bigger bell or dropping a dress size!).
We want people to come into our gym community and be healthier because they have done so. Healthier physically - absolutely, but also healthier mentally and emotionally. Physical training has fantastic research support to demonstrate that it helps with all three of these things, so it’s a great vehicle for developing a healthy body that is equipped for life. The other piece of the puzzle that is super important, though, is having friends who listen to you, like you and look out for you. These are the things that we seek to provide, and the skills that we strive to impart to the members of our community.
In other words, for people that come and join our community, we aim to offer them two things:
Outstanding training that makes their body feel great and that continuously improves their capabilities, delivered in the safest possible fashion to ensure that they leave the gym healthier than they arrived.
Great friends and the opportunity to be great friends. We seek to offer acceptance and to provide an environment where people can feel safe. With that backdrop, I’m hoping that the reasons that we stay open over this period are starting to become self-evident.
Life is meant to be good, and it is way harder to enjoy life on your own or with a body that is constantly hurt, sore, or broken. Here they are, the main reasons why we stay open over Christmas and Easter:
QKB Christmas 2019!
Christmas and Easter are a tough time of year for some people. For many people, their family is either not fantastic or not here. Having a chance to catch up with a bunch of people that like you and enjoy a bit of awesome food and a little training is a great thing.
Long-term success builds from consistent positive habits. If people want to enjoy consistently good health for an extended period, then they need to create positive habits. Training consistently is one of the habits that can make a significant impact on people’s long-term physical and mental health, if we shut the gym over Christmas/Easter, we risk handicapping people who are just developing these habits at a time when the habit might benefit them the most.
We keep the gym open so that people can easily come in, spend half and hour or so, and maintain some common structures in their life as they enjoy some much needed time off from work or study at the end of the year. I really like the people that come and train with us every week. This is my community too, so the opportunity to hang out with our members while they are relaxed and have the time to 'shoot the breeze' is a great luxury for me. I also really love nice food, and it’s a great opportunity to have some great food with some people that I like. This year, Easter is going to include some Blackstar Coffee, some delicious homemade food, and some wonderful fruit from our local fruit shop on Stanley Rd. I’m a little excited…
Ultimately, the reason that we stay open, is because we think that these seven to ten days over Christmas/Easter are too valuable to our community for us to close. Thanks for spending this time with us and reading the whole way through this article.
Piers
Register for our next Beginner Kettlebell Workshop below!
Saturday 14 March 2026, 10:00am - 12:00 midday
Saturday 11 April 2026, 10:00am - 12:00 midday
Saturday 23 May 2026, 10:00am - 12:00 midday
Add a trial month for just $60 (save $40 compared to after the workshop!)
2-hour kettlebell workshop covering the Kettlebell Swing, Goblet Clean, Rafiki Press, and Goblet Squat.
Access to a discounted 4 weeks of unlimited kettlebell group classes
You know those courses/workshops you attend and think ‘huh, yeah I guess I got 1-2 applicable tips’? Well, this isn’t that kind of workshop. We’ve been running it for over 5 years and still get feedback from physios, chiros, athletes, average joes, and everyone in between that it’s the best kettlebell workshop they’ve been to.
This is the perfect workshop for anyone looking to begin training or further their knowledge when it comes to strength and movement. Each workshop is different as we work with the group to establish your individual needs and where your current level of strength is. You’ll learn the basic foundational movements but you’ll also take away a heap of tips and tricks to apply to barbell ad bodyweight training as well. For more information about how we train, you can read more here.
QLD Kettlebells Brisbane is a gym where quality over quantity always wins. Our members have a similar goal; to be able to move well and be strong for a long time. This is why our group kettlebell classes are designed with life in mind. From kids to work and study and everything in between, our training programs are created so that you leave each class feeling better than when you walked in.
Event located at Queensland Kettlebells, Didsbury St, East Brisbane. The venue is at the back of the shed complex on the right.
Please note, we will happily reschedule your workshop if unexpected circumstances arise, and you provide us with as much notice as possible.
Failure to advise us of your non attendance will result in forfeiture of your workshop fee.