It takes a special sort of person to give up their bank holiday Monday to help out a local community association, but that's exactly what eight GoodGymers did yesterday! What a bunch of holiday heroes.

A few of us met at our regular spot at the BAC. It had been pretty drizzly but we were optimistic the rain was going to stop....any minute. We should have known better - it was an English bank holiday after all!

We ran down to the Doddington Estate where we were met by an enthusiastic bunch of local people who had already made a head start. It was a bit like beautiful chaos, with a huge store room of donations needing to be sorted and laid out for people in the community to help themselves.

It didn't take long for us to get stuck in. Outside the team was folding and categorising all the clothes and toys, whilst inside the store room there was a lot of shifting and carrying to be done.

Despite the increasingly heavy rain there were plenty of passers by who were delighted to find just the right things ready for them to take home. Before long the place looked a lot more organised, but there was just one last job to do - and it was a big one!

We were tasked with moving the huge cooking station complete with many panes of glass right across the estate to the community centre. Luckily it was on wheels - well, at least it was to begin with. There were lots of bumps and pavements to contend with, and a couple of the wheels fell victim to the terrain. Still, we managed to make it there in one piece and with all glass intact. Amazing job!

Next week we're back to normal timing and we're off to de-bramble a local school. See you there!

With bright blue skies and a nice big group of us, we were all set for our monthly trip down to Doddington roof garden last night. We kicked off the night with strides. This exercise is 20 or so seconds of running, growing incrementally faster, and are a great warm-up to help get the blood flowing to your legs and your heart rate elevated. Wee did four sets of these, with some of the group opting to increase the intensity by including a bit of hill - great effort!

We took a nice steady run down to the garden, which is a huge space run entirely by volunteers for the benefit of local people, so there was no time to lose! Malissa met us at the bottom of the stairs, giving us our first job of bringing up some heavy tiles for use in the garden. We then took a whistlestop tour round the space, with tasks being given out as we passed the relevant spot.

There was loads to do, but the main job was getting the raised beds built up with top soil and compost so that vegetables could be grown. There are big plans to increase the produce, which will include carrots, brassica, potatoes, tomatoes and so much more, all to feed the community.

The place was soon a hive of activity, sped along by the discovery of a lightening quick way to crack into compost bags. No more fiddling with trowels and keys trying to break into the sacks!

The beds were filled, cardboard laid, compost shifted, and we even learned about a new planting process called the Milwaukee method. Every time we come we learn more and our fingers get just that little greener!

There was just time to shift that infamous marble table a few inches before we waved goodbye and headed downstairs for a fitness session that focused on glutes. That's right, it was all about that bass last night! We did sets of exercises focused on the major muscle group, which will not only help our form when running but prevent injury. Mixing it up between time based drills and reps, we gave those glutes and good work out.

It was also the monthly quiz last night - well done to our elite quizzing team!

Next week we have an earlier task at lunchtime helping a community association to empty and restock a storage cupboard. Hope to see you there.

We also have a really impactful mission coming up on 11th May to create a therapy garden at a nearby hospital for patients in rehab.You can find all the details and sign up here] (https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/support-a-therapeutic-gardening-initiative-for-the-rehab-ward-courtyard-at-springfield-hospital).

Have a happy week, GoodGym!

There was a bit of a party vibe in Wandsworth tonight. What with recent birthdays past and more upcoming, Jordan bringing along loads of plants to get into the ground at the GoodGym garden, Kevin joining us for his first group run and a discussion about our favourite crisp flavours, there was definitely a feeling of celebration in the air!

After a warm up we headed off on the run to the garden. We have been working here for the past few months, gradually turning it from an overgrown and unused plot into a space which will hopefully produce lots of nice things for us to donate to the kids' program at the theatre.

After a couple of wins at our local pub quiz we had some funds to plough back into the garden, and we made the decision to buy some plants. So into the garden tonight went potatoes, courgettes and more seeds to join the rhubarb, tomatoes and fruit trees already in.

Everybody mucked in with the trench digging, watering and sowing and before long the jobs were done. There was just time to pop over to the square to knock out a tabata workout which featured plyometric movements, jumps and power lunges. Great work everybody. We were blown back to base by the growing wind and finished off the night with stretches.

Next week we have a special birthday social after the run, so let us know if you can make it for for 2 for 1 burgers and more fun! We also have a whatsapp group where a lot of the planning happens so if you haven't joined already and would like to then drop me a message and I'll send you a link.

If you're planning on heading to the marathon on Sunday GoodGym has a cheer squad that could always do with some extra energy! Next week we'll be at Paradise cooperative garden followed by our social. Hope to see you there!

Last night we found out that Wandsworth GGers love to bake, go to the gym, crochet, cook and eat - that's a lot of different hobbies! But one thing we all have in common is that we love getting active and helping out in our local community. So, after our usual warm up, last night we headed down to the Venue community centre to lend a hand at Waste Not Want Not.

This organisation aims to provide local people with food that would otherwise go to waste, but with their usual hub out of action for the meantime, it has moved to a local community centre. They're struggling with a lack of resources and people to help out, so Hadas, the organiser, asked us to come along to give some support.

We started off with getting rid of the food which couldn't be saved, including several loaves of fancy bread. Then we moved on to the other jobs which included recycling, composting and clearing. We then moved on to the kitchen. At first look it needed a lot of attention, but we were not to be put off. Snapping on latex gloves we got to work wiping down sides, putting away pots and pans and clearing surfaces. It didn't take long to be able to see a real difference.

Hadas needs some help getting the area ready for a baking session for the blind on Thursday, so if you can spare half an hour on Wednesday evening doing a little extra tidy up, it would be much appreciated. You can sign up and find the details here.

Job done, we had the luxury of an inside space complete with yoga mats for our fitness session. So we went through ten different body weight exercises focusing on the major muscle groups building strength and conditioning. Unfortunately, while we were having fun doing glute bridges, crunches and planks, it had started to tip it down outside. So, with hoods up and fuelled by parkrun chat we raced back to base.

This weekend if you fancy a bit of fresh air and to help out at Doddington community garden, there is a community mission at 11 am turning over veg beds. Hope to see you there!

Next week we're back at the GoodGym garden to get busy planting seeds and potatoes - come and see how it is developing and turning into a lovely, flourishing space!

Eleven GoodGymers, two tasks, 52 playing cards and one great Monday evening - that was last night in numbers!

It was great to see some familiar faces back (even if it's only briefly - we'll miss you Eva!) and to welcome new ones. Great to have you join us James, especially as you bring with you gardening expertise!

After some warm ups we went round the group revealing what star sign we were, and if we believed in what that was meant to say about us. There were some definite skeptics, a couple of believers, and the majority were unsure either way. With stars in our eyes we set off for our tasks for the evening.

The Omnibus theatre is a charitable organsation that aims to the arts to everybody. They receive no central government funding, so we're happy to come along and support them where we can. Last night we had the choice of washing down the many (many) windows, or working in the garden, a space we have custodianship of with the plan of growing crops to donate.

While most of the group opted for the garden and got cracking digging over the soil ahead of the mulch delivery we are getting from the council this week, Jordan, Eva, Beth and Sophie began preparing to clean the windows. Unfortunately a few issues beyond our control, including a sick DM, meant that we weren't overburdened with equipment. However, there was plenty of GG spirit to go around and some makeshift cleaning stuff meant that the windows were given a bit of love. Just don't mention what had made a home under one of the buckets in the courtyard!

Before too long the garden had been thoroughly dug over, the weeds removed, the fig tree admired, the future of the peas debated, and everything was looking much better. Great job everybody.

All that was left was our fitness session, which this week involved two teams competing for who could win the most cards. After several minutes of hard fought competition, the result couldn't have been tighter, in a nail-biting 17 v 18 finish! What an effort from everybody.

Next week I'll be away, so we'll be replacing the group run with a community mission at an Age UK centre, which will be lead by the brilliant Catherine. Feel free to run together as a group from the BAC as normal, or meet at the task directly. You can find all the details right here. Have a great week everybody!

I think there may have been some gremlins at play yesterday, as the session didn't go quite as expected right from the get go. However, we still managed to achieve what looked at first like an impossible challenge during the course of the night!

It all started off with a badly behaving website which didn't want us to be able to sign up for the task ahead, which was (meant) to be transporting bags and bags of compost up to Doddington roof garden. Nevertheless we persevered, and a group of 12 of us met ready to face a big upper body workout. As we did our evening's warm up we took turns in naming capital cities that ended in vowels. Oslo, Rome, Nairobi, Bogota and Quito all got a mention, but it became harder and harder to list them as we went round the group!

We took a speedy run down to the garden, arm muscles flexed, only to find....no compost. Despite the council having told Malissa it had been delivered, there was nothing to be found. It looked like our task and upper body workout was fading into the distance, but Malissa had another plan. This one involved much less soil, but a much (much) heavier weight.

The challenge was to shift an enormous workbench cupboard with the weightiest marble top from one side of the garden to the other so it could be used by the communal table and the prime sunny area it occupied currently could be used for growing plants.

And so it began. We overcame obstacles in the way, no lip to grip the top, two small pallets on wheels, not to mention the sheer weight of the thing. The first step was to transport the marble, so being super careful of fingers and toes, we perfected a tipping and edging technique that finally did the trick. All that was left was to move the cupboard itself, manouevre that into place, then pick up the marble before placing it back into position. It took the whole session to achieve this but achieve it we did, proving that impossible is nothing when it comes to GoodGym! Check out the video on X to watch the moment it all fell into place. We even managed to fit in a core blast in the nice warm meeting room below.

Next week we're back to Omnibus to spread mulch at or GG garden and wash the windows for this arts charity. There will be a lot less lifting involved, promise!