A big GoodGym Wandsworth welcome to Alice, who joined us for her first group run last night! 🎉 We hope you enjoyed your first session with us — although perhaps we should have warned you that it sometimes means shifting a truly ridiculous amount of mulch…

We started with a warm-up and a question about the quietest place on earth before heading out on our run down to Doddington. Once there, we were faced with a big challenge. The council had kindly donated a huge — absolutely massive — pile of mulch, but unfortunately it had been dumped in a spot that blocked access to the bins, a parking space and an entrance to the estate. So the priority was clear: move it, and as quickly as possible.

We grabbed whatever we could find that had a viable cavity — tubs, bags, boxes, buckets and anything else capable of holding mulch — and got shifting.

What followed was the ultimate full-body workout. No separate fitness session required! Legs were getting a workout carrying loads up the stairs, arms were doing the heavy lifting, and our cores were working overtime to keep everything stable as we hauled mulch up the stairs.

And we really did move mountains. By the end of the session we had transported at least half of the enormous pile. At times it felt like we weren't making much of a dent, but take a look at the before-and-after photos and you'll see just how much we achieved. 💪🌱

A massive well done to everyone who got stuck in. Next week is a bank holiday, so we'll be switching things up with a lunchtime session. Exactly what we're doing is still to be confirmed, so watch this space! 😉

What a challenge at Strand on the Green School last night!

We arrived to discover a huge task ahead of us: moving 3 tonnes of bark and 5 tonnes of sand to different locations around the school. We were definitely up for the challenge, but agreed that our usual fitness session probably wouldn’t be required afterwards!

We got straight to work. Maxime, Michelle, Alanna and Fran took on the particularly hard task of shifting heavy bags of sand up the stairs to the sandpit. Heavy bags + flights of stairs = amazing full body workout!

Meanwhile, the rest of the group were showing off some impressive muscle with some excellent farmers’ lifts moving buckets, and shovelling and barrowing sand to different areas of the playground and nursery while wearing a fetching policeman's hat👮

Somehow we managed it all in record time! Originally thinking we’d have to come back next week to finish the job, but the the whole lot was completed in a single session thanks to amazing teamwork from everyone.

Clare, the caretaker, was really pleased with the result given how long it would it have taken one person. Huge well done to everyone for taking on such a massive challenge and getting it done together. And thanks to Lucy for the run report title!

Last night saw GoodGym Wandsworth head out to a brand new task at York Gardens Children’s Centre in Battersea.

We kicked things off, as usual, with a warm up and a quiz question : how many “las” are there before Kylie sings “I can’t get you out of my head”? Three people knew the answer (32, if you're wondering!) — and with Kylie now firmly lodged in everyone’s heads, we set off towards York Road.

York Gardens Children’s Centre is an important local resource for families, offering a welcoming place for young children and their parents and carers to play, learn and get support. The centre provides activities and advice for families, alongside services such as health visiting and family support.

We were met by Toni, who explained that they were preparing for an open day and wanted the centre looking its absolute best. So we got stuck in. There was sweeping, weeding, clearing and generally attacking anything that looked untidy. It was hot, the ground was parched but everyone put in maximum effort.

The result was well worth it: a fantastic before-and-after transformation. The centre is now looking much smarter and ready to welcome the children, families and other users.

Then it was time for our fitness session. This week’s challenge was partner-based: work together for a minute, with the aim of increasing the number of exercises by one rep each time. It was hard work, requiring plenty of effort, encouragement and even some tactical play.

After that, we headed back to base for a well-earned stretch. Next week brings another brand-new task, this time at the Yvonne Carr Centre, where we’ll be getting stuck into more tidying and improving the local community space.

We’ll also be celebrating a special GoodGym milestone! Expect an impromptu pub quiz and half price off food at The Latchmere. Come and join us — the more the merrier!