Tonight we truly Mondayed the Monday out of Monday. It all began, as all good Monday evenings do, at the Battersea Arts Centre to say hello to faces familiar and spanking new ones too. Welcome to the lovely new running legends that are Amy, Emma and Oli.

It had been a bumper week for racers – must’ve been the sun – and we said a huge well done to Sarah and Matthew who both ran, and to Joanna who nailed her very first park run. You guys! Ben not only smashed the Brighton marathon this weekend but also tops our distance leader board with Berit and Sophie chasing not far behind. It’s always good to give as well as receive so well done to Matthew for doing both with cheers.

Thanks Vicki for our CoRUNdrum even from sunny Australia (well done on your park run in Melbourne!). Where in London are there not one but two statues of Mahatma Gandhi? We were stumped. So the best thing to do was to set off for our task at the Bridge Church and community centre. They had 500 – FIVE HUNDRED – leaflets for their upcoming Easter festival that they needed dispersing throughout Battersea, and who did they call? GoodGym Wandsworth of course. We divided ourselves into groups of four, and tackled different areas of the estates around the centre. We were done in record time – some teams even climbing 20 storeys, from which, says Jack, there was a pretty beautiful view. There was even a spot of ‘hide from the trainer’ going on from naughty group Sarah, Dave, Jessie and Sarah – which would have been successful if Sarah was not hiding behind a see through bike shed in neon orange. You scamps!

We caught our breath and then set off for the beautiful Battersea Park for what was set to be one muthableeper of a fitness session. Following some requests, we were going to give the infamous Bleep Test a go. Used by the military and other badass organisations to test the toughest of the tough’s fitness levels, the test uses a series of beeps which grow closer and closer together. The idea is to get to the 20m line before the beep goes. Man, was it tough. Everyone did incredibly well, and, as Luke points out, the Police ask you reach level 6 to pass their test – you are all fit enough to join the boys (and girls) in blue. Ello ello ello! Special shout outs go to Sophie and Rachel as last ladies sprinting, and to Roshan and Dan for getting to an amazing level TWELVE. Seriously impressive, Wandsworth.

It would have been a shame to waste the last rays of the setting sun, so after a vote we chose a bit of core work over hill sprints, and finished the night with an abs blast. We reached peak excitement when a little dog decided we looked like a lot of fun and ran over to say hello. I know these words appear a little too regularly in our run reports but…GoodGym mascot? Sadly we couldn’t quite fit him in our rucksack.

The speedy group set off ahead of the sexy group, and doubled back on themselves half way back, so we all finished up back at the BAC around the same time. For the first week ever nobody cracked the CoRUNdrum – it was Tavistock Square, obvs.

Next week we DO have an Easter run, and we’ll be taking the train part of the way, before having a little Easter social to compare the size of the eggs the Easter Runny has brought us. Sign up here, kids:

https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/digging-a-trench-at-our-local-primary-school

It was the first run of Summer last night for GG Wandsworth, and we sure made the most of it. Not only that, but we are now set to become the stars of the silver screen that we all knew we were destined to become, as we had guests Ben and Holly there to film us throughout the evening. Action!

We had some new athletes to welcome to our merry band tonight- hello Jamie, Holly, Baz and James! Alos, welcome to your first Wandsworth run, [Alex] (https://www.goodgym.org/runners/alex-brown-accbd6d9-5534-4f50-85ad-7dab12ff159c] - give them all a cheer, why don’t you, they’re pretty awesome.

Well done to Jamie and Matthew for doing park runs, you superstars. If you haven’t done a park run yet, then you need to get on that. They are weekly 5k timed runs across London which are free, sociable and brilliant for charting your inevitable progress. The closest ones to us in Wandsworth are Tooting, Fulham Palace (although that is cancelled this week), Brockwell, Wimbledon, Richmond….you have so many to choose from. Why not try a little bit of park run tourism?

HEROES this week. Ooh, you are an amazing lot. Hat tip to Matthew for both giving and receiving the most cheers along with Jack. Running machine Sarah clocked up most miles as she continues to smash her marathon training, while David topped the table for good deeds done.

It was still light when we set off, which we all agreed was pretty marvellous. All the better for the camera to catch our moves on the tarmac – although camera man Ben did show us up by running pretty easily not only with his equipment but in jeans. Someone get that man a red tshirt, quick. With almost two miles under our belt we arrive at Balham Baptist Church where we were met by Pastor Jim, ready with a van to load up with junk from the basement. We pulled our favourite GG Wandsworth move, and formed a HUMAN CHAIN through the community hall from basement to van and off we went. Last time we did this we uncovered some incredible stuff. This time we did not find any mannequins or kitchen sinks, but a few pairs of oars and a radiator did make their way along the chain.

Van loaded, we waved goodbye to Jim with promises that we’ll be back to finish the job soon, and weaved our way to Clapham Common, trying to make friends with the other running groups on their evening run. We got some waves back, but have come to conclusion that GG is the most friendly bunch of runners you’d hope to meet. Keep spreading that GG word! Parking ourselves on the common in the dying light of day, we set about our fitness session. The group split itself into five lots of seven people, each doing either a squat hold, plank, lunges or mountain climbers in the time it took for one group to run across the common and back. It was tough going but as usual team Wandsworth rinsed those drills. Great job everyone.

We divided into two teams to run the last short stretch back to the BAC – speedy and sexy. Of course, we’re all simultaneously both of those things, but for the purposes of the run, we had to choose just one. Team speedy pipped it to the post on this occasion – possibly because team sexy were taken on a slightly longer route. Soz. Stretching it out, there were quite a few of you who solved this week’s CoRUNdrum (courtesy of lovely Vicki) knowing that Europe’s largest Chicken Cottage is indeed in Tooting – but the crown falls to Roshan who cracked it first. If you’ve got a good old head scratcher that you want to put to the group as our weekly CoRUNdrum, just come and let me know!

Next week we’ve (fingers crossed) got a great new project. We’re helping local group Food For All distribute free food to those in Wandsworth who need it most. Sign up here:

https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/distributing-food-to-the-isolated

ps as soon as I receive our cinematic debut, I’ll send it over. Maybe we should have a red carpet premiere at the BAC?

Fourteen FANTASTIC @GGSheff runners ran 4KM and carried countless dusty tables and chairs up three flights of ancient stairs to assist in bringing the Abbeydale Picture House back to it's former glory for the benefit of the local community.

After running 2KM to the venue we met NOTORIOUS NICK and SENSATIONAL STEVE who gave us an excellent explanation of the work that CADS are doing to bring the Abbeydale Picture House back into use with community events, art exhibitions, flea markets, studio space and more!

Following forty minutes of carrying tables and chairs up the creaking stairs we took to CENTER STAGE for the fitness performance of our lives! To a roaring audience of zero we;

*SQUATTED *LUNGED *180'D *BURPED *CLIMBED MOUNTAINS *DUCK WALKED *PRESSED UP *TRI-DIPPED - TO SOME DUBIOUS BACKING SOUNDS

Nothing wrong with a bit of squeaky furniture and some heavy breathing!

Finally we relayed our way around the sensational stalls and exited stage rear for some refreshments, before heading back to base on an alternative route and took in the local 50M athletics track to get some final sprints in before we stretched off.

With a lot more lifting and shifting still to be done I am sure we will return again for a repeat performance! Take a look at the before and after photos to see what an impact we can have in such a small apace of time!

GREAT EFFORT @GGSheff!

Next week we are off to a new task location with THE BEST NIGHT TIME CITY VIEWS OF THE STEEL CITY to help FRIENDS OF SHEAF VALLEY PARK

You can sign up to next weeks run with FOSVP here

14 FANTASTIC Good Gym Sheffield Runners ran 8km to Sharrow Community Forum

After a quick group photo, cementing our terrific trainer Stephen's work with the group since it started, we headed off to Sharrow Community Forum (SCF) to get our hands dirty (well white).

Caretaker Callum kindly showed us where our tools & dust sheet/s (jury's out) were and provided us with juice to quench our thirsts after a good 40mins of hard graft painting the outside walls of the Forum in readiness for it to be the canvas for some local children to express themselves through Graffiti Art. With some more walls to cover I am sure we will be back and look forward to seeing the artwork complete at a later date.

"Is this a dust sheet or an ankle support?" Good Gym Kim.

On finishing the whitewash, we left brushes in the bucket and headed for home on an extended loop to get some extra KM's in! Once back at base we got some great sprint training with some Meet & Retreat paired relays and some longer looped relays to really get the blood pumping!

We finished off with some upper body work including press up's and tricep dips, had a quick challenge with trying out some piston squats (harder than they look) and had a good stretch off.

Following the session we headed round the corner to the Sheaf for a quick shandy bass to see Sensational Steve off and thank him for his work since the groups inception before he headed for a Fanoush Feast and relaxing train to Edinburgh with a glass of Merlot all in the same night - what a hero!

Next Mon we are heading back to the Abbeydale Picture House - a beautiful old building which needs a LOT of work to bring it back to it's old glory days. We will be meeting Steve Rimmer (GG Sheffield runner & CADS head honcho!) at the venue and helping to bring the House back to order.

AN INSIDE TASK NOT ONE TO BE MISSED - SIGN UP HERE

Last night GoodGym Wandsworth started off the week with a record number of runners, a whole group of lovely new faces, some ace dance moves, a squat competition in the rain and lots and lots of delicious CAKE.

If Carlsberg did Monday nights….

It all began as usual at the BAC, where we started off snug and dry. Little did we know what was about to happen, but more on that later. We had some excellent new runners to say hello to – welcome to the team Judith, Hanna, Lizzie, Samantha, Sean and Ella. Thumbs up too to Deepak who joined us from Southwark for the evening, way to go! It was red laces for Alicia and Lizzie for being excellent GG recruiters.

Then we had some big ol’ well dones. Deep breath! Here goes: congrats to Sarah and Matthew for a great Mile End park run, to Tom for nice even park run pacing, to Sean for doing the Clapham Common Rabble games and still making it to a group run the next day, to Helen and Vicki for smashing the Winter 10k run on Sunday and joining us for a (not short) run last night, to Roshan for organising what sounds like the pub run to end all pub runs (more details coming soon!), to David Mathieson for dong the most good deeds, to Jack and Luke for running the greatest distance, to Matthew for supporting others by giving the most cheers, and to Sophie and Jack for getting the most cheers. What an amazing bunch of people you are!

After a quick CoRUNdrum – which is the largest borough by area? (Clue: it’s home to GG’s newest group) we set off…straight into heavy rain that pelted us without stop for the rest of the night. David led us down to the lovely Wendelsworth Community Gardens (with Will taking the corners) where we said hello to our GG tree, and then set about moving heavy paving slabs, bagging up wood chippings, and taking down flyers. It was a supertough work out for the slab-shifters who managed to transport the whole lot on a series of trolleys – even fashioning a ramp to make it easier (way to go Kylee). Team Flyer flew from building to building letting nothing get in their way, while in the wood chipping corner Roshan sung beautifully to us while Jim showed off his legendary dance moves.

It was too wet and too cold for a full-on fitness session, but we managed a mini one. Maximising on time and space we did a short stint of HIT, busting out power squats, power lunges and high knees. We even managed to fit in a squat hold competition which saw Tom, Jordan, and Deepak battle it out – with Deepak emerging as the supreme squatter. Good work everyone!

It was a soggy old run back to the BAC, but totally worth it for the surprise treats that were waiting for us when we got back. A massive thank you to Sophie, Vicki and Jack for spoiling us – Sophie with extraordinary banoffee pie (so good it saw somebody who shall remain nameless licking the dish), Vicki for a delicious and well-named Victoria sponge (much like the girl herself) and to Jack for bringing us back some amazing sweet pastries and nibbles all the way from sunny Malaysia. Such sugary goodness!

Well done everybody for powering through the rain. Wandsworth is a better place because of you all. For more (less damp) GG fun, sign up for next week’s run here:

https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/doing-good-and-getting-fit

It was a proper whopper last night in Wandsworth! We had a very healthy group of 32 runners meet to run just under 6k to Paul’s Cancer Support Centre. This charity is a really important resource for local people living with cancer – it offers information, complementary therapies, groups and classes. They needed us to paint the office and give the rest of the place a really thorough clean, and we were only too happy to help!

First though, we met at the BAC to say our hellos. There was a lovely bunch of new faces to get to know this week. Welcome Hiliwona, Karis, Killian, Steph, Stu and Alice! And a big hello to ace Lambether Jitendra. Great to have Alex and Eva at their first Wandsworth group runs too.

Sarah, Sophie and Matthew all got a big pat on the back for racing (and missioning) this weekend. Mile End park run pacing next week, people! You can get happy by signing up here: https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/mile-end-parkrun-pacing. We also have fun drinks to look forward to for the whole of the GG crew on Thursday, get even happier by signing up here: https://www.goodgym.org/parties/spreading-our-wings-goodgym-2017. It’s been a rough old few days in the world, and there’s a never a better time to show a little love. So check out the website for local missions this weekend. London needs you!

Last week we thought the CoRUNdrum couldn’t be solved any quicker, but this week Will said he cracked it before we had even left. However, it was Dave who pounced quicker, cleverly knowing that it was William Wilberforce who was a member of the Clapham Sect who led the parliamentary campaign against the slave trade. Joint prize goes to Dave and Will I think – but gets taken away again because they heckled their way through the fitness session later on that evening ;)

With a very smiley Sally backmarking for us, we set off to the charity to be met by Marisca who took us through our tasks. With so many of us, we got all our jobs done super quickly – Hiliwona in charge of hoovering, Jordan and Sally making the painting a work of art, and the rest of us wiping down walls, dusting, cleaning cupboards and generally giving the place a right good tidy.

Jobs done, we set off for Battersea Park where we worked on three major muscle groups; arms, legs and abs. These sort of exercises are perfect for strengthening our bodies which stabilises us when we’re running to give us a more efficient, and essentially faster, running style. First we did a round of squat holds, mountain climbers and steps ups – each for a minute at a time. After one minute’s rest we moved on to arms. Tricep dips, narrow and wide arm press ups, each for one minute. A short rest and we smashed out the abs, with a minute each of crunches, bicycles and planks. And then we repeated the whole lot. Who’s regretting getting GG Wandsworth a whistle for Christmas now then?

We split into three groups for the run home (discussing our big plans for Strava art on the way), and we had worked so hard that we didn’t even finish with a hill sprint. Don’t worry, there’s always next week. Speaking of which, you can sign up here: https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/do-good-get-fitter. Go on, you know you want to! Well done on a cracking week GoodGymers, you’re making Wandsworth a nicer place to live. And getting abs of steel in the process – bargain!

10 Goodgym heroes ventured out on a cold and windy Yorkshire evening to move some fertilizer at Heeley City Farm. Running 5K in total.

Our task was very straight forward and Julie from the farm did a great job in providing us the right tools for the job. Following a brief at the hotel, we gently ran to the task and had a nice chat along the way. The group stayed together as the roads heading South are very busy indeed

Don't be shy. Dig in

Once we had arrived at the farm and dealt out the tools we proceeded to fill a trailer with the mulch kindly donated by the animals. Despite Tim wearing his brand new running shoes, he wasted no time in conquering the mountain in front of him. This task was especially important as the area where the manure is stored is getting really full. The trailer full we moved is to be spread on a remote garden area this week.

Cardio, strength, power

We then moved on to our fitness segment. We started with some hill repeats at an easy pace to wake the muscles up. Once properly warmed up we introduced some speed , working for 30 seconds. Rest. 1 minute. Rest. We then moved on to strength and conditioning followed by explosive power exercises.

Back to base

Once we were suitably worked we took a 10 minute cool down/aerobic run back to GoodGym Sheffield HQ where we stretched and discussed forthcoming tasks.

Next week we are at Sharrow School to do some painting - please wear clothes that you don't mind getting paint on. Sign up here

On Saturday we are holding an extra session where we will be digging an allotment. Everyone is welcome. More info here

GoodGym Sheffield is funded by Age Better in Sheffield in association with South Yorkshire Housing Association and the Big Lottery fund. Find out about the project here and sign up to visit an older person with GoodGym and end social isolation in Sheffield here