🥶 20 'dedicated GoodGymmers braved chilly temperatures for this week's group run. After naming our favourite drinks (single malt whisky anyone 🥃 Or maybe just the classic water 🥤), we did a much-needed warm up and set off 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

🌳We were back at West Bank Park tonight, tackling the infamous mud mountain and spreading bark-chip onto the footpaths. It was quite the workout, so much so that we kept going and used it as an alternative upper body workout for our fitness session 💪

⛏️We split into teams with a variety of tools distributed between them. We used our best raking, shovelling and mattock-ing skills to spread said bark-chip from the piles it had been "dumped" in across the path. There was some great teamwork displayed and some impressive wheelbarrow relaying 🛒

🌱 Meanwhile, another team were tackling the mud mountain, including the rogue compost waste that had snuck on there and was creating quite the unpleasant odour (to say the least) 😷🐁

⏳As the time went on, the gaps between bark-chip mounds reduced and the chip was spread more evenly across the path. With a few minutes to go, there was a brilliant team effort to fill the last gap and smooth everything over. Great work everyone👌

👏After that effort, it was time to head back to base for some cool-down stretches and a trip to the pub 🍻

👍Thanks everyone for a cracking effort, see you again soon 🙌

❄️ 22 excellent GoodGymmers met on a pretty chilly Monday evening for our weekly group run. After celebrating the many good deeds this week and congratulating Tristan on his epic run this weekend, we conducted an important bit of research into the favourite cakes of GoodGym York. Carrot cake, chocolate cake and battenburg all featured highly, though turnip cake was also there 🍰

🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️ After a much-needed warm up, we jogged to Holgate Community Orchard where we were greeted with many tools and many more stubborn bramble roots. Never daunted by a stubborn root (or a random bit of carpet uncovered amongst the soil), everyone set to work and amassed a good pile of roots by the end 🌱

🐝 The area is in the process of being transformed from neglected bramble patch to a lovely bee-friendly community space, including an apiary. There are grand plans afoot and we've got at least two more sessions booked in to help them come to fruition 🍎

🏞️ After quite the bramble root workout, we then headed to a nearby hill for some hill reps. After some discussion about the appropriate turnaround point and the best way to avoid traffic en route, people did some incredibly impressive hill work of up to 5 reps (maybe even 6 if you're called Max!?) of increasing and then decreasing intensity 💪

🙌 A jog back to CVS, some cool down stretches and then a trip to the pub was a good way to round off our Monday evening 🍻

🥳 Thank you for coming everyone and don't forget, there are lots more ways to get fit and do good this week 👌

🦸‍♂️🦸‍♀️20 excellent GoodGymmers gathered on a mild Monday evening in November. We welcomed Gemma for her first GoodGym run and celebrated both Govers who reached impressive milestones on the same night. It was Rich's 100th good deed and Nikki's 200th. Go go go Govers! We also celebrated some epic running achievements this week, including the Dalby Dash, the Yorkshire 3 Peaks and Steve's longest run ever 💪

🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️After a discussion of our favourite races/runs (Race the Train and Kielder were the most popular!), we warmed up and headed to Park Grove Primary School. Vicky met us there and gave us our instructions.

🌿 We split into 3 groups - skip, willow and pond - and quickly got to work. The skip group were responsible for "lobbing" various items into said skip. Meanwhile, the willow group were "lopping" said willow and transporting it to the willow pile. The pond team (mostly Dom) were on frog-watch and did some cracking weeding alongside that. Each group did a brilliant job and got loads done 🐸

🐇🐢Once we'd finished, there was time for some fitness, "Hare and Tortoise"-style, which may have got a tad competitive. And then it was time to head back to CVS and on to the pub and Barbara's brownies 🍫

🙌 Thank you everyone, excellent work, and don't forget there are lots of opportunities to get involved this week 🥳

A good crowd of keen GoodGymers met at the usual spot to celebrate the fact that it’s Monday again!

Today was the first experience of GoodGym for Ros. Give a big Cheer people!

David celebrated his 50th good deed in style. Thanks to my error he got to wear the red cape of 100 deeds instead of the black one. I’m sure that before a blink of an eye David will be celebrating his 100th good deed and will get to wear the black cape then.

As for the tasks we had to split up as we were visiting two locations.

Ed's group made the long journey over to Baile Hill, but rather than going there direct they decided to add even more metres to their journey by looping around the back of the city walls for a total of one whole mile.

Their task involved cutting down self seeded trees and smaller bushes to make the top or the hill less of a fire hazzard and to give less cover for some antisocial behaviour. Hazards to avoid included drug paraphernalia, dog poo and a very steep drop!

Paul made the most interesting discovery, a seemingly unopened liter bottle of vodka, but given how much vodka some of the group had drunk at the weekend no one was keen to crack it open.

Abi did a great job of a litter pick up and around the hill whilst Michael and Ed got in some extra hill reps by taking the branches that had been cut down back to the van. David, celebrating his 50th good deed despite what his cape said, braved the steepest slope to get to some of the more hard to reach trees.

After an hour the area looked a lot clearer and with tired legs they all returned to base a slightly shorter way.

Meanwhile Michal's team took the usual route along Tadcaster Road to get to Little Hob Moor, where Becky from the Council waited with the power scythe and a selection of other sharp edged tools ready for the vegetation cut back task.

Becky briefed Lee on the use of the sharp toothed power scythe. He was eager to try it and soon was cutting into the nettles.

The rest of us expertly wielded the selection of loppers, shears and scythe like tools to hack, chop and trim all the growth to one side of the path and around the tree, opening the space up for the next stage of the project - planting of woodland wildflowers and establishing a woodmeadow.

We had plenty of time today and managed to clear the whole section as requested, moved all the cuttings and branches to one side before helping Becky with taking the tools back to her car and heading back to York CVS.

With everyone back at the base, accompanied by the tunes coming out from the choir rehearsal at the CVS hall, we used the car park space for a 10 min fitness circuit including arm circles, mountain climbers, forward lunges, plank, squats on 1 leg, triceps dips, jumping jacks, sumo squats and sumo squats with 3 pulses and up on toes. What followed was a good legs stretch before heading back home, or the Ackhorne.