14 Goodgym Greats Gathered to help out the Ideas hub

A great turn out for a cold and frosty evening saw another task that did not quite go to plan.

The plan for this week was to lay a floor at the ideas hub so I met with one of our members John who is a carpenter and we discussed the way forward on this project. most of the way through 3 other carpenters turned up to help, and the decision was take to do the tricky cutting section whilst they were there so we could build onto a stable base.

Once the team arrived we changed from our usual warm up and moved the tables and chairs first so that the guys could begin. we then brought across the damp proof and underlay and went for a warm up so that they could get started.

Warm up in a winter wonder land? We decided to check out the Christmas lights that had been turned on the previous weekend so ran round and up the high street, to the bus station and back so we could get our now traditional subway selfie.

Back to base When we arrived back at the hub we found the quartet of carpenters deep into the preparation phase so we recruited volunteers for the painting that was also in the menu in the kitchen area. As we couldn't lay any flooring yet, we decided to put down some planks! front, side and backward planks were dispatched by the team with some excellent technique shown by (some of) the team.

We then went through a stretch masterclass and discussed common running issues and how to relieve them. After this the real learning began as Little Stars Circus gave us a demonstration of Aerial yoga! The team quickly displayed their skills and showed that runners can ave grace and poise! Having said that I think turning them into a hammock and having a brief snooze seemed to appeal the most to some of us!

And when it became apparent we would not be able to get stuck into the task just yet we opted to do our run session first and headed out into the cold once again. we left the painters at work and took off for a loop around lower anchor street with the speedier guys heading up to Writtle road and chasing us back.

We returned to the hub and as the painting was compete, and some runners called it a day and a few joined the painting group for their run through the park to the underpass and back.

Massive thanks to the crew who added a few more KM's to this weeks session, to John who did us proud in difficult circumstances and to the painting crew who did a great job. Also thanks to www.littlestarscircus.co.uk for their excellent demo!

Next week we are (probably) back at Hylands school farm so come join us!

https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/fitness-adventures-in-chelmsford

12 Goodgym "Guys" helped build a bonfire for a fireworks party at Interact

Welcome and Warm up! We really needed a warm up tonight so made it short and sweet after our meet and greet inside the Hub. A particularly warm welcome to Deb who was visiting from Goodgym Bristol. After our short and active warm up we set off down the river to Moulsham mill and the Interact Charity garden.

An Introduction before we Interact We had a brief introduction to Interact and their works from Susie before she outlined the task and we set to work.

Bonfire Building, Kind of. After placing some fence panels and pallets on the bonfire we moved lots of wood closer to the fire so it could be added later. Then after a large pile had been build we moved it all a bit further away again!

Who Drew the short straw? We also moved some straw away from the site as this was an obvious fire hazard!

We(ed) cleared more of the area too! The team were not done, but cleared a large area of weeds from close to the fire too. these will also be burnt on Friday.

Tea, Coffee and a scenic route. We were then given a warm drink before we set off on a slightly extended run home. we chatted whilst we stretched and a reminder the Goodgym Social will be on the 18th November at the riverside inn.

It was great to see such a big turn out despite the cold, we will have some indoor tasks soon, but next week we are at Our Lady Immaculate school for more digging and other tasks in their peace garden, where the school children can have a few moments of quiet. Sign up Here

see you next week!

12 runners went picking litter and getting fitter

Another warm (ish) Wednesday evening saw 12 runners meet at the ideas hub for another fun session. We welcomed newbie Charlotte and Amy managed to catch us on the run and join in for her first Goodgym session too.

Tonight's task was to pick litter from alongside the river all the way up to the Chelmer village underpass. After our warm up we set off and ran up to the wooden bridge. We had a 10 minute blast round the three bridges and cleared all the rubbish from around this area in no time.

We continued with clearing round the records office and up to the hump back bridge and all the way to the play ground. Best finds included a bin lid and two separate finds of half a scooter! Here we stopped for a short relay to make sure everyone was fully awake with the light beginning to fade. The relay was close and produced an epic finish!

One more short litter picking section and we set off for home stopping at the wooden bridge for one more relay blast. This saw the teams spread out a little more and Caroline brought her team home for the win, Leaving me trailing in her wake. Our twitter followers will already know of this victory!

A sociable jog back and a stretch completed this session and we are raring to go for next week. I am currently waiting for confirmation from 3 projects but we are either going back to school, to church or on a mission for someone who needs our help. I will update when possible, but sign up anyway!

See you next week for more Goodgym fitness fun, where we will see the return of exercise of the week!