A last minute change of task yesterday meant that rather than running to help open up a community garden which has been closed for years, we were down at Battersea Park's beautiful Thrive therapy garden. This amazing space is used to promote therapeutic horticultural skills to bring about positive changes in the lives of people living with disabilities or ill health, or those who are isolated, disadvantaged or vulnerable. At GoodGym we truly believe in the power of getting active outside so it was the perfect fit for us!

We started off the night by welcoming some new faces to our group - so great to have you along for your first session Ben, Mike and Helen. Give them a big cheer, GoodGym!

Thankfully it was a lovely warm night compared to last week's washout, so we did a brief warm up to get those muscles firing. Before we set off on our 2km run to the park, we also went round the group to find out what everyday item (aside from our phone) we couldn't live without. Coffee and delicious things to eat came very high up, as did our watches, beds and our trusty kettle!

We made our way into the park, trying not to notice all the picnics and cool drinks at the cafe, and headed into the therapy garden where we had a list of jobs waiting for us. There were plenty of tasks to choose from, from watering, litter picking, weeding and leaf raking. Everybody cracked on with their chosen task, and somehow it was Paul who ended up on the wrong end of the hose again - or perhaps given the warm weather the cooling off was welcome?

At the end of 40 minutes we had got loads done, including collecting a huge ton bag full of leaves and making sure all the plants (and some humans) got a good watering. It was a calm, regenerative place to spend the evening and easy to see what a great resource the garden is for local people. We'll be back across the park at the herb garden in a few weeks, so get those green fingers ready for more Thrive fun!

It was almost time to run back, but not before an intense plank challenge. For four minutes without a break we held various plank positions, working all those ab muscles. If that wasn't enough we finished off with a core triathlon before heading back to base for stretches. Great work everybody.

Next week we will be back at the Rose community centre to finish off a huge painting job. There are plenty of other sessions to get involved with too, from supporting junior parkrun to helping deliver food for vulnerable people.

As always, if you have any questions about any sessions or events coming up don't hesitate to let me know, and if you haven't joined already we have a busy whatsapp group full of all the GG and social news. Happy GoodGyming everybody!

We kicked off yesterday's group run with some good news, which is always nice! There was a big round of applause for Paul, who, by completing a whopping 17 good deeds last month left him at number 7 on the GoodGym wide leaderboard. Amazing! If you're going to buy a lottery ticket anytime soon then make sure you take Annabel as the luck is with her - great news that she has got a place in next year's London Marathon on her first ballot attempt! We're with you every step of the way.

Given the huge amount of sport being played at the moment what with the Euros and Wimbledon going on at the same time, we did our warm up and then took it in turns to name a sports venue - the more obscure the better! Options ranged from the classics such as Lords to The R. Premadasa Stadium in Sri Lanka - so safe to say we had quite a range!

We set off for our run down to Doddington Roof Garden for our monthly session there, meeting with Jason who was already getting the lowdown on what needed to be done from Malissa. The jobs were watering, cutting back ivy and hanging mirrors, building a bug habitat and tearing up cardboard to lay as a base in the raised beds.

We divided up in to teams and quickly got to work. We were just working out how to hang the mirrors to make a reflective wall when the whole garden was filled with gales of laughter from the hose area - I'm not sure what happened but there were quite a few damp red tshirts and maybe even one or two guilty expressions?!

Jobs done, a few of the group headed for the pub to secure the tables for the quiz, while others ran over to a green space to do a floor based strength and stability session. It may not have been quite the ideal spot as we were treated to enthusiastic encouragement from a nearby dog, but Chris took the positives, noting how good the wildlife diversity was on the ground there, and a bet between Leanne and Paul saw Leanne earning herself a pint!

Great job everybody! Next week we're back to the Doddington estate to move a whole load of donated wood to a community centre. Hope to see you there! happing GGing everybody.

We had a special new task location to get to last night, so after meeting in the bright sunshine we wasted no time getting on with our warm up. After getting our muscles ready for the run ahead, we went round the group and gave our predictions for the winner of the upcoming Euros. Some of us had a vested interest, having pulled countries like Slovakia and Slovenia in their own sweepstakes, but as a group our odds are on England, France, Spain and Germany. Let's see if we are right!

We took a lovely (mostly downhill!) run before getting to Battersea Park, which was full of people enjoying the beautiful weather with picnics, drinks and some excellent dogs on display.

We soon arrived at the Herb Garden in Battersea Park to meet Richard, lead gardener. This magical space is one of four Thrive gardens in the park, each of which operate community outreach programs. They offer therapeutic gardening support to hundreds of people in and around London who may have a health, social or educational need. As soon as you step into this space you can feel the calming effect it can have on well being. We were surrounded by plants all of which had health benefits, including specific beds for women and men's health, fruit and vegetables which support holistic well being, and is real hidden gem.

The ethos behind the whole garden is an approach called social and therapeutic horticulture (STH), where trained horticultural therapists work with plants and people to improve individuals' physical and psychological health, communication and thinking skills.

After a tour round the garden we each chose the job we'd like to do, including weeding, pulling up roots, watering and digging. The time passed quickly, and before we knew it the hour had come to down tools and reluctantly say our goodbyes to Richard and the beautiful garden.

The night wasn't quite over, however, as we still had time to squeeze in a core blast, featuring planks, twists, the lovely sounding dead bugs, and side planks.

There is a lot going on in the coming few days, and I'd love to see you for some more rewarding and impactful sessions! On Saturday we are doing an optional parkrun in Clapham, before coffee and cake and a short session in the GoodGym garden. Come for whatever part of it you'd like!

On Sunday we could really do with some help moving furniture at a community hub so they can get the room painted and make it welcoming space for users. This will be a nice quick but much appreciated mission on Sunday lunchtime.

Next week we have been asked by a charity in Tooting which supports adults with learning difficulties to come and do a bit of cutting back in their therapy garden. Currently it's just me on my own and I'd love some mates there too! Maybe even a quick social afterwards if the weather is good?!

There truly is something for everybody coming up, be great to make the most of summer and really make a difference too!

What a happy place Wandsworth is on a Monday night! With blue skies above us, twenty GGers met to do some good at our regular visit to Doddington community garden, and were delighted to welcome Jordan, Chelsey and James to their first session. Give them a massive cheer!

After our warm up, we went round the group to find out the last film or TV program everybody had watched, and discovered we had some eclectic tastes, ranging from Casualty to Saltburn! It was just a short run down to the garden, so we wasted no time in setting off.

As soon as we arrived Malissa, the lead volunteer, got us started on a number of jobs. This space, which was once a disused carpark, has truly been transformed into a flourishing garden which takes a lot of work to keep it going. Tasks ranged from tying up the raspberry canes and removing bindweed, watering, moving bricks and even creating a brand new raised bed which will soon be planted with lots of vegetables.

Our efforts didn't go unnoticed. The garden is used by people living in the high rises around the estate, and one neighbour sent Malissa a picture of us from her window saying that she had spotted us working hard! Have a look at the photos to check it out.

There was just time for some really lovely words from Jordan and a competitive fitness session which saw the group racing round the square. There was some very rapid running and great form on the holds. Well done everybody!

It was the first Monday of the month which meant our pub quiz and social. Two teams put up some strong performances, emerging in third and fourth place. Don't forget, everybody always welcome, the more the merrier (and the more specialist subjects covered, the better).

We have lots of fun sessions coming up, starting with marshaling at the WLQP walk this Saturday where you'll be rewarded for your efforts with a drink, lunch and entertainment! There is a nice task coming up to help tame a small community garden in Wandsworth Town on the 15th, and if you'd like to join us for parkrun (running or volunteering) at Clapham on the 22nd, followed by a coffee and a quick water of our GG garden, then sign up here. Don't forget we also have our weekly session to help deliver Sunday lunch for vulnerable people. If you'd like to join our whatsapp group where a lot of the social side of things is mentioned, just send me a message.

Hope to see you at the next opportunity to get active and do good very soon!

Another beautiful early summer's evening, another Monday task in a special community space! Tonight 12 of us met up to run to Christchurch school where we had a big job to tackle the overgrown brambles that are threatening to take over the pupils' secret garden.

We enjoyed a downhill run to the school, where, after retrieving the keys, we let ourselves in to the space. It's a special area which is well hidden, and has been an amazing resource for the primary school children who have learned about the environment, how to grow and then cook and eat the fruit and veg they grow.

Unfortunately the plants have made a bid to take over, so we quickly donned gloves, selected our tools of choice, and waged war. The massive bramble was carefully clipped and bagged, the sticky weeds was shown no mercy, and the weeds around the site were plucked and composted.

After a good stint we headed over to the park nearby for some sprinting games. Despite some very sketchy descriptions of the drills from me, we tested our reactions and turn of speed with some impressive results! After a coin toss based chasing game, we moved on to chase the hare, where Sophie showed some brilliant form as the hare and Dylan and the rest of the group displayed steely determination to chase her down! All that was left was a brief core challenge and run back to base.

Great effort and results tonight, well done everybody. Next week Step will be leading a community mission instead of our usual group run. You can choose to meet her at the BAC as usual to run to our task at the GoodGym garden, or meet the group directly at the task. the choice is yours, but you can sign up and find all the details here] (https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/planting-and-weeding).