Our task last night was a local nursery for under-fives, a fantastic facility that provides outdoor spaces to enhance the children's learning experience. There was plenty to do, and not much time to do it - so after a few stretches and a quiz question featuring the iconic golden arches (which Lorna nailed on her very first group run!) we set off for Balham.

A massive special welcome to Andreas and trivia master Lorna, who joined us for their first GoodGym experience last night, and a welcome back to Harriet. It was absolutely great to have you all with us, and we hope to see you for many more.

We divided and conquered to tackle all the jobs. One team repainted the benches in bright, vibrant colours to cheer up the welcome area, while another transformed the outdoor chalkboard to give the kids a fresh surface for their creations. We also cleared out the mud kitchen, sorted out the flower beds, cut back overgrown trees and bushes to reclaim the pathways, and took down the last of the summer bunting. The latter wasn't quite as straightforward as it first looked, taking the collective detangling skills of Robyn, Pritesh, Lorna and Beth to release the material. If you were watching at just the right moment you may have caught Beth speeding down the slide in a moment of post-bunting glory. And it was great to see Jason debut his brand new 100 tshirt!

Natasha, the head of the nursery, was thrilled with the transformation. She let us know that our evening of hard work saved the nursery loads of time and money, allowing them to focus resources directly on the children.

With the autumn nights drawing in we made a quick dash to Clapham Common for the fitness element of the night. We tackled a fitness blast specifically focusing on three different muscle groups. Everybody showed great form as we worked through arms, core and glutes before heading back to base for some thorough stretches.

Up next:this Wednesday we have a lovely evening mission over in Roehampton, helping to build raised beds for a fantastic local food-sharing initiative. For next Monday, I am just waiting to confirm the final details for our task—keep an eye on the website sign-up page. Great work everybody, see you at the next one!

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! 😉

With temperatures back in the runnable zone we gathered for our warm-up, and it was brilliant to see so many people choosing to kick off their week by making a positive impact in the community.

We headed over to Caius House, home to Battersea's Youth, Community and Children's Services. This youth club is a real community hub, supporting local families and young people through activities, advice and opportunities that help people thrive.

Our mission for the evening was to stuff as many envelopes as humanly possible. Inside each envelope was information about Battersea's Youth Summer Scheme, which offers local children and young people the chance to take part in fun, engaging activities over the school holidays. The program gives opportunities to learn new skills, stay active, make friends and enjoy experiences while supporting families during the long break.

We quickly developed a highly efficient production line sorting the letters, leaflets, envelopes and before long we were absolutely flying through the piles. There was some distinctly sketchy maths from me along the way, but one thing was clear: the team was emptying whole boxes at an impressive rate.

Fortunately, several people whose mathematical abilities far exceed mine did the proper calculations and worked out that we'd stuffed more than 3,800 letters by the end of the task. An incredible effort that will help spread the word to many families across the area.

Our reward? Fitness! We discovered a tiny but perfectly formed outdoor park and squeezed in a workout based around two levels of effort for every exercise. Think lunges followed by power lunges, planks graduating into plank shoulder taps. Everyone threw themselves into it with loads of energy. Thanks to everyone who came along and helped make such a tangible difference in just one evening.

Next week we're heading back to Doddington for our monthly task, followed by a well-earned pub quiz. All welcome! Hope to see you there!

The weather cheered up just in time for Goodgym Wandsworth to assemble! Brilliant to see so many friendly faces. We checked in on Eurovision plans and tested our knowledge of the most successful nations (Ireland and Sweden joint top in terms of previous wins for those who missed it).

We were off to help at a local nursery today with some fantastic jobs lined up. An empty sandpit awaited which was swiftly filled at record speed with fifty fresh bags ready for the kids to enjoy tomorrow. Elsewhere there was some energetic hosing and scrubbing from Jordan and Ali to ensure the cover looked as fresh as the pit itself. The rest of the team got stuck into freshening up some planters with cardboard bases, twigs and then compost. Bags galore and all ready for the children to do some planting.

The team were so quick that they even fitted in a quick spot of weeding out the front to finish the session. It was back to Clapham common for some exercises spelling out Balham (spot a very happy Felix doing his high knees!) and making the most of the glorious light evenings. We even spotted a pony being walked. When in Clapham! Well done all and hope to see you soon.

Yesterday’s session was a bank holiday special. A brilliant crew of runners giving up their time and potential long lunches to do good and create community spirit. Nice one!

We met, as always, at Battersea Arts Centre, where things kicked off with not one but two questions to get the brain firing—covering the unlikely pairing of cricket and the human skeleton. A true test of both sporting and anatomical knowledge before we even set off.

From there, we headed out to Doddington Community Garden, ready to get stuck in. Tasks included pulling out stubborn dry grass, giving the space a tidy-up, planting valerian root—known for its calming properties and often used to aid sleep—and, of course, plenty of watering to keep everything thriving. Solid teamwork all round.

Next stop: the square for a proper legs session. Lunges in all their forms, squat variations to keep things interesting, and step-ups to really finish things off. It was intense, but the group rose to it—serious effort from everyone.

All in all, a bank holiday well spent. Next week we’re heading to Balham Nursery. Hope you can join us