Fantastic turnout this morning to clear the yard at the back of The Gap Community Centre. Despite the drizzling rain, we were not deterred! And Gary (the Gap’s resident chef) did us proud with a lump of cake to go with our steaming hot coffee afterwards! Lots of rubbish removed, leaves swept and pathway cleared, in preparation for some much loved Spring/Summer activities at the centre. Massive thanks to Maisy, Mitch, James, Sandy and Emily for your smiles, hard work and enthusiasm 😊

The first of hopefully many monthly gardening sessions!

We found out that this community centre is a beautiful place for so many people. They do eye tests, seniors and youth clubs, they have a new cafe, karate, and so much more. We were very happy to be helping keep the face of it looking more welcoming!

Some gloves, a tiny bit of hail, and some good effort later, we cleared a lot of edges, cut down overgrown vines, swept leaves and litter, and made so much of the front a little clearer.

The weather held really well for us, and we had some lovely chats with the staff at the centre. There's plenty to do for us next time, and we might even be able to do it on the weekend next time, once we organise having someone let us in!

Looking forward to meeting more Good Gymers and working out with brooms and leaf piles.

See you soon!

A fab morning helpling Helen and the team @ St Mary's! They say "many hands make light work" - and sure enough, 72 trees were off-loaded, popped onto their stands and unwrapped in literally no time at all. All ready for the sponsors to decorate over the coming days, in time for 'Warwick's Victorian Evening' opening. If you're in the area, make sure you pay a visit to the Church to see some festive Christmas sparkle!

A fantastic morning of leaf-collecting, weeding and litter picking at the Heathcote Community Centre on Saturday! Joannah and Margaret, assisted by the very lovely Rach (the Community Centre's manager) and her daughter, achieved so much in just a couple of hours, ridding the car park of unwanted litter and making the fire exit for the adjoining church a much safer pathway. Phase II to be schedule in in the not-too-distant future to complete the job, which will include more weeding, moss removal, sweeping and jet washing. Do sign up if you want to get involved... coffee and biscuits provided!

On Tuesday evening, four of us (Hasna, Louise, James and Jo) braved the harsh rains and collected 4 bags of rubbish from the tow path alongside the Grand Union Canal in Warwick and Leamington. Amazing what people throw away - intentionally and unintentially. And doubley amazing how nimble those litter picking sticks are! Who knew?

Shouts of thanks from runners and rowers made it all worthwhile, even if we were a little damp at the end! And Tim Winnett (Canal & River Trust. Volunteering team leader for Hatton & Warwick) extends his warm thanks to the team for clearing that stretch of the canal.

Well done guys (just missing Hasna from the snap)!

2 GoodGymers met up for a very sweaty interval session.

It's no secret that interval or Fartlek training can be incredibly helpful for developing speed. It doesn't make it any easier though !

This Wednesday James and Alexandra took on a the rolling inclines of War Memorial Park for a tough 6x800m session. It might not look like it, but those inclines really get to you after a few reps!

Meeting up at the Memorial monument, we decided on an 800m warm up to map out the route as there was no doubt that James would be miles ahead at the word "go". Dodging between puppies and toddlers, we made it past the car park to the park's main opening, taking on a tough incline in between. The first 3 minute recovery went by much much too fast and we were off back the way we came. Reps 2-4 were very much an uphill battle with Alex just barely keeping James' red GoodGym t-shirt in her sights, giving him an extra few seconds of recovery while she made up the distance. The final two reps meant one big uphill and one big downhill and plenty of huffing and puffing to finish off. Surprisingly, target pace was maintained throughout and it made for a genuinely good workout (and if you include the warm-up, we technically overachieved by 1 rep).

An exhausted static stretch and short walk to the car park later and we parted ways for a restful evening. Sessions like these are a good reminder that it doesn't get easier, you just get stronger!