13 people ran 5k to help out at Birmingham Mission Care Centre

Tonight we welcomed Seema to GoodGym for the first time. It was great to have you with us. Tonight’s ‘pun’ was inspired by Karin, but more about that later!

No bottle

After a few stories from the Birmingham 10k at the weekend it was on with the run. Just before we set off I realised I had left my bottle of water in the gym I work at, no problem, we just did a slightly longer run to Brum Mission so I could pick it up!

Once at the mission the group was split up into three groups. One group serving food, another sorting clothes upstairs with Maureen and the other were in the basement organising the tinned food. Once done, the groups efforts were mucho appreciated by guys at the Mission and we headed on our way again

No hills???

So usually when we go to the mission we do a hill workout but tonight due to it being a nice dry evening I thought we would use the grass in St Paul’s square for the first time this year to do a bit of Bootcamp stuff.

Bunch of plankers

The task was to do some side planks, followed by some standard planks, fantastic for those all important core muscles. That’s when we found out Karin had never heard of the phrase ‘it’s not cricket’! I was explaining to watch out for any dog poop on the grass, as putting your arms in it ‘just isn’t cricket’! Anyway after it was explained what it meant we were on with the planks. Sides first, top work by everyone, David, Laura and Catherine held excellent form, Seema held a good side plank on her first session showing she has a decent core. Next it was the standard plank, again there was some great form on display by the whole group. There was not a camel in site (that’s what you call it when someone sticks there backside in the air!!) After the planks were done we finished with a heart racer....burpees. Karin showed top form on these as did Aaron and Aidan, but again the group put a top shift in. That certainly was cricket!

We then all headed back to 1000 Trades. Next week we will be out doing good again, it would be great if you could join us sign up here.

15 people ran 6k to the Girl Guide Association to clean around the outside of the building

Tonight, we were off to the girl guides with another good attendance on a cold January night. Summer will be here before for you know it…….hopefully! Anyway, we got on our way taking the canal route towards Brindley Place and then along to the Mail Box before arriving at our destination. The task was quite a quick one tonight, as we were all done in around ten to fifteen minutes. It was just a case of sweeping the car park and getting rid of the moss around the building.

De-tour and Bootcamp time

Once done we handed the equipment back to a grateful Maureen and after a quick photo the group were keen to get moving again as for some reason the temperature seemed to have dramatically dropped! Due to the task being on the quick side we added on an extra loop through the city centre before heading to our Bootcamp venue of St Paul’s Square. The group started off with some incline press ups on the benches followed by some reverse tricep dips to really get the back of the arms burning! They even held the position hovering above the floor for 30 seconds on the last set, causing a red-hot burn!! Aaron was smashing them out like he had spent a stint at her Majesty’s pleasure, Garry and Paige put in some great work, Kate H put in some top press ups on her first Tuesday night GG group run, and Kate E worked well as always on her first group run of 2018. Once done with that it was into some plank work again using the benches followed with some squat jumps and finishing with one last set of tricep dip holds. Laura and Karin worked hard together, and Abi showed she had really been working hard on her core strength and muscular endurance showing great form on all the exercises. As always, all the group supported each other and put on a top display that I’m sure the passers-by were impressed with! I know I was! Phew!! After all that we just had the short jog back to our base!

Next week we will be out doing good again, it would be great if you could join us sign up here.

17 people ran 6k to Sifa Fireside to do a deep clean

On a virtually tropical night in Brum we welcomed Amy for the first time. What a great night to join us on our 1st birthday! After the intros with Garry kindly being the back marker we were on our way to Sifa. After a good paced 3k run down there Geoff warmly greeted us as always. The group quickly got on with the task, cleaning the showers, toilets, doors and seats. After thirty minutes of graft we were on our way again.

Quick bootcamp

As usual we stopped in the car park and did a quick bootcamp blast! Well the group did, I just took the pictures 😉 We had, high knees, tuck jumps, squat jumps, leg kicks followed by a sprint to the car park wall followed by the one-minute thigh and backside burning wall squat! Once done we had the 3k run back. This is always a little tougher as it is mainly uphill! After having a quick group piccy with the Bullring in the background, the group split in two, with one group going a little quicker for the last 1.5k back to base! Somebody wanted a beer. Aaron and Luke led the way with Morwenna, Rob, Aidan and Amy not far behind. The other group weren’t long with everything single one putting in some great work. Once back some of the group enjoyed a celebratory birthday pint or two!

On Saturday we will be out doing good again, for GG Brum’s first starter session! it would be great if you could join us sign up here.

17 people ran 6k to Suited for Success to drop off donations

On a freeeeeezing night in Brum it was awesome to have another big attendance of 17 runners braving the elements! We welcomed three newbies, John, Tom and Jeanette, it is great to have you all on board. After the introductions we were on our way to Suited for Success. It was just a short jaunt of half a mile, so we were there in no time. On arrival we were warmly greeted by Janice who was appreciative as ever of our donations. It was also great to hear her tell the group some heart-warming stories of how the donations help people get back into work.

back into the cold

It was now time to get back outside to get the rest of the run done. Outside was Taz from run Birmingham, who took a quick video of the group to show the Run Birmingham crew what we do. Check it out on the Run Birmingham Facebook page. We were now on our way again, Rob leading the way as he knows the ‘none dark bit of the canal route’ back very well! We then joined the canal on the lit part, before eventually arriving in St Paul’s square.

press ups, dips, sprints

Once in the square the group did a few sets of press ups and dips on the benches. Everyone working well. John put in a good stint on his first GG run, Morena and Lee smashed out the reverse dips and John H worked as hard as ever. Once that was done the group did laps around the church alternating between a ‘sprint lap’ and a ‘jog lap’. With the tight corners this was great training for any cross-country runners. The group did eight in total with the last two laps being a double sprint! Rob, Aaron, Aidan and Sam led the way, with Karin, Paige and Abbie putting in a good effort pushing each other round. Once done we had the short run back to base.

Goodbye Ken ☹

On a slightly sad note, it was Ken’s last GoodGym run for at least a while, as he is heading back to Malaysia next week. Ken has been a great member of the group, taking part in many group runs, joining us at parkruns and the Mo Run, so he will be greatly missed. Have a safe flight and if you are ever back in Birmingham you know where we are 😊

Next week we will be out doing good again, this will be our ‘long run’ of just over 10k to Fareshare, it would be great if you could join us sign up here.