Finally December is here, which means that we can start talking all things festive! These included

• reminding everybody of our Christmas social on the 12th December - no task, no run, just all the festive fun!

• discussing which was our favourite carols during our warm up - all the classics got a mention with some lovely vocals from Isabel

• and our first gift of December was to be able to welcome Ellen to her very first session at GoodGym - great to have you join us!

After a steady run down to the garden for our monthly task at Doddington, we were tasked with clearing all the leaves to create a mulch bed where flowers will be grown. So without waiting to get cold, we grabbed brooms, brushes and trugs and started collecting all the fallen leaves we could lay our bemittened hands on.

There were plenty of other jobs to be done, including compost turning, jasmine taming and cardboard laying. The range of conversations going on round the garden was testament to what an interesting group of people GoodGymers are! There was chat about ancient burial techniques in Greece, how to make Christmas wreathes and we also talked about Dylan's amazing recent achievement of completing the parkrun alphabet!

Before long the garden was looking practically leafless so we moved downstairs to do a leg strength and conditioning workout which saw us challenge those hamstrings, glutes and calves through various exercises. If that wasn't enough we finished with the minute squat challenge - brilliant efforts everyone.

With a quick run to the pub the group saw off the evening with the monthly quiz and a strong result for team GoodGym!

Don't forget there is a lovely mission this Saturday helping to clear paths at a nature reserve - a great way to kick off the weekend!

It takes a special kind of people to make it out in the freezing rain on a dark Monday night to rake leaves and chop wood. Luckily GGers are made of tough stuff, and a group of 14 of the toughest were not put off by the conditions last night.

Special kudos goes to Stephen and to Veronica who came along to their first GoodGym session - give them a huge welcome! We also cheered Paul and Dylan for smashing the Fulham 10km this weekend. Amazing stuff.

We kicked off with a much needed warm up, discussing the upcoming missions such as this amazing one to sort donated coats for Wrap Up London on Thursday in Morden. There is also a great session helping make the nature reserve in Streatham more accessible on Saturday. Lots of fun stuff to choose from! We also debated the most important issue of the hour - what is the best condiment. It turns about we are passionate about our favourites, from mayonnaises including truffle and garlic, various mustards, olive oil and BBQ - and in a shock twist no one went for ketchup!

There was no time to waste before setting off in the increasingly heavy rain for Paradise community garden. Through the puddles we splashed, arriving not long after to meet even more GGers.

We divided up into two teams; one to take on the challenge of clearing the leaves that were clogging the pathways and transport them to be turned into mulch, the other to chop the wood into manageable sizes.

The leafers got busy, fueled by Steve and Dylan's kind contribution of sweeties, while the axers were contemplating the best method of effectively breaking down the wood. Ali and Pritesh copied what they'd seen in the films to great success, while Beth guided using her recent impressive axe throwing prowess!

It soon got too damp to continue, but we'd made a big dent in the jobs, so all that was left to do was vote on fitness (no surprise on which way it went) and then head off back into the night for warm cups of tea and hot showers.

Well done everybody! Next week you'll be in the super capable hands of our newest run leader Catherine, who will be taking you to help out at Waste Not Want Not for a warm inside task!

More than two million pieces of litter are dropped in the UK daily and 70% of that is food packaging. Nine billion tonnes of litter ends up in the oceans across the planet each year and animals most affected by litter in the world are all sea creatures – fish, whales, turtles, and dolphins. Around 60% of global water pollution is linked to littering.

Ok, so they're not exactly fun facts, but the good news?

There is something positive we can do about. And last in Wandsworth, that's exactly what happened

12 of us met at the bAC as usual, and this week it was over to Steph to come up with the question of the week. It was a belter - when is the official date it is acceptable to start getting festive for Christmas? Answers ranged from anytime after Bonfire Night, to the 17th December. The majority went with the 1st December, but we decided the winning answer goes to Adam who said it was after his birthday - so the 2nd December it is!

We grabbed our pickers, which helpfully fold up so are easy to run with, and made our way to the first stop of the night. The road between Shillinghurst Park (better known as Banana Park!) and Doddington (home of the lovely community garden) is one that is well trodden for us. As the weeks have passed we have noticed the litter problem growing and growing and last night we decided to do something about it.

We divided up into two teams - recycling and general waste - and got picking. There was all the usual detritus, including more bottles and cans that you could shake a litter pick at. Then there was the challenge of how to dispose of the dozens and dozens of empty bottles of fast gas that we found, plus some more unusual items. Laura bravely tackled the soggy cow/cat/unidentified furry item, while Catherine demonstrated some amazing picker dexterity by managing to snare a penny. Skills!

Shout out to Chris who did his regular Monday morning litter pick on Wandsworth common, collecting over 0 empty cans of beer, and was back for more in the evening with us! What a great effort to make our area cleaner and safer

We got rid of our bags at the big bins, and then made our way back to the BAC for a mega fitness session. Teaming up, we added a competitive element by seeing which pair could do the most hill sprints interspersed with conditioning exercises. Kudos to Team Chris and Adam, and Team Catherine, Alice and Jo and to everybody, the efforts last night were amazing!

Some dates for your diary.

• This Saturday there is a great community mission to plant a new orchard between Tooting and Streatham that promises to be a lot of fun and a great workout!

• Tomorrow evening why not join this nice, short inside task to help an environmental clothes charity

• Get your glad rags on and join us for all the fun of the festive season at our Christmas party on the 12th

If there are ever any missions, runs or socials you want to shout about then just let me know!

Pumpkin spiced lattes, roast potatoes, fallen apples for composting bins....and dogs dressed up for Halloween? It could only be Autumn at GoodGym Wandsworth - and we're here for it!

We started off our evening with a warm up and a big decision to make. Did we have it in us to tackle not one, but two tasks that evening? Of course we did! So after several different moves to get our heart rates up and a discussion about whether we'd prefer to be super wealthy, wise or famous (we were split evenly between wealthy and wise) we set off for our initial location for the night.

The first part of our task was very much in keeping with the Autumn theme. We soon arrived at Christchurch gardens, a local space which is managed by residents. They try to keep it as clean, tidy, safe and welcoming for neighbours as possible, and asked us to come and lend a hand with the fallen leaves. The problem had got out of hand at the front of the community hall and church as they have been coming down thick and fast here, making it slippery underfoot. So while most of the team got busy picking and bagging them, some of us went round the perimeter of the garden collecting litter.

It didn't take us long to make a huge difference, so after a quick break for a photo (thanks Andy!) we got ready for our second task of the evening.

FoodCycle aims to make food poverty, loneliness and food waste a thing of the past for every community. Their vision is to connect communities, reduce loneliness and food poverty using surplus food to help everyone who needs us. They have a new hub in Clapham Junction which is a welcoming space for people from all walks of life to meet, eat and have conversations, but it is still in its early stages to needs more volunteers to help run the place.

They asked us to help spread the word by leafleting in the local area to try and raise awareness and recruit people to help. So armed with a few hundred flyers, we got started by forming a highly efficient human chain. With a group of us on each side of the street we went from house to house putting the leaflets through letterboxes. It ended up being a bit of a race - a spot of healthy competition always helps get the job done faster at GoodGym!

At the end of the evening we had covered quite a bit of mileage and supported two important, and very different, local organisations. What better way to spend a Monday! If you'd like to extend the happy feeling of using your workout to do good, why not join me tonight to deliver more leaflets for FoodCycle this time in the Elephant and Castle area. Or if you're free Sunday, why not pop down to the GoodGym Garden in Clapham to do various jobs including, excitingly, installing a new composting bin!.

Next week we're back at the BAC helping with their Permablitz garden. Not sure what Permablitz is all about? Click on the link to find out more and sign up!