There was a sense of trepidation and nervous anticipation amongst the Richmond Good Gymers ahead of tonight's task.

The challenges began by negotiating an energetic and highly coordinated warm-up routine, set by Mark that included everyone’s favourite exercise, burpees!

Thoroughly warmed up for the task ahead we set off for the destination of our task, everyone’s favourite, Nightingale Hill. The route included one or two hills along the way to “drive us all crazy.”

Upon our arrival the Richmond Council provided us with brand new shears, rakes and brooms and we subsequently proceeded to chop back the brambles and clear the pathway at the bottom of Nightingale Lane, improving its appearance for the Richmond Upon Thames locals as well as making it safer for those passing by.

Another successful task completed, “oops we did it again!”

Congratulations to Mike on completing his second Good Gym Richmond run.

Finally best of luck to Kate and Lenka, who are taking part in the Big Half Marathon in London this Sunday. (Anuyone else participating this Sunday then best of luck to you too!)

See you next week.

Tonight 15 runners ran 6.5k to help Petersham Common Conservation Group (aka Ken )

The original plan had been to help him plant 300 trees but by the time we turned up things had changed a bit. Instead tonight our mission was to 'heel in' the plants to keep them alive for a few more weeks before they go into the ground in there permanent homes. We were given a quick demonstration and instructed to dig holes large enough to get a full bag of saplings in, then fill in around the roots with soil. Once that was done we had to give them a good firming down with our heels. Now we see where it got it's name!

With so many of us we made light work of the 8-10 bags. Gav gallantly grabbed the biggest bag & therefore had to dig the biggest hole, we hit clay pretty quickly which made the challenge a little stickier. As the area for the holes was very small there was a bit of banging into each other but it's ok, we're all friends here! The 'heeling in' in itself proved tricky with lots of nice new trainers about, but with the help of some bags & our spades we got it sorted.

Special thanks to our lady of the lamp, or our own Florence of Nightingale hill, Jane, who gave herself an arm work out holding up the light for those without head torches. Always exercise to be had here!

We helped Ken clean off the tools and load them back into his car but we still had time on our hands so we headed back to the top of Richmond Hill to do an extended fitness session. Mark challenged us to work in pairs doing plenty of strength exercises and the team put in a great effort with lots of moral support and encouragement from partners in the recovery zone.

As we'd already done a zig zaggy, hilly run to the task and now an extra fitness session we thought it was a safe bet we'd be running directly back to whole foods but nope, not tonight. We headed off down Queens Road. Ciara & Ren were the last back in having run back up and down Kings Road (another hill), that deserves a special cheer, amazing work you two!

Well done to Samantha who ran to join us tonight from Lambeth, great effort!

Well from a trainer point of view you just couldn't be happier really - The team smashed it tonight, both task and run In addition they are well 'ARMED' now to tackle a home workout to improve upper body fitness and aid core energy transfer through to legs, propulsion and endurance which balances well with the Giant leg sets of the last two weeks! Just watch the form and it will serve you well I say ; - )

Anyway enough of the jargon let's get down to business - Tonight saw 24 at the door of Wholefoods looking fully enthused and ready to take to the streets to do GOOD on a Monday! A great turnout indeed and of course that is because we love to do good in Richmond and help out great community organisations such as Richmond and Putney Unitarian Church which sits very close to Wholefoods. This was our destination this evening and of course we took the scenic route to get there!

With arms hanging after the warm up the legs were itching to get their turn and of course they did with half way up Kings Road, all the way down Queens and back up to the top of Kings again. Sounds a little like a royal telly tubby route as I type but rest assured those who did it may need some extra stretching in the morning. One more 'Down the Hill' and we were there

The 1896 church nestled close to the cinema at the foot of Richmond Hill is used by many different types of local community groups so our work tonight which was to clear what what described as 'THE JUNGLE to the left of the building' would benefit many - straight away from a visual and saftey access point of view this was visible but we further learned that our efforts could make way for raised beds, flowers and other gardening projects that some of the local children may be involved in as well, so a great cause which enables more to participate in within the community.

Well done all on clearing the way for more to use and enjoy and for making such short work of a dense task In awe of the speed some you sprinted back to Wholefoods as well considering the warm up and the hills but hmmm was that the call of the pub for the social that helped there?

I wonder if we put a pint at the top of Nightingale how many PB's we may get - I will see how I can make that work

Enjoy the social and have one for me - see you next week

Mark

Also a big CHEER to welcome Emma on her first run and Ren on his second with Richmond!! Now on another note where's our wings as Sam has some flying to do next week too - Congrats on reaching a 100 Sam ; - )

There was huge relief as the monsoon weather conditions eased somewhat as the Good Gymers gathered at Whole Foods for the usual briefing.

The warm-up, led by Mark, ensured that we were not ‘stuck in the mud’ and the legs were suitably fired up for the task ahead with squats, lunges and star jumps.

Following a rendition of Happy Birthday to Sami we were on our way to Heatham House, which has been the Youth Centre in Twickenham since the 1950s.

Once we arrived we set about gloving up and armed with an assortment of tools provided by Heatham House, we split up in to two groups to clear as many leaves as possible from the community space.

Muscles are aching this week for GG Richmond runners. Awesome way to work out! #goodgym #fitness #physical #fun #volunteering pic.twitter.com/F6MrbaLGSn

— GoodGym Richmond (@GGRichmon) January 29, 2020

The task certainly was a challenge however according to a certain Gotham Superhero “I have one power. I never give up.” Taking inspiration from the image of Batman, the Good Gymers certainly never gave up and went a long way to helping make the community space easier to use.

Muscles are aching this week for GG Richmond runners. Awesome way to work out! #goodgym #fitness #physical #fun #volunteering pic.twitter.com/PNEHo6VP31

— GoodGym Richmond (@GGRichmon) January 29, 2020

Following a group picture in front of the cape crusader emblem it was back to Whole Foods for a much needed cool down.

Well done to Ren on completing his first Good Gym run Mike for his 1st at Richmond and also congratulations to Sam, Rebecca and Naomi on completing their second Good Gym task.

Finally once again Happy Birthday to Sami and to Will for tomorrow, we will look forward to seeing you next week!

Well that was a blustery one! A day at work spent worriedly checking the weather reports – and finding a whole lot of rain clouds and stories of a windy fella from Ireland called Brendan – did not deter a brave set of Richmondites (and some honoured guests) from gathering to do good on Monday evening.

We welcomed Amy, the trainer for soon-to-launch GoodGym Maidenhead & Windsor, who took us through a very unusual warm-up featuring herding penguins, milking giraffes and even bum fives!

thanks to Amy @GoodGymWM trainer for our fun warm up last night! #richmond #running #warmup #volunteering #goodgym #training #fun pic.twitter.com/rdL4lifrGc

— GoodGym Richmond (@GGRichmon) January 14, 2020

Then it was off into the night and a soggy 3.6km along the river and up past Ham House & Gardens to the Ham Youth Centre.

The centre does brilliant work in the local community, providing young people with a safe space where they can meet their friends, talk to staff, or take part in activities, as well as offering support on issues young people sometimes face such as stress, substance misuse, relationships & sexual health and school & careers.

When we arrived we were met by Steve and shown to the tool cupboard, where we formed a human chain to hand out a wide variety of cleaning equipment. Soon the whole centre was a hive of activity as we set to work giving everything in sight a good spruce up.

One group peeled off to the centre’s well-equipped kitchen and gave the surfaces and cooker top a good scrub, the floor a thorough sweep and the cupboards of pots and pans a top-to-bottom clean. In the sports hall others got busy cleaning and wiping down surfaces, while in the foyer area others still cleaned glass surfaces, pulled out and hoovered behind a sofa, and even gave the Foosball table a deep clean.

At the end of a satisfying spring clean (oh if only it was spring!) it was over to Amy once more for some resistance work. With fetching pink resistance bands around our ankles we waddled round in circles (penguins again?) and worked our quads – good to get a bit of a burn on before heading back out into the cold wet night.

The skills of the GoodGym Richmond crew are never ending! #hulahoop #fun #games #exercise #richmond #hamyouthcentre #volunteering pic.twitter.com/5Ksz9fdZtP

— GoodGym Richmond (@GGRichmon) January 14, 2020

We arrived back at Wholefoods damp but satisfied to have done our bit for the January Challenge and ready for home and a hot shower, so Mark finished the evening off with a gentle cool down. Welcome back to Jo for her second run, and very best to Amy with the launch of Maidenhead & Windsor!

As mentioned in the briefing , there is a chance to increase kilometres and good deeds this Sunday on a Kingston Starter , details here

Twinkle Twinkle GoodGym stars...

It was a Tree-mendous evening in Richmond for a bit of good doing, and a bumper sack of GG elves gathered at Hollyfoods for a briefing from Santa Mark.

We started with one of Mark's famous crazy warm ups with all sorts of high knee foot tapping jumping spins and all sorts!

Dancing into the festive season with GG Richmond#running #volunteering #doinggood #goodgym #richmond #wholefoods #mondays pic.twitter.com/XcKGk2Rcg6

— GoodGym Richmond (@GGRichmon) December 17, 2019

It wasn't just our bodies that had a workout with the mandatory planks, we had to train our brain to win the Christmas themed GG quiz, courtesy of Mark! And not only did we need to answer the questions, we had to sing the answers!

Next up was the inaugural GG Santa relay. Much to the amusement of the Richmond locals, we got uber competitive and raced a hat along the rows like our lives depended on it!!

Just a regular Monday evening where some Goodgym runners act as reindeers and play "race the santa hat" #warmup #running #runninggroup #fitness #fun #play #games #christmas #festive #santa #reindeers #goodgym #doinggood pic.twitter.com/QZuTqeeoj0

— GoodGym Richmond (@GGRichmon) December 17, 2019

After a cracking medley for the warm up when set our stravas for the final time and set off through Richmond and along the river gazing at the amazing christmas trees in windows as we passed.

We arrived at Twickenham East to a cheerful welcome and Christmas songs blaring! We were ready to give St Christopher's Fellowship the Christmas touch and were given Christmas lights and baubles to decorate the outdoor hedges and railings.

As well as putting up the decs, we also swept the stairs with Barbie's old broom, ready for Santa to go up them to deliver his presents next week.

After taking a few photos in the drizzle with the sparkling Christmas lights, we were on our ho ho ho way back across Richmond bridge and the river. We had to pause there as Salwa took a tumble & grazed her hands, not the best christmas present, but other than that we made it back in one piece, admiring more Christmas decs as we went.

Finally we finished off with Mark's cool down stretches and headed off to the Vault, to reward ourselves with plenty of mulled wine after another year of doing good and getting fit.

Welcome to Shona and Will on their first run, a big cheer to Amy visiting from Liverpool GG and well done to Gavin on his second run.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Rocking around the Christmas tree at GoodGym Richmond and the final group run of the year - Merry Christmas everyone!#christmas #fun #goodgym #richmond #running #volunteering #community #doinggood pic.twitter.com/WzqvdRMKV3

— GoodGym Richmond (@GGRichmon) December 17, 2019

Report written by all of us, so don't believe the lie below...

Tonight the gang clocked up 7.4 km (including Queen's Hill which always gets a grumble) to go and hang out in a sewer... no, seriously! Luckily this area has been converted from its less than glamorous past to natural woodland and it was down to us to plant bluebells and wild garlic along a stretch of bank.

The gauntlet was thrown down by Ken of Petersham Common Conservators who turned up with a bag of 500 bulbs which were made light work of in the end. Fuelled by sweets, we made our way back down the tow path, marveling at the beautiful Richmond lights to our cool down. We can't wait to go back in a couple of years to enjoy the bluebell wood that we helped to build. Always proud to wear Red and happy to plant Blue in fact 'I would plant 500 bulbs and I would plant 500 more'

The walking group (Ciera, Katie and Anita) stayed closer to home and completed a trio of tasks in Richmond. At our flowerbed, The Three Pigeons plot, we added Christmas lights to a tiny conifer and erected a new ‘Sponsored by GoodGym’ sign.

We delivered Christmas Cards to elderly residents on behalf of Richmond Good Neighbours and at the same time discovered some of the town’s delightful side streets and Alms houses. Although there wasn’t time to join the main task, we were able to take a scenic route back to Wholefoods with a run down Nightingale Lane and then back into Richmond along the Thames path.

As ever we pulled loads out of the bag and made sure we delivered! Don't forget next week is the last of the year so our Christmas run - Elves, Santa's, Rudolph's and any other festive attire to be worn for sure! A cup of Good Cheers to follow after the run too!

Also a starter run is listed for Jan 5th 2020 so spread the word, get signed up and any TF member who would like to lead the walk aspect then please put your name down!

Finally well done to Mena conquering a 10km course and with such a strong performance too!!

Report written by both Anita and

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas as a wise man once said.

Facing the wintery temperatures of Richmond Green and celebrating Jenna’s birthday during the warm – up, fuelled by celebration chocolates, the Good Gymers were certainly determined to prove that was the case this evening at one of the local community charities in Richmond called The Vineyard.

The Vineyard Project sees itself as a place for the healing of personal loneliness, the development of a sense of community and the breaking down of divisions in the locality, facilitating communications between sources of help and of need.”

What better way to symbolise what this charity represents than by helping them prepare and decorate for this well-known season that encourages the warmth of family time and togetherness.

Among those decorations assembled and hung up included typical red and green decorations being dangled from the ceiling, Christmas trees being prepared and carefully placed and neon flashing lights successfully turned on.

The Good Gymers were subsequently well rewarded for their festive work with delicious pastry treats.

Congratulations to Ellen, Aaisha and Gavin for completing their first Good Gym run this evening, well done to Leticia, Luke and Jessie for doing a first Good Gym run in Richmond. Finally, welcome back to Teresa who successfully led the walking group this evening. Yay she is back!!

See you next Monday at Wholefoods for what promises to be another rewarding task of brightening up the community Landmarks centre in Teddington!