Awesome run report written this week by the epic Enrique who we wish a very happy birthday to as well!!

Tasked this week to help the beautiful people of Harlesden Community Garden with a clear away of an overgrown perimeter walkway. It would be a 2.5k chase from base to clear a path, with this lot it’s bound to be a laugh. There were even some excited high kicks upon arrival (Well it was my Birthday) relieved to be notching up ever more years of survival!

So, the middle of May had us in sartorial muddles with her insistence on spots of rain, even slippery puddles. Powering through a well paced 2.5k, we dart through traffic and people on there way. But eventually We’ve arrived. . .

GoodGym Brent we are all relevant! . . .Ordinary people from all around, coming together to pound the ground, running to achieve something sound! The team are smart, funny, kind, some of the best GoodGymers you’ll ever find! Through the naff weather we were wielding spades, or being careful with razor-sharp clipper blades, even taking turns hauling rakes - Ah, the gift of back-aches!

Ellie our Captain, Drill Sergeant and all round amazinger thought (as usual) that this perfect scene was not quite right - not quite LEAN!

Bottom obsessed in a brilliant way, we were taken in two sets PAY! Commanded to complete a cunningly complex combination of crippling SQUATTT exercises!! All set and timed to the beat of J Lo!? Loads of fun - Mo power to yo Bun!

Our valiant efforts for a path of clear view would have been easier without the stench of Nettle Stew!! - That’s a powerful eco-friendly stinky brew!!!! Designed to repel all manner of pests - It’s a genuine wonder the birds don’t flee their nests!

NOTE Harlesden Community Gardens have an open day this Sat so get on down to say hello - Might even be some BBQ food you know!

So, after running hard then working harder it was back at base - A quick tidy then outta the place. With exhaustion causing the group to split we stopped to regroup as we neared RoundWood Park - About ½ way back. Rest time we thought: YAY! Ellie said: NO - NO WAY!

WALKING LUNGES x2 sets of 30 Now this was a real li-Berty!

Genuinely tired - Oh so hurty, what a great way to celebrate being 8 + 30!

See you next time!!!!

On the last Monday of the month, GG Brent tackled timber, banished branches, cropped & chopped, then hopped their way to a tasty 6k. All in a days work for the West London tribe. That's definitely what I'd call a Grandville day out POW POW

What a happy GG leader I was to be greeted by the always smiling faces of my delicious gang of Brent beauties this Monday night and can you Adam and Eve it, this week we had not one, not two but three brilliant boys YAYYYYYYY.

Even, the threat of an impending down-pour, was still no deterrent for my fierce force of favourites as we laced up and braced ourselves for the wet and wild whisk over to Carlton Vale for our goodgym antics for the night.

However, to our delight, as we stepped outside base camp, the skies had cleared and a lovely sunset was all that guided us the 2 mile jaunt over to south Kilburn for our terrific task for the night - The chop and pop operation of the Granville Community sites gardens!

So what was it all about then, I hear you cry???? Well, Grandville is this amazing centre, that serves the local community in so many ways. Believing that everyone no matter circumstance has the right to fresh, good quality, nutritious food, they serve their patrons via their community allotments, community cooking nights, classes and feasts and school education programmes. Food for though wouldn't you say

Upon arrival our fantastic host Leslie explained the deeds we had in store for our 45min blast and let me tell you, there were plenty!! The strenuous task of yanking out dead tree roots, the sawing and chopping out of control bushes and the ever so yucky stamping down of the compost Debs and I got our hands dirty with this one. *NICE***

Without further-a-do, the team set to work with magical momentum, wasting no time at all and grabbing all the tools that Leslie could throw at us. Special credit must go to Sam, who with his own bear hands yanked out not one but two massive tree roots, which was no easy Roots Manoeuvre I can tell you!

As the time etched away the team cracked on, with Sean and Dan sawing their way through the devilish nasties of the blackberry spikes. Laura, Sam and Amy the dream Yank and Pull team and Enrique, Debs and Myself busying ourselves with the clear up and stack jobs leftover, but of course not leaving out time for tom-foolery in the bushes!!! Standard antics And after a genuine back-breaking 40mins, the clear up and clear out was upon us and out the gates we did boost, wishing our hosts a fond farewell, with our echoes of See you sooonnnn singing in the air.

I think it's safe to say we we came, we tasked and we conquered that garden (for this week anyway) but there is plenty more work to be done, so we will most definitely be back. Not only to get our revenge on the Blackberry branches, who managed to give me personally one final leg jab on the way out!! OUCH

So with 2 miles left to dash, the team set to running and funning all the way home and with more boys in the mix this week, the boisterousness banter was upped a level, with Enrique and Sam chasing and racing each other all the way home!!

Not wet Hurrah but most definitely wild, thank you team for yet another wonderfully, weird and fun filled week in Brent!

See you next time!!!!

DO GOOD. FEEL GOOD. INSPIRE

On an evening which was bright, dry and beautiful.... yes that's right.... BRIGHT DRY AND BEAUTIFUL HURRAAAHHHHHHHH spring had definitely sprung when twelve GG bunnys hopped and leaflet dropped their way to 11k. Yay!!

With the task at hand being the bi-monthly all community leaflet drop, usually the fitness vibes that accompanies comes from track attack. However to bring in the new season I decided to spice things up with a newness here too. So, instead of going round and round, we went up and up - hills that is.... but the best hills near by meant we had to bandit our way through to our neighbouring borough of Camden, running 5 jubilee stations on route to boot. All the way to Swiss Cottage and the hill that leads to Hampstead! Pow Pow.

So the 2 mile warm Up turned into a delightful cruise, basking in the last of the sunshine, we whizzed through Kilburn, West Hampstead, up to Finchley Road and beyond to good old cottage of the Swiss. It's safe to say we were working as a team, as no body was left on their..... Toblerone OMG I can't even take Credit for that terrible pun - step forward please Mouse and take a bow!! LOL

On route, as the team paper chased their way along, handing out all the leaflets on route, I on the other hand could not take enough pics. The beautiful blossoms and natural spring colours coming through, beaming out like they were screaming at us "spring has sprung" and it certainly did give us more Spong in our own steps. Glorious!!

Before long we had arrived at check point one - the base of the hill, just behind Swiss Cottage station and with a neat little one mile distance to the station at the top (Hampstead) the team buckled down for a fast paced grind on that oh so steep and taxing incline.

Taxing maybe, but no one paid the price of surrender, as one by one the pack flew into the home straight, just as the last of the light was etching away and the glow of Hampstead tube took over to light our way in(ham)stead.

Back slapping and congratulations of our epic hill dash over, with a swift turn on our heels we were back to it, pacing back down, with gravity on our side this time! Thank good(gym)ness !!

With a speed split emerging and rapid front pack, the team eventually split in two and with Debs and Enrique taking the lead, group one sped off into the night with epic pace. Group two led by me was a Girl Power affair, but with crew love cheering us on, we recharged the old batteries for one final push the last 2miles back to base.... Of course with lots of stops for photo-calls all the way home. Click click flash, the final hurdles we did smash.

And before we knew it the burning lights of walk lane were upon us once more and one final corner turn led us back to the twinkle of The Queensbury and our home once again. Full team recoup, regroup and stretchy stretch, we finished for the night exactly how we'd begun, smiles and good vibes.

A Beautiful night, filled with beautiful people, doing beautiful things. It can only be GG Brent of course!!

See you next week!!

DO GOOD. FEEL GOOD. INSPIRE

Pun credits go to Debs!!!

9 wonderful women and 1 heroic "He" (Enrique) ran through the breeze and the big freeze, took on the trees and left feeling rather pleased. Just your average evening for Goodgym Brent then! Pow Pow

It was all go go goooo this eve as the mighty Brent team hit the road, running 5k to and from Harlesden Community Gardens to help with some log lifting and compost shifting. YAY And what a good cause to give back to, these guys truly are an incredible hub for the community, offering local young people the chance to learn about organic, home grown foods and caring enough to provide an oasis sanctuary for all those that reside in the area. Terrific.

Demonstrating to us her fine leadership skills Debs took the lead at the front of the pack and even had the team working their butts off with double backs and squats to and from on route!!! We'll make a coach runner of her yet!

Speeding our way through the streets of Willesden there was no stopping this nifty crew, bobbing, weaving, leaping and streaking (just to confirm no indecency). In no more than 20mins we had arrived into the welcoming embrace of Gabriel, our Angel from the North (West) who wasted no time in pointing out the load of logs that needed shifting from A to B...... Hummmmmmm we thought and as we surveyed the mountain of trees was this guy barking mad could we finish this epic task in time..... Of course we can it's GG BRENT! POW POW

So it was Hey, Ho, it's off to work we go and go we did with gusto and grit forming an assembly line of helping hands all working in complete coordination with nobody at logger heads. HAAAAAAAA

As I personally took on the dangerous task of lighting the efforts with my massive torch.... Yes Dangerous - because I was being eaten alive by beasties in the bushes, the rest of the crew heaved and huffed their way through and even had time to finish off with a clean, sweep up and haul into the compost heap of leftovers for good measure.

Of course the time flew past in beautiful harmony as the team were cheered on by myself and Debs, singing a beautiful rendition of "Paint with all the colours of the wind" from Disney classic Pocahontis. Time's up.... Thank goodness they can stop singing now..... and it was goodbye from us, but not before we enjoyed a quick turn on the children play equipment with Sadhana knocking out her most impressive plank to date and Luscious NOT lusty Liz working the abs with pikes on the swings. Impressive.

Turning on our heels, we flew back off into the eve with fast pace and lots of grace, just for the thrill, up Huffington Hill and full steam ahead back to base camp.

What a fantastic night, I can honestly say I've never laughed so hard or had so much fun. But hey, that's Goodgym and the best gang of straight-up weirdos in town, my beloved Brent.

See you next time.

DO GOOD. FEEL GOOD. INSPIRE.

10 lovely ladies and 1 lucky lad, repped the red tee massive, ran 8k and tasked all the way to Stonebridge Park!! POW POW

Run Report by Samina!!! Today we ran the full and frantic 5 miles, through the streets of Neasden, over the bridge and down the North Circular to our beloved Sufra, community food bank to help with their allotment and community gardens development.

Clare AKA "Mouse in the house:", took the lead on the front pack and guided the group through Neasden with Enrique also near the front pointing out Neasden landmarks in the “Curious Incident of the dog at nighttime” (Oh yes we have all the famous playwrights in Brent DON'T CHA KNOW). Also in Monday's team was newcomer Sabina, back for a second week in a row, regular raucous ravers - sister sledge Tabitha and Deborah, 'lets get a move on Speedy legs' Liz and fresh from her North London half marathon, queen of the medal hoard Sadhana.

Bringing up the rear was Ellie, supporting Ozlen and Thais on there first ever 8k, which they smashed to smithereens!!! Oh yes that's just how we roll in Brent! Badass!

After running down the busy North Circular route leaving the dazzling light and sights of...... ah hemmmmm: Tesco and Ikea behind us, we finally saw the arch of Wembley and turned our last corner to arrive in under 30mins at Sufra food bank where we thirsty bunch were greeted with glasses of water in the kitchen and Liz rightly reminding me that the food including biscuits and bananas wasn’t for us!!!

Within 5 minutes we were guided outside by the always smiling lead of this amazing project - Mohammed. YAY to St Raphael’s garden to collect 50 tyres from around the yard. The team Rolled up our sleeves as well as the tyres and kept rolling, rolling, rolling, in fact, to get those tyres energetically from around the yard, after which they were neatly piled high whilst Enrique and Tabitha tried to video us in action.

Joining us on the task was the resident feline visitor to the site and when the task was done, Ellie stroked its shiny black fur. As for Me-Owwwwwww I just cracked on with the next part of the task - Loading rocks into the wheelbarrows to create drainage for the site. It was a not-so-glamorous job, but someone had to rock it.

and as the other task of collecting the stones was in full swing, Ellie could been seen through the gates lunging desperately trying to exercise her spare tyre away.

We then joined forces outside the gate with Tabitha joking ‘we’re so tyred’ and ah haaaaaa the pun of all puns was born!!! YES!!! So as the team left those tyres behind, we began the last leg of running back down towards the North Circular before parting company with Sadhana and her jazzy new leggings, under the glowing arches of the Macdonalds M. So the rest of us began running all the way back to the Queensbury, where it was laughs, chats, fast-feet and a jolly good(gym) time, all the way home.

Last thing on the menu was one final stretch and wave farewell, ending yet another Magical Monday in wonderful Willesden.

See you next time!!

Like spring flowers, eighteen runners emerged to the relatively balmy 14 degree temperatures of a fine Monday evening in their home patch of Brent, to run 4 miles to the Harlesden Community Gardens and back, bagging up an impressive collection of litter on their way.

It was lovely to see so many people out - we welcomed first time GG runner Sam whose sister had recommended GoodGym to her, keeping the family vibe strong were the Awesome Ananda's times three, Sisters Sledge Tabitha & Deborah, and yet another family affair - Eliza and Tania...

Not to mention the backstreet boys, Enrique, Vojtech and Sam, the girls next door Sadhana (radiant as ever in high-viz), Liz, Samina, Amy, Beth, Steph and Great Aunt Claireybell making sure the family stayed together and no feuds broke out...!

We set off on the two mile run to the Harlesden Community Gardens on a mission for litter, we got gloved up, grabbed some bags and swept the area like a swat team. With so many pairs of hands on the case, we had the place cleared in no time, which meant that there was some spare time for some fun circuits in the playground!

Four groups were formed and each group spent 60 seconds each on:

tricep dips using the benches

jumping jacks

jumping lunges

monkeying around on the climbing frame (not really - working hard on their biceps as they slowly lowered their body weight or swung across to the other side!)

Then it was time to head back towards base, but as we had some speedier runners, they went off ahead to blitz the area around the old Willesden Green police station, whilst the others made their way back at a steady pace, bagging an impressive haul of cans, bottles and other miscellany...

With the streets looking a bit more respectable, we jogged back to the Queensbury for a quick stretch out, and a chat about upcoming events:

A few of us in GG Brent have already signed up for the Richmond 10 mile run on Sunday 4th June, it's not too late to join, and with all this extra daylight for training, what more excuse do you need...?

Also Tough Mudder in May, and for those of you who just wanna have fun of the non-running variety, we will be arranging a post run drink shortly.

Thanks so much for your Bags of Enthusiasm and positivity which helped to make really rubbish night actually really great :)

Lots a love xxx

17 GG Brenters, took on 2 storage rooms for Ashford place homeless shelter. Dashed off 5k. Killed 20minutes of plyometrics, sprints, walking lunges and killer squat combos and got home in time for sexy stretch time. All in an evenings work! Pow Pow!

The Queensbury Pub on Walm Lane was bursting at the seams with another full squad on deck at GG Brent. Joining the ranks of the fabulous familiar faces were 2 newbies in the mix this eve- Thais and Bharian YAY. I was also dizzy with excitement when old school original, none other than Sadhana rocked up with her signature sexy socks and beaming grin under cap!! This boost, got me hyper beyond belief and ready to roll out with my crew, fresh with spring in step.

No further than 0.6 miles to go, we cruised down to Ashford Place where the awesome Alan welcomed us in for the task at hand - clearing and sorting 2 donations rooms. Ashford Place is a firm friend of GG Brent and we are always delighted to volunteer our time there, to support their tireless work in the community. All year round they offer 30 long stay hostel rooms to local people who had been living on the street and work towards finding them permanent residence in the future. They also work to make services better for homeless people in Brent, campaign for policy change that will help end homelessness and innovate and develop tools to help their patrons work their way out of homelessness indefinitely. An absolutely incredible organisation and one that deserves all of Goodgym's support.

So stepping our best feet forwards, we jumped into the task quick smart. But because our crew was so large and epic this eve, it didn't take long before the jobs were done and rooms were packed and sorted. So taking advantage of the gifted time, the team wasted none and ran the infamous Ashford Place stairs, 4 flights, top to bottom, not once, not twice but thrice times over!!! AMAZING!!

After the stair-runs and standard photo shoot (Ovs!) It was back on the streets to keep the running mojo cooking. Gradual tempo runs led us down to Gladstone Park where more fitness fun was the order for the night.

The teams split into 4 and worked their way through a medley of sprints, squat jumps, tuck jumps and walking lunges and if that wasn't enough there was just enough time for a combined group hammer of the circuit for one more round.

Cheered on by nominated ambassadors - Enrique, Claire, Samuel and Mouse, the shouting and encouragement echoed through the park like thunder, with fellow runners stopping in their tracks to check the commotion and admire the efforts!

After a swift recovery (that's huffing, puffing, panting and sweating to you) the crew were back on the road for the last cool down mile back to base and it wasn't long before the lights of high road twinkled in our sights and lit the path home.

One last thing before we depart - Delicious stretching and a massive applause

Determination, motivation, good vibes and good deeds, sprinkled with the always raucous laughter and weird and wonderful chats, this is a crew that never fails to turn Monday from manic to marvellous!

See you next time!!!!

DO GOOD. FEEL GOOD. INSPIRE

On the 6th day of the month, 17 Brent beauty's braved the icy rain for 90minutes. Ran a fierce 4K , dropped 200 leaflets and even had time to plyometric their their way through an adrenaline pumping fitness frenzie. Track attack but I should have work a rain Mac Just another average Monday for GG Brent. Pow Pow

Housekeeping to begin as always and to my delight another Welcominng of newbies was in order for the third week in a row. Not one but two new faces into the fold hurrah Stephanie and joining the ever increasing familia Ananda was push AKA Mum, brought along for the night too!!!

Another newness shout out came in the form of Our Big proud intro to the new lord of the GG Brent Twitter -Lucky Enrique, who would be sprinkling our goodcheer all over the socials for the next coming weeks YAY.

After announcements and a discussion on the best abs and core excersies to do (little did they know these were in store later ha ha ha ha ) the crew stepped up to the plate for task reveal time.

It was team effort all the way with seasoned Brent Goodgymer Eliza providing the deed for the night: Hand out the mighty big stack of leaflets for : Brent's affordable counselling service. So with all hands full, the paper chase was on & we were more than ready to rock, paper, scissor(kick) to track.

Stepping out into the night one word whistled through the air like a speeding train hurtling down a tunnel.... "Collllddd" omg was it cold and if that wasn't enough, no sooner had we ducked out, we were greeted by the biggest downpour of rain known to mankind and boy oh boy was it freezing too!! But completely and utterly unfazed (my crew is hardcore y'all) we rolled out regardless with smiles and laughter that lit up walm lane brighter than the street lamps themselves.

The 2.5k dash down to Willesden track took no time at all in the wake of our 'paper-trail' where passers by and Willesden-ites were both thrilled and dazed by the good vibes being flung at them, at every turn!!

Arriving at the track, with practically all leaflets handed out, YAY, the team reviewed the torrentials and absolute slip and slide of a track, with nervous anticipation ..... hummmmmm thinking on my feet, like any Goodgym coach would do I used my noggin and set up the plyometrics session under the blessed covering of the bleacher stands YAY!!!! It was the only way!!!!!! and to my delight, what was laid out in front of me to use - stairs!!!! Yessss!!! Stretching out to provide the perfect gradient level simulated track as an alternative option. Pow Pow!!

So without further a do, teams split in 2 and now the real work could begin: Team one began with: High knee runs up and down the stairs of the supporter bleacher seating, hitting every stair with their feet as they chopped and sped their legs at through 4 sets. Team two with me, got a lesson in plyometrics; Tuck jumps, explosive jump lunges and 2 feet to 1 explosive hops.

Now because i know you like the science part; Plyometrics, also known as "jump training" or "plyos", are exercises in which muscles exert maximum force in short intervals of time, with the goal of increasing power, speed and strength. This training focuses on learning to move from a muscle extension to a contraction in a rapid or "explosive" manner, such as in specialised repeated jumping. Although Plyometrics are primarily used by athletes, like sprinters and high jumpers to improve performance, they can also be incorporated into a cross training routine for an endurance runner too, to support conditioning of muscles and bonus time, act as a neat little fat burner as well.

After a minute of each split the teams switched and after a 4X repeats we all regrouped for some essential core work to finish. Using planks, split low legs and scissor kicks to blast the bods for one last effort as a united crew.

After the blitz in the rain the team wasted no time and with jackets zipped, hoods up we headed straight back out into the storm, to weather the last couple of km back to base.

Yes it was wet, yes it was cold, yes we welcomed newbies into the fold. But were we glum, highly strung? Think again, it was nothing but a Brent bonanza of fun fun fun!!!

See you next time!!!!

DO GOOD. FEEL GOOD. INSPIRE

It was all hands on deck, when 18 Brent Goodgymers rolled deep for 5k, in 0 degrees to shovel and roll 15 wheelbarrows of soil, rocks and compost for a Harlesden Town Community Gardens' allotment site. BOOM

Was it cold? - Yes. Was *The Queensbury** and it's open fire inviting us to stick around and chill with a beer or two? UMMMMM Maybe..... *But did that stop us from getting out into our fair old borough of Brent to sprinkle some goodgym charm all over the joint? - Hell No!

Thrown into the mix this Monday eve was a merry band of newcomers - Samuel, Fiona and Vojtech (our new resident chef!!) and of course joining them was my regular squad of lovelies - The Familia Ananda. "Spice up your life" Samina. Sister Sledge Tabitha and Debs. Amy (Pole Fit Goddess) Crawford. Take no prisoners man like Neil. Clairey (Veteran) birthday Bell. All the sass and bringing some Class Liz James. The one and only mouse in the House Clare. Never not smiling Karen and always Awesome speedy Queen Andrea.

Also joining the masses on Monday was one in particular, so happy we were to see for the first time this year was Lucky Enrique back and recovered from a poorly Jan. Also one big fat massive delight for night came in the shape of Sparky Sparkes Irwin a vintage GG Brent original bringing some nostalgic vibes.

So with housekeeping done and welcomes wrapped, we set off into the darkness for our last GG Brent of January. Full speed into the night we dashed along to our how for the night Harlesden Town GardensA green space in the heart of Harlesden where people can grow things, play and learn together while meeting and making friends. Helping the community to grow together this is an amazing community project supported by the Brent arm of the charity Crisis. https://m.facebook.com/harlesdentowngardens

Setting an inspiring pace up front, Irwin proved he'd been keeping up the fitness in honour of his big 2017 return. keeping us all well and truly on our toes for a 7.30min mile pace to base. Wowzer!!

After our very swift cavort we arrived on site and even though we may have been out of puff, we certainly weren't out of energy or enthusiasm for that matter, as we set to mission on the tasks ahead. Waiting for us at the gardens, with his usual good cheer and positive vibe was Gabriel from Crisis who manages the site, dishing out the evening tasks. Before long the team were split into groups and got to work, shifting and wheeling the various piles of soil and rocks to their new homes for use elsewhere in the fantastic community arena.

But while the team were busting it out, I of course (never not one to miss a chance to act the kid) had my eyes on some fitness fun in the playground YAY. So over to the apparatus I did go and breaking off in teams of 4 the crew took turns to join me on the bars for a good old monkey around, practicing all manner of body-weight challenges, in particular testing upper body strength.

We hung, swung and knee tucked our way to a fitness session jungle style, with plenty of Pow Pow along the way!!

With all the excitement and glee, What felt like 5mins of fun was in fact 40mins of graft and even though we wanted to stay (and play) much longer we sadly said our goodbyes and off into the night we flew again.

Staying as a pack we jogged a light foot comfy pace towards Roundwood Park to partake in one last fast fit challenge in the moonlight. Partners squat hold and punch arm challenge, 1 min on and 10squats to rest. Great for muscle condition. Rinse, repeat and don't step on the Shame(dog)poo!!

After the exertions we weren't finished there and after we walking lunged our way towards the gate, there was only one more mile that stood in between us and home. This point in, Enrique took to the helm driving the squad for one last challenge up the infamous "Out of Puffington Hill" Wham bam thank you mam. Eat my dust, now onwards home was a must.

Speedy and agile the team dashed off the last mile with glorious Good(gym) cheer and ample crew love. Even with pace group splits and back markers bringing in the final few, it was a team effort and everyone finished off the night with 5k under their belt, biceps bulging and big fat smiles to boot! HURRAAHHH

Epic night, awesome task and stupendous squad. Just your average Monday night for GG Brent.

Do good. Feel good. Inspire.