On the hottest day of the year so far, and with many people enjoying a relaxing Bank Holiday Monday, a hardy crew of GoodGymers headed to Lark Hall Park for a mission to rejuvenate a long-neglected pétanque court.

The aim is to bring the space back to life so that people of all ages in the community can once again enjoy using it. With temperatures soaring, we made sure to take things steadily: plenty of water, sun cream, and caps were the order of the day before we got stuck in.

We soon began clearing and restoring the court. Our efforts didn’t go unnoticed — passers-by stopped to ask what we were up to, and the local publican was so thankful that he kindly offered us free pints of lemonade when we were finished!

We took a much-needed ice cream break, giving everyone a chance to cool off but despite the heat, we managed to complete around a quarter of the work, with plenty more planned in the coming weeks — including another session this Saturday

After a hot run back and some stretches, we headed off to enjoy the rest of the Bank Holiday feeling good about having done something positive for the local community.

Next week we’ll be back at Doddington, followed by our monthly pub quiz — hope you can make it!

Last night we were back at Balham Nursery following the amazing work the team did last Monday – and this time it was all about painting!

After a warm up and a Eurovision-themed quiz question (where the team impressively remembered all five UK Eurovision winners: Sandie Shaw, Lulu, Brotherhood of Man, Bucks Fizz and Katrina and the Waves), we headed off on our run to the nursery.

Natasha, the headteacher, was ready and waiting for us with a perfectly prepped painting area, so it was straight into action grabbing brushes and rollers. Within minutes the place was already looking brighter and fresher. A few of the team also tackled the windows, giving them a much-needed wash down and making an immediate difference.

Natasha was absolutely delighted with the transformation and told us we had saved the nursery a “small fortune” – a good reminder of the impact a Monday night GoodGym session can have.

With the painting complete and the rollers downed, we headed over to Clapham Common via the “scenic route” for fitness. And by fitness, we were staring down the barrel of a FIVE MINUTE plank challenge. Yes. Five whole minutes.

The variations included military planks, diamond planks, side planks, reverse planks, shoulder taps and plank jumps. Who knew there were so many ways to suffer in a horizontal plank position?

Very impressively everybody managed the full five minutes. What an incredible effort.

Next week we’ve got a special lunchtime Bank Holiday session helping clean up a pétanque court at Larkhall Park – come along! We'll follow with coffee/ice cream (delete as appropriate depending on bank holiday weather...) You can sign up here

The weather cheered up just in time for Goodgym Wandsworth to assemble! Brilliant to see so many friendly faces. We checked in on Eurovision plans and tested our knowledge of the most successful nations (Ireland and Sweden joint top in terms of previous wins for those who missed it).

We were off to help at a local nursery today with some fantastic jobs lined up. An empty sandpit awaited which was swiftly filled at record speed with fifty fresh bags ready for the kids to enjoy tomorrow. Elsewhere there was some energetic hosing and scrubbing from Jordan and Ali to ensure the cover looked as fresh as the pit itself. The rest of the team got stuck into freshening up some planters with cardboard bases, twigs and then compost. Bags galore and all ready for the children to do some planting.

The team were so quick that they even fitted in a quick spot of weeding out the front to finish the session. It was back to Clapham common for some exercises spelling out Balham (spot a very happy Felix doing his high knees!) and making the most of the glorious light evenings. We even spotted a pony being walked. When in Clapham! Well done all and hope to see you soon.

What a week for GoodGym Hounslow — so many celebrations, achievements and adventures to catch up on!

Fresh off the back of the London Marathon, the good things just kept coming. Florian was busy acting as a guide runner at the Hamburg Half Marathon, while Steph completed a double-header, topping things off with a marathon in Milton Keynes. Add in Will racing in Copenhagen this weekend, plus some adventurous international parkrunning tourism, and it’s safe to say there’s absolutely no stopping you all! We love to see it.

Last night our group run headed out to Dukes Meadow via what we'll call the scenic route. On arrival, we found a few GGers had already beaten us to the task and got stuck in early.

We were joining forces with Abundance London to tackle a huge mound of mulch that had been fly-tipped across several parking spaces. Task organiser Jen greeted us with a cautious, “Just do what you can — I don’t expect you to finish it all…”

But this was her first encounter with GG Hounslow...

Armed with rakes, shovels and wheelbarrows, we got to work. Barrow-load by barrow-load, the mountain steadily disappeared until the hidden parking spaces were finally revealed once more. Great to see some brilliant teamwork in action.

Meanwhile, Emily and Lucy headed over to the beautiful riverside garden, where they took care of some much-needed weeding and tidying, helping the space look its very best for passers-by.

With the sun out, the river alongside us and plenty of heavy lifting involved, it turned into a stunning evening and an unexpectedly thorough fitness session too.

Don’t forget — there’s a mission happening this Saturday at Watermans Park. Can you make it?

Great work everybody!