Last night’s GoodGym Wandsworth session kicked things off by welcoming Dominic to his very first session—great to have you with us, Dom! After a quick intro and a warm-up to get everything moving, we fired up our muscles and then our brains with a quiz question: which country drinks the most coffee per capita? A deceptively tricky one this week!

Then it was time to head out, jogging down to St Mary’s School where Isa was waiting to guide us to the nursery garden. School resources are tight, so the work we do here helps free up the caretaker to focus on other essential jobs around the school. And as we arrived, it was clear there was plenty to get stuck into.

The team didn’t hang about. Hannah, Sophie and Matthew took on the challenge of wrangling the old netting, carefully bringing it down ready for replacement. Dom did a fine job putting up the new netting like a pro. Nearby, Letizia and Felix turned their attention to the benches and raised beds, creating a work of art with a fresh coat of yellow and green paint.

Jo and Beth gave Mary a makeover, while Steph, Annabel, Ali and Caroline tackled a serious weeding task, which really made a difference. Everywhere you looked, people were grafting, chatting, and transforming the space bit by bit. By the end, the garden looked so much tidier and more welcoming. But the night wasn’t over just yet!

We made the most of the lovely outdoor space to squeeze in a fitness session—the “3-minute mountain leg challenge.” No hills? No problem. This session is designed to replicate the strength and endurance demands of hill running: three minutes per leg, split between one-legged step-ups and reverse lunges on the same leg. It’s tough, a little bit wobbly at times, but brilliant for building single-leg strength, stability and injury resilience—everything you need to power up real hills when they do appear.

After some determined efforts and some burning quads), we ran back to base for a well-earned stretch.

Next week’s task is still being confirmed, so keep an eye on [this space…] ( but we do know there will be a pizza social afterwards! Let us know if you’re coming so we can book enough space for some lovely carb loading!

Same time next week!

A great group of people gathered in Wandsworth tonight to do some good! Before setting off, we discussed what we each saw as the first signs of spring with sunlight being high on the wishlist along with flowers blossoming and birds singing - lovely!

We were off to Paradise Gardens to help them move some logs from trees that had been cut down and were lucky enough to spot some spring flowers en route. We got some rather attractive overcoats on to guard against the sap (although some found it to be a fragrant fabric freshener!).

We had a very dedicated team to help sort the existing logs and direct further log placement and we built quite the pile. We finished up with a fitness session with exercises spelling (you guessed it) LOGS!

Well done all and hope you feel the joys of spring this week!

It was another lively evening with the GoodGym Wandsworth crew yesterday— and a warm welcome was in order as we celebrated Chris's first session with the group. Great to have you along, Chris! 🎉

After a quick warm up and a quiz question that was far too easy for you clever lot, we set off through the evening streets towards Larkhall Park. Our mission: help prepare the ground for a flower delivery by tackling weeding, chipping and sweeping around the beds so the new plants will have the best possible start.

When we arrived, the park was buzzing with activity. Music drifted across from people working out nearby, and the cheers and shouts from football matches rang out across the pitches. Dodging the occasional flying ball certainly kept us on our toes ⚽! It was a great reminder of just how loved and well-used this space is, and why it’s so important to keep the park safe, tidy and welcoming for everyone who uses it.

There was plenty to do. A huge pile of woodchip needed shifting alongside the weeding and sweeping. Gloves on, tools in hand, the group spread out and got to work. Bit by bit the weeds disappeared, paths were cleared, and the massive woodchip pile started to shrink. With lots of helping hands, the transformation happened quickly. 🌱

There was so much to do that we had just enough time for a short but spicy fitness session before heading home. The format: speed circuits — 30 seconds on, no rest. High effort, high intensity and high impact. 💪

Fitness done, we ran back to base for some stretches and cool down, rounding off another productive night of doing good and getting fit.

Next week we’re heading to Paradise Cooperative Garden where a massive log challenge awaits. Are you up for it 🌳🔥

Last night was testament to the amazing things a group of us working together can do in just a short amount of time - and the level of happy chaos it can also create!

We had the pleasure of a new task yesterday. The Positive Network believes in fostering unity, empowerment and resilience predominately within the Black community across generations. They put on various programs and initiatives, celebrate cultural heritage and create a supportive network. They also believe in the power of community and collaboration to drive positive change - something we can definitely agree on here at GoodGym!

They have a centre in Balham which is used by its members. With so much going on there it is little surprise that its small store room had got to bursting at the seams with food, paperwork and other resources. It had become a bit of an issue for Grace, who runs the centre, and she asked us to come and give it a good sort out. There was also the question of a set of shelves to be built...

We quickly organised ourselves into a human chain. Out came dozens of water bottles, files of paper, more toilet rolls than we could count, a piano, a kettle, even a eyesight chart. It was like our very own generation game. All that was missing was the cuddly toy!

Meanwhile the shelves were being assembled by a group of allen key heroes. They made impressive headway in a short amount of time, only to meet with some resistance right at the last step. Nevertheless they persevered and right at the last minute they could be moved back into the office. Only to find, after all that work that the door didn't close properly with them in it! Disaster. Still, with some very impressive tetris style manoeuvring the problem was solved and we could call it a job well done.

Two groups set off for the pub in stages (thanks for expertly guiding everybody back Pritesh and to Katie for leading stretches!) and an evening of board games. With an epic game of Traitors we learned even more about each other, trust and treachery...!

Next week we're back to Age UK and there is also this great mission on Wimbledon common on Sunday - hope to see you there!