HAPPY NEW YEAR GOODGYM WANDSWORTH!

We really started off 2019 with a bang - no less than 46 amazing runners ran 5k, smashed out a whole range of jobs for a community garden, and took on a tough fitness session all in the name of getting fit and doing good.

The January Challenge!

As some of you know, every year we take part in the January challenge. This is a bit of (friendly!) competition between GoodGym areas to see who can rack up the most good deeds and distance in the gloomiest month of the year - it's a really good motivation when it's a bit dark and cold outside. This year our goal is a biggie! We have no less than 220 good deeds to reach, and a whopping 3000 kilometres. We can do it! Just make sure you're connected to Strava so all your training miles are counted, and come along to as many group runs and missions as you can squeeze in - everything counts towards our target. Go team!

Well done to everybody who did races and parkruns over the festive season - don't forgt there is a parkrun every Saturday morning at 9am. It's a free, timed 5k and a great way to get fitter, improve your times and also to meet up with your GG buddies - wear your red tshirt with pride!

Need for Speed

After a quick intro and catch up in the BAC we headed outside for our warm up which got our muscles ready for the run ahead. We also found out about eachother's resolutions for 2019. There were a happy number of running and GoodGym goals (hurrah!) as well as promises to cut down on plastic, drink more, drink less, remain fabulous, eat less meat and read more books. You are an inspiring bunch!

Our task tonight was at Doddington and Rollo rooftop garden, a space which has been transformed from a neglected multistorey roof into an amazing community garden for local residents to grow their own fruit and veg. So after a stead run down there, stopping only briefly for some conditioning reps, we arrived to find the volunteers waiting for us with a list of jobs.

Tasks included cutting back vines, weeding, shifting heavy pots, sorting compost, turning over soil and we quickly divided up into teams to tackle them. It was incredibly seeing you all work so hard - looking round the garden is was a buzz of activity and so impressive to see what a big team of people can achieve in half an hour. That work would have taken the volunteers a significant chunk of time, so well done for making such a difference.

Tools down, we jogged over to Battersea Park for our fitness session. We kicked off the first one of 2019 with everybody's favourite/worst challenge - Sally Squats. This is a serious bit of thigh-burning conditioning, and we all found ourselves how blimming long Sally was going to be up and and down - was it the extended version? Was it on a loop? Finally it came to the end with everybody gritting their teeth and nobody giving up. If hat wasn't enough we then did a total body workout circuit, which sadly (I can tell you were devastated) had to be cut short because we ran out of time.

After a speedy run back to our starting point we paused at the bottom of the hill at the BAC for a final tough sprint before Danny kindly led us though our much needed stretches. What a brilliant way to kick off the year, team. Next week we're back doing the same and edging ever closer to reaching our January target! Hope to see you - until then, happy running!

With OPHELIA howling around the Steel City, blowing road barriers in our path and breaking Tom's camera, the @GGSHEFF crew still stood (and ran) firm last night.

With our planned task with Regather at Lynwood Gardens being in a wooded area, we thought it best to re-arrange this task for a more clam future night so headed of from the Showroom over to Mount Pleasant to see the infamous Jonny Douglas who gave us a brief about the Save Mount Pleasant project which for which we were flyering that eve.

After a brief sit on Jonny's comfey corner sofa and explanation of the project and it's plans we headed out into the wind with flyers tightly clutched destined for peoples letter boxes.

We split into two teams with 2 team captains* Bombacious Bash* and Sensational Sam (who was on his 50th good deed that night - Horrah!) The two teams the split themselves accordingly to ensure that no letterbox was left out and we smashed the following roads:

• Sharrow St
• Hobart St
• Salmon St
• Club Garden Road

We then headed for shelter from the wind in the Park Hill Flats complex which offered shelter, fantastic views of the city, famous historical public proposals and lots of letter boxes in a row!

Following the tactical completion of operation Park Hill we headed outside and onto the newly lit Cobbled Killer where some of the group ran hill reps whilst some other took on the Steel Steps and then we re-grouped at the top before returning to base to stretch, hear news and grab refreshment.

Until next time,

Happy Running :)

Last night in Wandsworth we started the week right with a short and speedy run, an equally short and speedy task, plus a fun fitness session.

Stephanie, William, Alice and Lynn all joined us for their very first GoodGym group run last night with some fantastic running, so give them all a cheer!

We had some great news last night, with a couple of Wandsworth runners smashing the Oxford Half Marathon on Sunday and still making it to the group run - Tom and Matt, well done!

The run was short-ish so we made sure we took our time warming up to run in the cool night air, and heard about all the ways in which everyone takes care of their own mental wellbeing - of course GoodGym and running took the top spots, with wine and baths also scoring highly. Running and exercise are great ways to de-stress and your body will get a rush of endorphins, ensuring you feel good! One runner wrote an article about it all here.

We took a speedy 2.5km run down to Alderbrook Primary School, with David backmarking, to move some furniture from the top of the school down to the bottom. After a quick photo we were shown to the room where all the furniture was stored - it was about 4 flights of stairway up to the top of the school, so we knew we were in for a good leg and arm workout. Everyone got stuck straight in and split up into groups to carry chairs, tables and shelves all the way down to the playground where everything got stored in a small out-building. With so many hands helping out it was all over quickly and we were ready for our run back to BAC.

We stopped on the common for a longer fitness session where we found out who is scared of spiders and who cycles to work amid all the planking, sumo squats and reverse crunches. As we finished the task so quickly we even had time for some quick games of fish and chips and duck duck goose!

Thanks for having me to lead the run Wandsworth. Ana will be back in her rightful place next week when we visit Wendelsworth Community Garden to see our GG Tree.

WELCOME TO THE TEAM!

This week we welcomed 2 new runners to the @GGSHEFF Crew. A big welcome to

• Rhiann
• Kristy Hopkins

GIVE EM A CHEER!

WOOD TIME!

This weeks task was a woody one. On arrival at Sharrow Community Forum we were greeted and briefed by MARVELOUS MARIA who described the evenings tasks which included moving wood in and out of the now fully functioning wood working workshop and cutting down partly used pieces to ensure that nothing went to waste.

EXERCISE TIME

As it was a little cramped in the workshop with a few less tools than we wood ;) have liked we split ;) the group and half of us branched ;) outside for some fun time fitness. This week this involved a group circuit containing:

• Squat 180
• Sprints
• Sumo Squat
• Tuck Jumps
• Burpees (Ash's Fave)
• Sumo Squat
• Squat Jumps
• Goblet Squats
• Curtsey Lunge
• Lunge
• Split Lunge
• Squat Punch
• Calf Raises

Once we swapped groups over so everyone had a chance to sweat and to saw we said our goodbyes and headed home with a few street furniture exercises thrown in for good measure!

Once the Howard St Sprint and stretches were complete we gave Kat a huge congrats for her 50th good deed and thanked Steve for #GGBBQ3 and headed in for warmth and refreshments.

Until next week....

Happy Running!