8 brave souls ventured out on a cold and windy Yorkshire evening. Running 5K.

Unfortunately our task at the farm was cancelled which meant we decided to head out and focus on some physical enhancement of the fitness session kind. Egg, the lovely new trainer in York gave a comprehensive welcome speech before we had a gentle paced run in to the city centre to do some fitness work at a multi storey car park.

Faster, Stronger, Fitter

Firtstly we ran up 19 flights of stairs to the very top where we undertook some warm up drills whilst admiring the panaramic view of the city. We then dropped a few levels to get out of the wind.

Secondly we did a number of running drills, focusing on running with high knees, foot strike and heels kicking out at the rear.

Thirdly we did a mixture of speed, strength and conditioning training in the empty car park. Everyone put a shift in and worked extremely hard.

Each and every one of us regrets every single mince pie consumed over Christmas.

Back to base

Once we were suitably worked we took a 20 minute cool down/aerobic run back to GoodGym Sheffield HQ where we stretched and discussed forthcoming tasks.

1. Next week we are at Sharrow School to do some painting - please wear clothes that you don't mind getting paint on. Sign up here

2. There are a number of taster sessions coming up on odd days. Keep an eye on the website.

3. As of next week we are back to Monday nights every week, 6:30pm

Well done everyone for coming out in the cold and wind tonight

Finally, we would all like to wish Egg good luck in beautiful York. Please keep in touch.

GoodGym Sheffield is funded by Age Better in Sheffield in association with South Yorkshire Housing Association and the Big Lottery fund. Find out about the project here and sign up to visit an older person with GoodGym and end social isolation in Sheffield here

5 GoodGymmers ran 7 km to distribute Goodgym leaflets in the student area of Sheffield

With many of the regular group runners sending their apologies, the decision was made to make the final group run of 2016 an easily deliverable one. The decision was made to distribute leaflets in the centre of student living in Sheffield, Eccy Rd.

We had a quick brief with risks identified and made our way over to the terraced houses that back on to Ecclesall Road. There were a number of pedestrians who looked like our target audience, so they were duly handed some literature.

The task

We simply split each street in two and posted the leaflets in to houses, businesses and charity shops (hopefully the charity shops will have work for us in future).

Fitness session

We made our way to Endcliffe park did 90% efforts on a 100 metre slight uphill section. We used the downhill for recovery and repeated 5 times. This kind of session is so simple, but is really effective at developing the heart and lungs and allowing a fast recovery following efforts. Everyone did amazing.

We then headed back to base for stretching. We passed the Salvation Army building on the way back, so I popped in to introduce myself and give my details in case of any future tasks. It is a huge operation, so it would be great to get involved.

Once back at base we stretched the main muscle groups and headed to the pub around the corner for onion rings and lemonade. We had a chat about how GoodGym plans to expand across the UK and the mechanics of coach runs. We also discussed veganism, marathons, Netflix, French and Ryanair. The plan is to head here on the first Monday of each month, starting February. We will complete the group run, then head to the pub for some bonding.

Despite the low numbers due to Christmas, tonight was a great group run. A massive welcome to Beccy who got stuck in and settled in to the GoodGym Sheffield spirit instantly. You did brilliantly.

Our first group run after the break is on the 3rd Jan - A TUESDAY

Details of the next group run are here

GoodGym Sheffield is funded by Age Better in Sheffield in association with South Yorkshire Housing Association and the Big Lottery fund. Find out about the project here and sign up to visit an older person with GoodGym and end social isolation in Sheffield here