Twelve runners set out on a beautiful Monday night for short trot down to the Old Harlesden Police Station where a huge task awaited them out the back...

Abraham was there to meet and greet, and introduced us to Colin, who explained that a new art complex called CREATE SPACE will soon be opening there and will be available for local community use, and that they are fighting to make it a great space for everyone, rather than letting it be developed into blocks of flats. Anyone looking for more information about volunteering or signing up as members can contact colinlearatceatespace@outlook.com (0749 232 1626).

Colin led us out to the previously unexplored territory round the back of the station, (where the creepy old Willesden gallows are located!!!) and set us all to work, with Sadhana, our intrepid (and prolific) photographer catching all the best action moments!

There was (quite LITTER-ally) heaps to do;

• moving wood

• weeding

• sawing branches

• moving piles of mattresses

• litter picking

• fighting unruly ivy...

...but the team were undaunted - we had no trouble with the rubble! and cleared some space in that place! Bravely ignoring slugs and wee beasties, brushing past clumps of nettles and thistles and enduring their nasty stings, we worked on for 50 minutes, searching for doc leaves to soothe the pain, but to no avail... We packed up and set off back for the Queensbury with just a sliver of daylight left - yay for spring!

Before you go... The next GoodGym monthly drinks will be on Thursday 6th April from 6.30pm til late, upstairs at the Marquis of Cornwallis, WC1N 1AP (near Russell Sq). All the details are here: https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/gg-monthly-social-april I hope you can make it!

The next is a 'save the date' for the GoodGym Olympics, which will be held on Saturday 10th June at the Parilament Hill Track from 1-6pm; the idea is that different boroughs compete in events like 400m, and the elimination mile, to more novel events like a welly throwing competition and even hopefully a wheelbarrow race with real wheelbarrows. Each area will be encouraged to make their own flag for the event and even have a GoodGym Bake-off (ala a summer fate style), so hopefully it will be something for everyone.

Bye for now, till next time! XXX

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

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

Hi, Hi We're your weather girls (and Dan) and have we got news for you......You'd better listen "It's raining Brent, oh yes, it was raining Brent but a special (eight)" Came, for: 4Miles, lots of smiles and a mean clean up of Harlesden Methodist Church. ITS RAINING GOODGYM

If you didn't catch that - The rain was frighting!!! So much so I needed a pep talk call to Ruth at head office to get me pumped to hop on the old moped and brave the tube strike fall out traffic, in the torrentials, to get to my crew!! The love oh for the love... It's deep and its real!

And to my delight 7 more die-hard Goodgymers greeted my soggy entrance, with gleeful smiles and motivated madness in their eyes! ahhhhh my running familia and happy to see them was I!!

Welcoming Newbie Amy into the folds were the sexy six sisters with soul - Liz, Karen, Tabitha, Debs, Andrea and of course Moi!!!And it couldn't be a weather girls special it weren't for our "Tall, strong, dark and Lean. Rough and tough and never meannnnnnnnnn - Dan Heller of course!

Humidity is rising (uh rising), barometer's getting low. According to all sources, the street's the place to go (we better hurry up) and hurry we did! 'Cause tonight for the first time (this year)Just about half-past seven For the first time in (2017) history. It's gonna start raining Goodgymmmmmmmm!!!

Okay I'll stop with the singing now! So hot to trot we buzzed down to our task for the eve, Harlesden Methodist Church for the big clean! Slap bang in the heart of Harlesden High Street, this place is more than just a community church hall. The fantastic team offers a range of amazing services for the locals including counselling, homeless soup kitchens, clothing trade events, funding drives for the community, you name it they do it! So what better place to give back than here!!

So we set to work for a 40min blast of spruce up power, but not to let the fitness slide, simultaneously utilised the copious amounts of stairs for walking lunges and squat jump drills, taking it in turns to power up those glutes and work on those quad muscles too!!! BOOM

It wasn't long before DJ Dan's music was blasting out cheering us on through the task and drill, helping the time to fly by and before long - DING DING.... Disco over, it's time to roll out once more.

Packing up swiftly and back on the road quicker than you can say glitter-ball, the team got straight back to it, engaging those newly woken up butt muscles in hill sprints and solo dashes all the way back to base, the final 2 miles!

So despite the rain, the cold and the awol tubes, Goodgym Brent, proved once again, that obstacles do not exist when you are determined, motivated and jumping into Jan with POW POW Power, enthusiasm and Goodgym-Vibes!

See you next time!!!

DO GOOD. FEEL GOOD. INSPIRE

Ten jewels in the Brent crown braved the unpredictable weather (Storm Angus will have to do better than that to stop this bunch doing good!!!) to run to Ashford Place, London's first 24-hour shelter for the homeless dedicated to promoting inclusion and reducing isolation.

We were delighted to see a rather more hirsute Dan back in the ranks after a break and a brief foray into GoodGym Barnett - but we forgave him ;-P... especially as he's been busy growing a Movember moustache, good for you Dan, keep it up! We also welcomed Fausto back to the fold after a few months' break, and long-standing and newer runners, Elisa, Tania, Deborah, Tabitha, Enrique, Clare Mouse, Mel, and cover run leader Claireybell.

Our friendly group managed to recruit two more runners for next week's run before we even left our base at the Queensbury pub, good work guys!

We managed to tear ourselves away from the glowing pub fire and out into the night (which wasn't as cold as it looked from indoors!), leaping over puddles and piles of wet leaves like sprightly pixies to avoid soggy socks and squelchy shoes.

After a short run and a quick stretch, we arrived at Ashford Place where Alan met us and explained what he wanted us to do, opening the door to a room bursting with bags of donations and furniture - our task - to make it look "different"... So we rolled up our sleeves and hauled out bags and bags of clothes, bedding and toiletries, sorted, re-bagged, and labelled, a jumble of chaos into an orderly oasis of organisation and calm - it was one of those jobs that you would put off forever if you had to do it on your own as it would have taken 2 days, but ...

with ten pairs of hands, we had it done in about 20 minutes!

We still had time to fit in a run to Gladstone Park where we set to some tempo runs cleverly disguised as a game... we ran a loop of the park in single file, with the person at the back having to accelerate to make it up to the front of the pack again, the person at the front setting the pace - there was definitely some healthy competition going on with Deborah and Tabitha leaving us in the dust as they vied for the lead. We finished off with some cool down stretches and a jog back up the hill to base again.

A quick reminder, if you are interested in coming to a GG Brent Christmas meal and/or drinks (no run involved, lycra and high-viz optional, name badges will be provided for identification purposes...), there is a doodle poll on GoodGym Brent's Facebook page, we will confirm the date by the end of this week.

Well done guys, keep shining your light around Brent and beyond!

13 Goodgymers, Dropped 200 leaflets for 2 worthy causes on a wintery but wonderful Monday night in Brent.

Greeted by the awesome sight of not one, not two, but three new faces and a whole bunch of awesome oldies too, I was over the moon to be back from hols and straight back into the warm embrace of the one and only GoodGym Brent.

With welcomes and housekeeping underway, the team were introduced to the task for the night - The Bi-Monthly track session and leaflet drop. This week I was delighted to welcome Tania's contribution for the Brent Social counselling services, an opportunity for low income and out of work local people to be supported in achieving positive mental health, through talk therapy in the borough of Brent.

With no time to waste the team were off, speeding down the road and engaging with all the community along the way. Newbie Rebekah was the woman with the effective 'wink' and used these Eye-rresistible (sorry) charms to drop the most out of the whole team.

After the one mile dash to Willesden Track the team didn't rest on their laurels and got stuck straight into the the most Hard-Core strength and abs session known to mankind. Strength work started with: *Walking lunges *Piggy back runs *Squat sequence Quickly followed by walking held planks and scissor kicks for..... well as long as I could do it so that was a looonnnnggggggg time!!! HA HA

Mixing in with the strength work the team bashed out a series of speedy 100m sprints followed by 200's and recovery runs. It's safe to say they gave it a Good-Gym run for their money (again sorry, it seems my holiday away has been plenty of time to come up with the cheesiest of all cheer puns)

After sweat there was the stretch and one last dash home to freedom. Despite the cold and teasing drops of wintery rain, there was only good vibes and good times had by all, what a way to get back in the game!!

Another successful dose of community goodness and athletic throw down to boot. There's only one place to fuel body and soul and that's ramping it up with West London's finest - GG Brent.

Until next time.....

DO GOOD. FEEL GOOD. INSPIRE

On a wet Monday night, seven GoodGym Redbridge runners took on the challenge of delivering flyers for an ‘Active Together’ initiative and ran more than 8km in the process.

Spurred on by the knowledge that “skin is waterproof”, the magnificent seven met at our usual home – Wanstead House Community Association – for the usual briefing and catch up. Excitingly the group was joined by three Redbridge first timers – Alice, Caitriona and Tim.

With the usual GG news dealt with it was time for Sam from Vision Redbridge Culture and Leisure to talk us through the nights task. She explained that we were flyering for an initiative called “Active Together” which aimed to engage with the residents of local housing estates and find out what would make them get out and be more active. A brilliant task and one well aligned with what we do at GoodGym.

Without further delay, the group headed off up Wanstead High St in the direction of the Hermitage Estate. Armed with bags of flyers and one fire key for accessing the buildings the team set to work distributing the goods. Each building was three of four stories high, which meant the added bonus of a stair workout in each building. With Vision’s Sam and Trainer James, doing relay to open the doors, the group soon made quick work on posting the flyers and within 30 minutes the task was complete.

With 30 minutes left on the clock there was still time for a short 4km run around Snaresbrook before heading back to base for a cool down stretch.

All in all a brilliant task which saw GG Redbridge help make a real difference in the local area, get a little bit sweaty and a lot fitter. And the rain even held off.

Great work everyone. Same time next week?

P.S. Big shout out to Peter for the photo taking!