Weathering the storm

After the weather had been so extreme it was an anxious day monitoring the roar of storm Ciara and wondering if there was going to be a sting in the tail or whether it would go out like a lamb and enable our session to go ahead as planned.

Was it coincidental or was it heaven sent that our GG celebrity Alex had appealed to the twitter gods earlier in the day ? Such is his power, that his wish was granted making it our pleasure to welcome Alex,Head of Business Development, to the friendliest and cheekiest GG on the south coast.

Despite a number of last minute cancellations it was heart warming to have 14 runners and walkers turn out on a damp,windy,chilly evening that was very far removed from our usual sunny balmy micro climate. Although slightly modified we still managed to get the essence of a regular session.

Special mention to regular Ros who we were delighted to see back after her holidays and work commitments together with new memberClare joining us for the third time.

We listened to the regular GG round up of news which included the theme for February which is 'give it heart'. This is not necessarily about romantic heart (although I'm sure all of GG would love to hear the tale from our very own Jay and Katherine) Instead it will focus on personal achievement and doing things with passion. If you have an idea or a story you'd like to tell please contact rebecca@goodgym.org (and copy me in too!)

We also enjoyed some insights from Alex about his focus on developing missions and the support of the elderly and isolated in Worthing together with potential new sponsorship agreements.

Following this we fell into 1 walking and 2 running groups, appointed front and back markers, then off we set out in the (not so wild) streets of Worthing.

This evening we were heading to St Clare's which is part of Turning Tides homeless charity. It acts as a community hub during the day and a night shelter after 7.30 pm.

GoodGym cleans up with gusto

15 short minutes later we were warmly welcomed by Amy at St Clare's who outlined the 3 tasks for the evening which were cooking,painting and tidying and cleaning the communal living area.

Anne and Jay headed upstairs to splash a second coat of paint on 2 (very blue) feature walls in Amy's office. Luckily there was nothing slap dash about their painting skills, just pure precision (plus lots of delightful chatter)

Paul,Duncan,Sue,Belinda,Gill and Graham headed in to the kitchen to chop,cook and wash up whilst Ros, Alex, Clare, John and Barbara rolled up their sleeves and put some elbow grease into clearing and cleaning shelves together with scrubbing walls with the magic sponges.Suddenly there were fresh smells and gleaming surfaces shining through. Great work team!

Life is full of pasta - bilities

Back in the kitchen work was well under way with the chefs and sous chefs ably led by Paul preparing 2 large lasagnes which will be cooked and frozen for later in the week when there are no volunteers available to cook for the night shelter. The efficiency, not to mention the smells and the white bechamel sauce that was cooked from scratch really was impressive.

34 short minutes later ( including a 10 second count down in ready steady cook style) it was tools down and everyone piled into the kitchen for a lively group photo.

With a heartfelt round of applause to Amy for staying on to host us tonight together with reciprocated thanks from Amy to us all we set off back out into the cold in 3 (slightly) depleted groups who were all (eagerly) anticipating the fitness session.

In sprint condition

I had chosen the most sheltered most spot I could find which just happened to be outside McDonalds in the covered precinct (aka high street!) Tonight it was all about staying warm and what better way to do this than raising the heart rate with some lively team sprints, hops and jumps. As ever there was not a competitive streak in sight (who's kidding who?!) and I didn't hear a single 'I can't' either (my selective hearing helps)

We finished with some functional moves including squats and lunges focusing on balance and strength all designed to improve technique and form for running.

With a leisurely jog and walk back to base it was a nice surprise to see the front group throwing in some impromptu tricep dips ( showing off to Alex I think! ) Not sure we all believed the 98,99,100 counting but we all loved the fun and energy.

Stretches and farewells wrapped up the evening with a promise from Alex to return (hopefully for a dip in the sea in the summer)

Team Worthing

Sending you all lots of GG love with some healthy and energetic vibes thrown in too.

Julia xx