A Night of Heroes, Horticulture & Happy Endings at Doddington!

Last night was a special one as we celebrated a big achievement: Paul completed his 400th Good Deed! To mark this milestone for a real-life hero, we had a well-deserved stash of chocolate heroes to fuel our efforts and congratulate Paul on his unwavering dedication.

Our session took us down to the Doddington Community Garden, a vibrant green hub that always benefits the community. We tackled a variety of tasks, including:

Battling the bindweed - an ongoing effort to remove this persistent weed to give the raspberries a chance to flourish. Clearing areas for trees- Annabel and Paul got busy ensuring the ash and apple have the space and light they need Transporting hay and tiles - a true team effort, moving (heavy) items around the garden. Removing dead leaves and sweeping up - Pritesh, Sophie and Jason got rid of all those yellow leaves cluttering up the place

It wasalso great to admire the onions we planted some time ago, now flourishing – a testament to the long-term impact of our GoodGym efforts!

After a productive gardening session, we headed downstairs for a competitive fitness session which saw Sophie and Dave crowned tricep dip royalty!

The run back to base took an unexpected turn as we became embroiled in a missing dog drama. Thankfully, Catherine and Jordan stepped in swiftly and contacted the council, providing crucial assistance. We were all delighted to find out later that evening that the dog was successfully reunited with its owner! A truly happy ending to what was already a very productive night.

A huge well done to everyone, especially to Paul on his amazing 400th good deed!

Join us for our next mission this Saturday: moving mulch! Your help would be greatly appreciated. You can sign up here

We kicked our big task off last night with a warm up and a debate about the best breakfast. From leftover pizza to avo on toast, fritters got a mention and the classic eggs – any which way – got the most votes. With that settled, we set off for our ongoing garden transformation project.

The big news was that we received a grant from the NHS to put towards the garden! 🎉 Thanks to this support, we’ve been able to take the space to the next level. Check out the before and after photos from when we first started at the garden.

At the weekend Jordan and I went on a garden shopping spree, coming back loaded with plants, tools, and an ambitious planting plan. The aim for the garden is to grow fresh produce to donate to local communities living with food insecurity so we wanted to get as much in the ground as possible.

On arrival, we got stuck straight in. There was a lot to plant – from herbs and flowers to a new pear tree, courgettes, chard, peppers, and tomatoes. The potatoes were looking especially healthy, the gooseberry tree had started to fruit, and the fig was looking fabulous. Unfortunately so were the weeds, so they were the first to come out.

After a good stint digging, planting, watering and sowing, we popped across to the square opposite for a our workout – mixing cardio with strength-building conditioning.

We finished up back at Omnibus for a good stretch and a lovely post-session social.

This Saturday we have a great mission helping to marshall at West London Queer Project’s 10km walk. It’s going to be a fun day out supporting a great cause – come along if you can! We also have a new weekly task on Thursdays during the day helping people with Parkinson's get active starting from next week.

Next Monday we're back for our regular visit to Doddington community garden - see you there!

What a brilliant Monday night we had in Wandsworth – full of energy, effort and excellent exercise!

Sophie led the session superbly from start to finish and, excitingly, is soon to become Wandsworth’s newest fitness leader – a huge congratulations is in order! We can all agree she did a fantastic job, keeping us motivated and moving all evening.

We kicked things off with a fun warm-up where we shared our favourite sporting moments – everything from iconic football goals to Olympic heroics and epic tennis battles. Inspired and limbered up, we set off for the beautiful Paradise Community Garden where we met more GoodGymers ready to get stuck in.

The task for the night was centred around the orchard – we worked together to clear the area around the trees and topped them with manure to help them thrive. Paradise Garden is a vital green space in the heart of Wandsworth, offering a place for locals to connect with nature, grow food, and enjoy some peace – and it was fantastic to contribute to its upkeep. We’ve already heard back from the lead gardener who said we did a fantastic job – great work team!

After our task, Sophie wasn’t finished with us just yet – she put us through our paces with 45 seconds of challenging exercises. Think squat jumps, lunges, jacks with a twist, and the intriguing “marionette move” (a new favourite!). It was tough but satisfying, and a perfect way to round off the evening.

Coming up:

• This Saturday: We've got a huge mission at Doddington – an amazing opportunity to do something good for the community and enjoy a little Saturday social afterwards. We'd love to see you there!

• Next Monday is Bank Holiday so we’re switching things up with a lunchtime run – perfect if you fancy a dose of feel-good activity before your afternoon plans.

See you soon for more good deeds and good vibes!

Even without the light spring evening, the prospect of a pub quiz in our immediate future and exciting collabs to chat about, there was so much to celebrate last night!

Let's start with

• Katie's 100th good deed and Jason's 50th good deed! Absolutely spectacular GoodGyming from both of you, huge congratulations on the commitment, positivity and fun along the way

• welcoming Jennifer and Cheski to their very first GG session - give them a massive cheer! So great to have you join us

• The upcoming Friday Night Lights festival of running in Battersea park where if you sign up to volunteer either for the morning or the afternoon session you get free entry to the festival and entry to the fun social evening 5km. Vibez!

That's without even mentioning Annabel getting to the end of her epic marathon training and Ali smashing the Putney half. You've all been extremely busy bees.

But not too busy to throw yourselves into several tasks at Doddington Community Garden, a space which is used by local people for growing organic produce, educating kids and providing a safe green space for those who don't have access to one.

There was loads of watering to be done, cavolo nero to snip, leaves to clear and one huge path to dig and cover with cardboard. We soon got busy and the time flew by. There was just a few minutes left for a group photo before heading down to the square for a fitness session that worked on balance and agility for runners.

Luckily the chalk fairy had been down earlier to mark out a course on the pavement. We had a quick run through of the various challenges, including ladder runs and lateral jumps, and set off for our first round. The idea was that we would time it and then try and beat our first time. It took a bit of getting used to, but fast feet and cat-like balance skills were on form and the second time round our previous record was easily smashed. Well done team!

All that was left was stretches and a run to the pub where we very, very almost emerged victorious. Second place is pretty good! In the end, we were all winners when Catherine produced the most incredible lemon and poppyseed cake - her magical powers with cake never fail to make us happy.

Well done to everybody! Next week we're back at it, this time heading to Waste Not Want Not to help with jobs there. See you there!

Last night’s task marked our second week of transforming the Wandsworth Bereavement Services space, where we’ve been painting the walls to help create a more welcoming environment for those seeking support. With one week of solid progress behind us (and most of the tape neatly in place), we dove straight into the task. A huge welcome to Raquel and Anais, who joined us for their first session—hope you enjoyed the colourful experience!

As soon as we arrived, we split into teams, ready to tackle the task of turning the drab, beige walls into a calming masterpiece of blues. Over the course of the next 45 minutes, we worked our painting magic, transforming the rooms from dreary to dreamy. It was like a little paint-powered orchestra—everyone had their part to play, and together we created a soothing atmosphere for the service users.

The great news? TWO rooms were finished and, to our collective delight, all the paint stayed neatly within the lines! Success! Well, almost… Enter: The Mini Disaster™.

There was a slight hiccup when a tin of paint, perched precariously at the top of a stepladder, took a tragic tumble. In a moment of pure gravity-defying chaos, it exploded in a spectacular splash zone that could rival a Jackson Pollock masterpiece. But in true GoodGym style, panic wasn’t an option. We sprang into action, everyone shouting out solutions and working together to restore order to the chaotic scene.

From vinegar to scrubbing pads, suggestions poured in, but it was Annabel’s genius idea to call in the Rug Doctor that truly saved the day. Within 20 minutes, we had a rug-cleaning machine on-site, and the industrial-scale cleaning operation was in full swing. The rug doctor was a true hero, and we managed to clear up most of the the mess with the speed and precision of a well-oiled machine.

Apologies for the chaos towards the end, everyone! I promise next time we’ll return to our usual, smooth-running selves. And yes, we’ll be back to dry, paint-free floors next week—so rest assured, your beautiful running kits will remain safely free from splashes.

Great work, team! Until next week, when we’ll be back at it—this time helping a local charity with a lovely floor-lifting task. We also have a great community mission this weekend at a local nature reserve.

Stay colourful, GoodGym! 💙🎨

The Katherine Low Settlement in Battersea is an amazing hub for all sorts of charities. They support refugees with various programs, have clubs for the elderly, provide food for vulnerable groups and loads of resources for kids. They also have a garden which has been neglected over winter, and needed a bit of extra love. Which is where we came in!

A big welcome to Holly who joined for the very first GoodGym session, great to have you with us Holly!

We met at a very chilly BAC and got straight into getting those frozen muscles with lot of dynamic movements up the hill. We finished off the warm up with a quick Valentine's Day related quiz question with a bit of a dark edge to it before setting off.

After a brisk run down to the centre we were shown the garden and given a list of jobs which included deadheading, sweeping, clearing and weeding. There was also a job inside for the lucky few tidying up a games cupboard and sweeping.

Before long we were a buzz of activity and within 25 minutes of hard work the garden was looking so much tidier and more welcome for the service users. The games cupboard was immaculate and ready for use by the kids club, and the floors were spotless thanks to Jo and her giant brush.

After a few minutes thawing out in the warm we headed back out to face the night and do a fitness session based on lower body muscle groups. Every 30 seconds saw us change up the exercise, from curtesy, plié, oblique crunch and static squats, to lunges, jumps, single leg holds and pulses. Phew!

Next week we have an indoor task writing envelopes for an intergenerational charity - sign up here

Great work everybody, thanks for all your efforts on a pretty cold night!