Meanwhile in Westminster we return for our first run of the year in a bid to shift some of what we may have picked up over the festive period. 15 of you wonderful people headed out in what is now truly winter and headed down to St Andrews to give the gym its monthly spring clean.

Now 90% of you that came out to play last night were brand new, so having never experienced the GoodGym experience i thought it only right that we headed to one of our favourite locations only a 7k round trip away.

You all arrived promptly and we ready and raring to go soooooo a nice long briefing on what we were going to be doing, how long goodgym has been around, what else you can get involved in and of course a special note on how to successfully weave your way through rush hour human traffic without hitting or being hit by passers by.

Now know Goodgym westminster would be complete without a series of ridiculous drills, intervals and of course smiles so that exactly what we did, we skipped down Oxford Street, hopped down half of New Bond Street, bounded down the other half then sprinted down to St James Park and even before you knew it we had already covered three quarters of the distance.

We jogged the rest and arrived safely where we were greeted by Adrian who gave you a brief run down of the history of the club and how much what you do makes a difference.

We grabbed our cleaning tools and we were off, all gym equipment was made to look spotless and the ground swept until you could see yourself in it, all of this in just 15 minutes.

Some water and a tour of some of the building, a huge thankyou from the team and sprint back to base.

All in a nights work.

Thank you all for coming, i hope you had as much fun as i did, hopefully we will see you alllllll next week.

On a Christmasy mild night 7 GoodGymers ran 5km to help Rhythm of Life.

With Cory away being the voice of running reason somewhere Paul stepped in to lead the run. But with a group of strong and intelligent runners on hand what could go wrong?! Answer is nothing - it was a fantastic run and task:

Paul led a quick warm up where we learnt a little about dynamic stretches. The awesome marathon runner that is Rebekha MacLeary knew the best route to the task so to avoid all the crowds of Christmas shoppers. We bounced through the streets or Westminster and sprinted between sets of lights - there in no time at all - boom!

Upon arrival at the task we met the wonderful Andrew who explained the plan of action for the evening - we needed to carry, pile and sort over 50 bags of donated clothes for the homeless.

To explain Rhythms of Life is an amazing non-profit organisation that helps collect and distribute clothes for the homeless amongst other fantastic good deeds.

Once all the bags were in a beautiful pile Graham decided on the designated areas for where to pile the clothes - we had smallish trousers, biggish trousers, shirts, ties, coats, smallish suit jackets and biggish suit jackets. I have to say it was very well ordered - good work team! 40 minutes of hard work done - boom!

After a dress up photo we were thanked by Andrew for all this years hard work. Upon leaving the centre we felt humbled, good and ready to run in the surprisingly mild weather.

We glided home through the late night shoppers, with Matthias in particular showing his skills of dodging pedestrians. Once back at the start point we stretched and gave our answers to the big question of the night - What's your favourite Christmas food? Answers include: mince pies, roasted chestnuts, pigs in blanket, festive soup(?), tamales (a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa, which is steamed in a corn husk) andddddd pigs in blanket again.

Cory and GoodGym Westminster will be back on Wednesday 6th January.

Merry Christmas!

PB

Meanwhile in Westminster 8 speedy souls took themselves along to St Andrews Youth Centre in Pimlico for their monthly REFRESH.

Now for some strange reason we were quite low on numbers this week but everyone who came was a little be nippier than they make out to be when there are more of us.

So what did we do? We absolutely hammered it there and then absolutely hammered it back.

A quick briefing on health and safety, a debate on our beliefs when it comes to the number of dying languages around the world and finally a discussion on how fast these brave souls actually wanted to run.

We headed out the door and as if by magic 14 mins later we arrived.

We were greeted by our host Adrian who told those who hadn't been to St Andrews before all about the history of the club which is the oldest in the UK if not the world. We smiled and set about the task, a task that normally takes 30mins i challenged them to get it done in 15mins.

As time ticked on with 3 minutes remaining we had finished. Allllllllll the gym equipment was shiny, sparkly and new. Adrian did a few checks and he agreed. We laughed he applauded, we thanked him, he smile we left.

13.5 mins later we were back at our base. Eyes bright everyone breathing as if it was there last breath BUT everyone smiling, happy that this evening instead of doing sprints and ridiculous drills, we sprinted there and sprinted back.

What at awesome evening, hopefully we will see you next week for our last GoodGym of the year.

Meanwhile in Westminster 10 amazing GoodGymers braved the gale force winds and headed south to St Margaret's drop in centre to help put up Christmas decorations in preparation for an up coming community event for some local over 50s.

A 4.5 mile round trip started off nice and steady as we eased our way into our run.

Through the back streets avoiding most of the congestion provided by early Christmas shoppers we arrived safely but slightly thirsty as even though it was windy it was still surprisingly warm.

We were greeted by Angela and Janeen who topped us up with warm drinks, water and biscuits. Once again all was well in the world.

We were shown the boxes of tinsel, christmas trees, baubles, stars and asked to make it look as pretty as we did last year.

So we did just that. 25 minutes later we'd finished, said our goodbyes and we were off.

A few intervals, some inclines and good conversation got us back just in time for tea.

Till next time, thank you for your time.

We were a lucky group of 13 in Westminster last night, who all got to know each other as we assembled in the foyer of University of Westminster and waited for our trainer. There was confusion in the air, with mutterings of Cory being in America and the possibility of a new trainer. That said, we weren’t at all disappointed when he arrived in bright yellow cycling gear, grease from head to toe having been delayed by a bicycle-related incident.

The task this week was to clear leaves from a canal-side path near Maida Vale, around 2 miles from base. The jog there was leisurely and chatty, with short sprints towards flashing landmarks added in for good measure. Upon arrival at a leaf-strewn path, we divided up gloves and 4 bin bags, only to realise we didn’t have enough of the latter. Ever the resourceful group, a few of us went on individual missions to get some more – one to a nearby bar (one big bag), another to a nearby house (three bin bags), and Cory to a nearby shop (a packet of bin bags).

Armed with more than enough bin bags, we divided into groups of three with clearly divided responsibilities – one person kicked the leaves into a pile, another picked them up, and the third carried the bin bag. With this streamlined division of labour we were able to more or less clear the path of leaves within the half hour we had there. In the heat of the task, one of us nearly picked up a small dog amongst a pile of leaves, while its owner stood by and admired our handiwork.

Not a glamorous task, but all the more fulfilling given how quickly we were able to complete it. Having cleared the majority of the leaves (see before and after photos), we separated into two groups and took the scenic, 2 mile route along Edgware Road back to base. With bystanders cheering us on, not even the smell of kebabs could hold us back. After a fast run back to Regent’s Street we were exhausted, but beaming with the pride of a job well done.

I won't make a song and dance of it, but the truth must be told. The Christmas lights of Oxford street were a sight to behold!

With Christmas just 8 weeks away, GoodGym Westminster braved the hoards of central London shoppers to become, Jesus Christ Superstars for fantastic cause - Rhythms of Life.

At 6.30pm on the dot, the team took to the streets to weave the wiggly route towards Covent Gardens the current home of our old familiar friends - Rhythms of life. A fantastic charity that provides a variety of support for homeless people in the borough.
Unbeknown to GG Westminster, this site was also once the working home of one and only Andrew Lloyd Webber, king of west end music theatre

With the task at hand this week to sort and organise clothing donations, all eyes were peeled for technicoloured dreamcoat or two!

Not to be outdone, our very own Andrew met us at the door with water, coconut water and grapes... Very posh. We were promised wine but perhaps we were meant to crush the grapes ourselves?

Getting straight to work the room suddenly filled with a ton of yellow bags stuffed full of clobber to be sorted into items. The crew dived head first in... Literally....thanks for that Callum haaaaaa and setting an example I put my: >"best foot forward" - The foot attached to the yellow stocking clad prosthetic leg I found of course.

Folding and stacking the team had the task licked in no time at all and with just enough time for some good old GG photo posing, we were off once more into the streets. But before the run back, a bit of fun on the street outside.

Accompanied by the drumming Rhythms of the cast of STOMP rehearsing next door, we joined in with our own fancy footwork:

*Toe taps *Calf raises * Squats *Curb jumps *Step ups

With the final curtain close, we wished a happy farewell to the team and set off. Hot footing it back into the night, we met it head on, with one last challenge to close. Street sprints and tempos all the way back to Regents Street and the finale was complete.

Until next time xxxx Ellie signing out!

Whilst you were tweeting the Westminster Warriors headed deep into the beautiful area of Covent Garden to help Rhythms of Life relocate some of their new materials and continue to sort through clothing that has been donated for rough sleepers.

With lots of newbies and some returning travellers we shared the story of GoodGyms rise to awesomeness.

Post briefing we took to the streets and as requested we took the long way, weaving in and out, back street after back street till finally we popped on location.

Bio suits and 2 feet long gloves were handed out handed out and we began.

I have never seen objects move so quickly. Working in teams of 2-4 we shifted sinks, cabinets, wardrobes, shelves, carpets, table tops the list was endless.

Meanwhile downstairs another team worked their way through warm clothes for those in need till the 40min buzzer went.

On our last visit some complained that Andrew was not taking his job to rehydrate and replenish our lost energy prior to our departure so on this occasion he had wine and cheese at the ready lol.

Unfortunately we were unable to drink or eat any cheese but it was the thought that counted, we said our goodbyes and headed back an even longer way.

Short and sharp to Trafalgar Square, some very competitive head to head races around the square, some incline sprints followed by a game of beat the lights and we were back EXHAUSTED yet still smiling.

This my friends is life, thank you for your time.