On a crisp winter's night, nine of Goodgym's hardiest runners met in Wanstead to clean TWO sets of Charity Shop windows and then did a tough fartlek session for good measure.

As usual, the squad met at Wanstead House Community Centre and it was great to welcome back the 'Barking Brothers' - James and Peter. This dynamic duo will shortly be launching Goodgym Barking and it was great to catch up to hear about how pre-launch plans are going. With the briefing done and people keen to do good in the area, the group was soon off up the high street to the sites for the nights' task.

Keeping the windows sparkling clean is a never ending task for high street charity shops and can become a significant expense during the course of a year. As such, we aim to get out on to our high street every six to eight weeks and do what we do best - get hot and sweaty and do if for them. This week, we took on the challenge of cleaning two sets of windows - Barnados and St Francis Hospice - a first for GG Redbridge.

With the team split in two, windows were washed, squeegied and polished in double quick time, leaving plenty of time for a super fun (if quite tough) fartlek session down at Redbride Roundabout. In this fun but challenging workout, each runner starts at one end of an out and back and runs towards each other. When they meet they high-five each other and alternate pace between easy and hard running. It’s a great session for working on pacing and developing sustainable speed - necessary skills to smash out a new 5k or 10k PB.

With everyone working hard for 20 minutes, there was just enough time to run back and get in some some static stretching to prevent those post workout DOMS. Great work team. You’re all legends!

We’re on a roll at Goodgym Redbridge right now, so why not come down and check out the good vibes and do good in the Borough. You can sign up to next week’s run on the right of the report.

On a dreary autumn night, seven of Goodgym's most dedicated runners met to wash windows, do a cruise interval session and ran 5km in the process. Nice work team Redbridge.

After a cracking weekend of community missions and tasks across the country to celebrate #GG10, normal service resumed in Wanstead, with the team meeting at Wanstead House Community Centre. After a few minutes discussing the weekend's festivities the group were soon filling buckets with hot soapy water and grabbing squeegies.

By doing these simple tasks we save the shop money which can be used for more constructive things. Small tasks cam make a big difference and with the sparkle put back into the store, we were soon of to do a cruise interval session on George Green, just a short run from our base at Wanstead House.

With a 2km warm up in the bag, the runners set about using the crossing in the middle of the park as a mark for changing pace - alternating between 6 out of 10 and 8 out of 10 effort level. Cruise intervals can be a great way to add some speed to training BUT, perhaps more importantly, they teach a lot about pacing. The aim is to keep the effort consistent throughout the workout and finish strongly rather than in a sweaty heap.

Some solid efforts across the board and it was great to see the team beginning to grasp the idea of not starting too fast!

All this left was some easy stretches to keep us in tip top condition.

Next week is a big one and we will be celebrating John's Birthday! So make sure you sign up using the button on the right hand side - there's even talk of a Colin Caterpiller cake!

On a pleasantly cool summer's evening seven of Goodgym's bestest runners met to wash the windows of a charity shop and ran a whopping 8km as a reward.

With lots of people away on summer holidays it was a slightly reduced crew for Monday night's task and run in Wanstead. However, we were super happy to welcome back Beth who we haven't seen a while!

As always, the evening began with the usual Goodgym news and catch up before the group head down onto Wanstead High Street to wash the windows of the St Francis Hospice Charity shop. Keeping the windows sparkling clean is a never ending task for high street charity shops and can become a significant expense during the course of a year. As such, we aim to get out on to our high street every six to eight weeks and do what we do best - get hot and sweaty and do if for them.

Armed with squeegies, sponges and old newspaper the team soon set to work on the numerous windows and within 15 minutes the windows were sparkling clean - though the inside smears are something of a frustration.

The cooler conditions and plenty of time on our hands meant a slightly longer run was on the cards and the squad were soon cruising along the paths in Wanstead Park taking in the stunning views and admiring the wildlife. At GG Redbridge were blessed with a network of trails and while the light permits we must have some of the best post-task running of any Goodgym in the country.

With tired legs and big smiles (at least that's what I think they were) the team return to base for some easy stretches to help prevent those aches and pains.

Fancy getting involved? Check out the link on the top right for our next run and task.

On a muggy summer’s evening 13 of Goodgym’s bestest runners met to clean two sets of windows and ran up to 8km in the process.

It was another bumper week at Goodgym Redbridge with three new runners joining Goodgym for the first time - welcome James, Peter and Jenny. With Moloko joining us for the second week in a row and a number of the regular team in attendance there were plenty of runners keen to do good in the Borough.

With briefings done and Goodgym Olympics Captain Dharmesh recruiting for the event on Saturday 3 August it was soon off up Wanstead High Street for the night’s task. Window cleaning can be an expensive cost for charity shops and a drain on limited finances. This is where Goodgym can play a key role and make the windows sparkling and clean in a matter of minutes.

Armed with squeegees, sponges and old newspaper, the team set to work on two charity shops on Wanstead High Street - Barnados and St Francis Hospice. Team work makes the dream work and within 20 minutes both shops were sparkling clean and ready to do business.

Once the task is done, the fitness can begin and Team Redbridge were rapidly stowing tools and heading along the quiet local streets for a 2km warm. Back at George Green the team split into pairs for a GG Redbridge favourite - High Five Fartlek speed session.

In this fun but challenging workout, one runner goes anti-clockwise and the other clockwise, high-fiving each other each time they meet and alternating pace between easy and hard running. It’s a great session for working on pacing and developing sustainable speed - necessary skills to smash out a new 5k or 10k PB.

With everyone working hard for 25 minutes, there was just enough time for some static stretching to prevent those post workout DOMS. Great work team. You’re all legends!

We’re on a roll at Goodgym Redbridge right now, so why not come down and check out the good vibes and do good in the Borough. You can sign up to next week’s run on the right of the report.

On a chilly but pleasant winter's evening five of Goodgym's finest runners met for the last time in 2018, washed a load of windowns and did an interval session. I'm tired just writing that!

Bringing the year to a close, the team met at the usual meeting point, Wanstead House Community Association, ready to get busy and make Wanstead a nicer place to live. The evening's task owner was a new one for the group and they were tasked with cleaning the windows of the newly opened St Francis Hospice charity shop on Wanstead High Street. Charity shops are generally run by volunteers and the focus is on getting any money raised to where it can do best. Paying for window cleaning services can be costly and few charity shops prioritise basic maintenance like this. This is where Goodgym steps in and can make a huge difference.

Armed with hot soapy water, squeegies and sponges the group were soon cleaning and wiping dirt from all the windows (it's quite a big shop) and learning the technique for streak free windows - it's all in the wrist apparently. With the task done and windows sparkling in the Christmas lights, all that was left was to get a bit hot and sweaty.

After a short warm up the squad returned to George Green for an interval session aimed at working on pacing and adding a little bit of speed to a run. Using a 300m loop runners would run at an effort level of 8 out of 10 for a lap before taking a one minute rest. 25 minutes later, it was over and after a short stretching session to avoid next-day-soreness it was off to our local - The George - for a quick Xmas drink.

Fancy getting involved? Our first run back is on the 7th of January. We're on a mission to do 50 tasks during the month so don't wait til Janaury to sign up you can do it now by clicking the link on the right of this report!

Have a great Xmas and a Happy New Year!!