Well it all dried up nicely for our Monday Goodgym in Bexley. Tonight we focused on our running techniques, building our fitness, having fun, and meeting new Goodgymers. And meeting new Goodgymers is what we did. A massive hi5 goes to Sara and Emma welcome to Goodgym Bexley., we hope you loved it. Basecamp Crooklog was virtually empty so we had most the area to ourselves. Having all levels of runners this week, we split up into two teams. One doing a longer loop, with Eileen leading (thanks so much) and one team doing a shorter loop. Thanks Caz for looking after our back group. The beautiful thing about this weeks run is both groups could push to their full potential and no one would be left behind.

There's no better feeling than heading out on to the road with all those Goodgym tee shirts on display, it just feels brilliant.

On heading back into basecamp Crooklog, smiles were a many so we headed strainght into fitness mode. It was time to introduce everyone to burpees 😁 I'm a true believer that fitness should be hard work but real fun and that was the order of this evening. We split into two teams and suddenly it was pure rivalry, all love had disappeared, no team wanted to lose, no team wanted the losers punishment. At tonight's fitness session every part of the body was worked, and worked hard, but guess what, there always has to be a losing team.

I am glad to report it all ended pleasantly, with massive smiles, lots of laughs, and friendly hand shakes.

Well it was that time again, the time where we all go our separate ways, but with the promise of all coming back next week and doing it all again. See ya next week Goodgymers! We've got an awesome task for an awesome community charity.

Bank holiday Monday, was no rest for the badass, when seven Royal subjects; Tasked and in glory basked, at Queen's Park! POW POW

On the last day of the Eater bank hols, this stupendous crew of seven Brent Beauties, hit-up Willesden with passion and purpose! Tasking for some awesome community groups in the area and leaflet dropping for all of the above including our lovely selves. The golden ticket event being to make a member of the community smile whilst conversing with them and passing the paper!! I of course opted for sharing a moment with a furry kind of passer by in the form of the cutest Pomeranian Pup known to doggy-kind, who paid me all the gorgeous attention i wanted back with yelps and cries of gleeYAY

So, after the 1.5mile dash to our evening's destination - Queen Park, my regal roamers got to grips with the fitness focus of the night - The 1 Mile challenge...!!!!! And with their Easter Egg hangovers to shake off, my speedsters got in line at the starting blocks and......... 3,2,1 THEIR OFF!!

No I'm not even Egg-aggerating * when I say my crew smashed out some *Egg-cellent work (sorry I had to do at least some egg related puns!!) They all absolutely annihilated their PBs and I mean all of them by at least one full minute!!!!!!! Amazing!!!! However, special shouts have to go out to the first three back - Debs with an absolutely epic time of 6minutes and 20seconds!!!! Closely followed by Sam coming in at 6minutes 35seconds!!! And the second half of Sister Sledge; Tabitha, not only rolling in at 6minutes 40, but taking a clean 2mins of her PB from last time!!!!! Absolutely astonishing!!!!!

So with Personal Bests torn apart and energy running high, the team opted for more fitness fun, in the form of a short bodyweight and plyometrics circuit in the park followed by some bandstand planking in support of the amazing Sadhana, who is 40 days into her plank-a-day challenge. And can I just say WOWWWW Sadhana schooled us all with her core strength and ability, which just proves, consistency everyday, gets results!!!

With perfect 1 minute held planks achieved, we had just enough time for some playtime antics of cartwheels on the grass, handstands and photo-ops, because lets face it, GG Brent never miss a chance to get shutterbug happy when the sun and blossoms are out :)

After playtime in the park, there was just enough fuel in our tanks, to chase pavements all the way back to base for our cool down jaunt of 1.5miles. With chatting and laughter in the air (as always) this fitness familia arrived back at base rosy cheeked and full of pride as the achievements of the eve had finally sunk in!!! WOW I mean, this team may be little but we be fierce and tonight we proved that with gusto!!!

Always a pleasure with people that I treasure. Badass and bold, GG Brent - what a team to behold!

See you next time!!!!

DO GOOD. FEEL GOOD. INSPIRE

Well, maybe not the town but an inside shop wall to help Greenwich & Bexley Hospice get there shop refurbishment a step forward. This week I was so pleased to have three new faces on our run and task. Welcome Mavis, Jane and Caz, I really hope you enjoyed yourselves. We certainly enjoyed having you. After signing in we went into our mandatory pre-run chat and warmup. Well done Fidellis for winning the prize of 10 star jumps In our favourite car competition. Serves you right for having expensive tastes 😂. On warming up (remember we warm up to run, not run to warm up) we headed out of base camp Crooklog and straight up towards Welling. There's something quite satisfying about running and dodging commuters as they head home and we head to do our good deed. On arrival we were greeted with smiling faces and refreshing water, thanks Mandy. It's at this point we go from runners to good deeders and got stuck straight in to the task. With a team cutting in and a team rolling , the hardest part for me was stopping the guys painting my beard whiter then what it all ready is. Little did they know pay back would be on our run home. <Little did they know pay back would be on the run home
With the gang doing a brilliant job it was left to our tallest member Fidellis to finish off all the areas at the top. After admiring our professional workman ship and posing for photo's (think we're getting pretty good at that) it was time to say our good byes and head back to base camp Crooklog. With this weeks runners being of all abilities we set a meet up point at Welling Football Club for our first fitness drill. Thanks Eilleen and Janine for looking after the front group, you guys were brilliant as always. As we arrived at Welling FC, pay back for the attempted beard painting was due and it started in the form of wall squats, ouch!! <As we arrived at Welling FC, pay back for the attempted beard painting was due. After a competitive sit off ** we were off again and to **my delight soon came across perfect walls for my wall press ups and tricep dip drills. Payment was due, and the debt was going to be paid in full 😂 After doing our bingo wing destroying exercises it was just a short run back to Crooklog for our cool down and natter on how it all went. Bexley Goodgymers you were brilliant as always. I really enjoyed your company and can't wait to do it all again next week.............. Last but not least Happy Birthday Tanya hope you had an awesome day 🎉

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