Tabitha, Samina, Chris, and Beatriz gathered at Brent Mencap ready to rock. But before we could even flex a muscle, Beatriz set the bar high with a random act of kindness. A local homeless man asked for a specific refreshment, and Beatriz—being the absolute legend she is—popped next door to buy him a pint of Guinness. Talk about a stout-hearted start to the evening!

We had grand designs to get ripped tonight—both physically (with a HIIT session) and literally (shredding paper). However, our plans were cut short. A miscommunication meant the office with the shredders was locked tight, and the room we planned to exercise in was currently being cleaned. It was almost a tear-able situation, but we didn't let it fold us.

Not ones to cry over spilt milk (or locked doors), we raided the kitchen instead. We scrubbed the sides until they sparkled and emptied the dishwasher, which was a plate relief for the staff. We also tackled the inside of the fridge—it was a chilling experience, but someone had to do it.

Chris took charge of the floor duties; he really sucked it up and hoovered every inch of the carpet until the dust bit the dust.

We departed feeling virtuous, but the drama wasn't over. Chris had to make a quick dash back inside because he forgot his phone—talk about a close call! We finished the night at the pub across the road, because after all that cleaning, we definitely deserved to get served.

On Monday evening Meg, Tabitha and Pete met in Willesden , and ran to Brent Mencap, where we were joined by Anne Mari and Tania. Brent Mencap is dedicated to supporting Brent residents with learning disabilities, and they have a beautiful garden for its service users, but the tool shed was in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint.

Our task for the day was painting this shed white. We started off with a quick sweep of the shed with the brooms, then poured out the white paint and got to work with our paintbrushes and rollers. We worked well as a team, and it was a very satisfying task to watch the shed transform before our eyes. We had almost finished and the rain decided to join us!

This made us more determined to complete the job and in no time at all, the shed was sparkling white and we packed up ready to go!

Great work everyone

Amir, Samina, Tabitha, Liz, Josh. and Pete met at Beer n Burger, we were to meet Beatriz at Brent Mencap. It was Amir's first Goodgym so a warm welcome to Amir from Goodgym Brent. Liz was also returning for a one off session from the wild's of south London so a warm welcome to her too, our previous run leader. Liz did the warm up, then Josh lead the jog with Tabitha back-marking about 1k to Brent Mencap,where we met Beatriz. Tabitha briefed us on the work to do in the Brent Mencap garden. We moved the heavy garden table and chairs off the gravel area, raked and brushed the gravel, using the tools provided, covered over the showing black asphalt, swept the paths, re-distributed the gravel, then replaced all the table and chairs, in neat order. Very luckily the rain held off! Beatriz left, Pete lead the jog back and lead the cool-down, then we had a quick drink and collected our stuff from the kind B & B staff who had kept it safe for us. Well done everyone 👏, until next week.

On Monday Nash, Samina, Pete and Tabitha ran to Brent Mencap where we were promised mountains of shredding.... and there definitely was!! Three huge boxes were waiting for us. We split into two teams with the Men Manning the Shredders and the ladies preparing the sheets and clearing the waste.

We thought it would be a never ending task however with our team work we managed to complete all the shredding in the session. Grate work! ;-)

We emptied the bags into the recyling bin and jogged back to our meeting point for a well deserved drink.

On Monday, Goodgym Brent ran to Brent Mencap to help sort a cupboard full of fun and games.

Mencap provides local residents with a place to meet and socialise and they have a stack of games that needed checking. We were happy to help and removed all the games , checked all the pieces and parts were there , gave the shelves a wipe and re stacked the games in a sensible order .

We then completed a short HIIT session before jogging back to Willesden . Great work team !

The fabulous foursome of Tabitha, Samina, Lee and Josh set off adventuring from Brent Mencap on the brisk Monday evening. Not before celebrating Tabitha's 250th good gym, which she showed up in style in 5 different good gym shirts. One shirt each to represent 50 missions she completed. With no injuries to report, hands full with hundreds of flyers advertising the range of activities being put on at the Mencap particularly targeting the socially isolated. With multiple pages to be delivered to each door, it took a partnership of folding and delivering between them all. The team wrapped up with a light jog back to Beer & Burger to finish the night with a drink and hot chips.