Eleven goodgymers descended on the Comboni Project on a bright Wednesday evening. The sisters greeted us like old friends and ran through the tasks they were keen to get our help with.

They were especially keen to enlist the help of "two strong men" and within a matter of seconds of arriving, Gus and Steph were led inside and taken to the prayer room. What happened there nobody knows, we are nun the wiser.

According to Steph they went to the 1st floor of the building to make space for a cupboard. Then moved the cupboard from a room on the top floor, through a small landing space down the winding stairs to the room where they had made space. Then moved the furniture back again. If you managed to follow that you're doing better than me...

Eventually the dynamic duo returned to the rest of the group, who by then were on a mission of their own, trying to clear endless weeds from the front and back garden.

Alanna and Jon, were working on the front garden clearing weeds and cutting back herbs. While the rest of us were set to work in the back garden clearing the lawn and two borders.

The sisters worked with us and we managed to fill three bags. Nun too shabby!

We'll be back to continue clearing the lawn and helping the sisters keep on top of the garden very soon.

For the second week in a row, we had the pleasure of celebrating a GoodGym birthday – this time, a very happy birthday to Florian! 🥳

We've started a new tradition where the birthday person gets to choose the fitness session – so what did Florian go for? Legs? Arms? Conditioning? Nothing at all? You'll have to read on...

We enjoyed the beautiful early summer's evening as we headed down to the drawdock, where our job for the evening was to clear the area of the plastic and other rubbish that pollutes our waterways. These riverbanks can collect all sorts of debris, and cleaning them is crucial – it protects local wildlife, improves the water quality, and helps keep our city clean.

Armed with litter pickers courtesy of Active 360, we got to work – and it wasn’t long before the weird and not-so-wonderful bits and pieces started turning up. Amid the usual suspects (bottles, wrappers, and mystery items), we found a surprising number of old metal pieces. Chris – clearly the group's secret scaffolding expert – identified them as scaffolding fittings. But how they ended up in the river is anybody's guess.

We divided everything we found into recycling and non reclyclables and filled several bags with rubbish. Great work, team.

Then it was time to find out Florian’s birthday fitness choice... and the decision was... Tabata!

Three tough 2-minute rounds of high-intensity exercises, with 20 seconds of effort and 10 seconds of rest – we did half burpees, sumo squats, power lunges and more. Not even the stunning river views could distract us from the burn. But as always, we powered through it together.

After a run back to base and some much-needed stretches, the birthday evening was celebrated in the best possible way: at the pub, with Florian’s amazing air fryer cake.

Looking for a weekend challenge? We’ve got a massive session coming up this Saturday in Battersea and we need all the help we can get. It’s going to be a great task, followed by a well-deserved social – the perfect post-parkrun, pre weekend activity!

On a gloriously sunny spring evening, Team GoodGym Hounslow gathered to get active, do some good and also celebrate a special occasion – Tish’s birthday! 🎉 What better way to mark the day than with a good deed, some hard graft, and brutal core workout?

Our task last night took us to Chiswick Allotments, where we were back helping the brilliant team at Wild Chiswick – a local community organisation focused on boosting biodiversity in Chiswick. They work to protect and promote wildlife habitats, educate locals about urban nature, and create spaces where pollinators, birds, and all manner of creatures can thrive in an urban environment.

On a golden evening, we set to work on a variety of tasks. The raspberry cane bed was cleared with care, persistent weeds were dug up, and an overgrown area was tamed – though not without a disclaimer to the task owner that a few non-weeds might be collateral damage in our efforts. 🌱

Meanwhile, Georgia gave the thirsty rhubarb a proper soaking – working up a serious arm workout in the process – while Steph and Maxime undertook the massive task of filling a giant water butt one can at a time. An endurance event in its own right!

As we toiled away, we became aware we were being watched. Not just by the other plot holders but by a curious fox and her cubs. With the job done and tools down, we ran (and cycled) back to Turnham Green for Tish’s Birthday Core Blast. It involved a relentless series of core exercises that were sure to give us abs of iron.

A good stretch followed (with various levels of flexibility judging by the pics - I couldn't be any further away from my toes while most of you are reaching them with the ease of a professional gymnast!), and then a stroll to the pub where cake and celebrations awaited. Happy birthday, Tish – and well done, team!

If you fancy an hour or two on the eyot in the sun this weekend, there is another session weaving branches coming up on Saturday.

Due to some last minute changes, for our regular trip to Chiswick House last night we were to be unsupervised for our task - but thankfully left with plenty of instructions, a map, and some tools.

We're generally a well behaved bunch (except for when photoshop is involved!) so we followed our directive to the letter and set off into the grounds of the house and garden.

At first glance there wasn't much litter to be found, but when we started looking a bit closer there was plenty to keep us busy. Around each bench there were dozens of cig butts to collect (these take 60 years to decompose and the particles get into our waterways...grim) and some more interesting finds including abandoned frisbees and a dog harness.

After a good stint we downed tools and headed to an unsuitable location for our fitness session - not sure why I selected there when we had the whole park at our disposal! Still, we cracked on with three different exercises for three different areas - legs, arms and cardio. The moves made for some excellent photos!

Next week we're off to help Wild Chiswick - hope to see you there!

🌞 Sunshine, Squats & Strimming: Turnham Green Gets a Glow-Up! 🌳

On a gloriously sunny evening in the beautiful oasis that is Turnham Green, a gang of GoodGymers (including one who we hadn't seen in a long time - welcome back Jen!) assembled to support the local volunteer group. The park was buzzing, the birds were chirping, and Lucy turned up looking very fresh for someone who ran a marathon just two days ago. Not only had she made an amazing recovery, but she came bearing her medal for all to admire - well done Lucy!

This week’s task list had something for everyone - raking, watering, strimming, planting, and even a spot of litter-picking for good measure. We soon got to work, with the park users watching on (admiringly, I think).

Amid all this productivity, we paused to give a massive shoutout to Alan for his 300th Good Deed. That’s commitment, energy and impact of the highest degree. We celebrated the milestone by making him rake the whole of the common. And with plenty of planks (more on that later). Well done to the absolute superhero that is Alan!

Fitness Time!

We kicked off with a plank waterfall, which is not nearly as soothing as it sounds but definitely tested everyone’s abs. Then came a wonderfully chaotic relay where each person had their own distinctive leg to complete. Some ran, some skipped, some even grapevined. We closed with a squat challenge, which unbelievably Lucy aced, and finished with stretches.

To round off the evening, we hit the pub for a slice of Alan’s legendary carrot cake. 🎥 A video was made – we cannot vouch for its quality or artistic direction, but it will be out there soon. All in all, an evening full of sunshine, community, and a whole lot of celebration.

Next Tuesday there is a mission at Hounslow Foodbox and our group run will be back to Chiswick House - see you there!