[Goodgym group working on community rooftop garden]
[Goodgym members digging]
[Woman digging]
[Ivo Gormley filtering compost]
Ivo Gormley (interview): “I just didn’t like that idea of going to a gym, going into a sweaty basement and lifting things that don’t really need lifting. I thought I could do something more useful in my exercise.”
[Goodgym volunteer shoveling compost]
[Ivo Gormley filtering compost]
Ivo Gormley (interview): “If you ask someone, ‘would you like to do a bit more exercise?’ they’d say yes. Generally if you ask people, ‘would you like to do a bit more to help your community?’ they’d say yes. And the barriers are generally, we’re really busy and it’s hard to find those opportunities. And so Goodgym you can just sign up today and have a go tonight. We try to reduce the barriers as much as possible and just enable you to do it once, you don’t have to come back if you don’t like it.”
[Goodgym group warming up with exercises]
[Anastasia Hancock leading warm up]
[Group stretching]
[Anastasia Hancock leading run to a community project]
Anastasia Hancock (interview): “Yeah we run to a variety of community organizations. So, for example, tonight we’re running to Doddington Roof Garden, which was a derelict space and it’s now been turned into a thriving community garden for people that don’t have outside space, to use to grow fruit and vegetables. We’ve done all sorts of things there, for example, and in the past they’ve been donated hundreds and hundreds of bags of 50 litre compost, which we’ve shifted up the stairs, which was an amazing workout.”
[Group weeding]
[Weeding]
[Group gardening]
[Group digging]
Anastasia Hancock (interview): “I think Goodgym offers people a huge amount of opportunities. It gives them a chance to engage with their community. For women, it gives them a safe space that they can exercise, especially after dark. And also it is a way to give back to your area to see the change to have a positive impact.”
[Gardening]
[Group member weeding]
Jason Kurtis (interview): “So I go to the normal gym usually, and I do other sorts of exercise. But this is my mandatory once a week run with the Goodgym group which is really fun. It forces me to get out, especially on a Monday night when it’s cold in the middle of winter. It forces me to get outside and do something active.”
Sophie Humphrey (interview): “And I really love coming because I think it’s just a boost of positivity in the week. I think there’s a lot of negative kind of stories out there. You hear a lot of bad things happening, and it’s amazing to get together a group of people that just want to get together, help somebody they don’t know a lot of time and do some good and have a bit of fun doing it and get some exercise.”
Catherine Moore (interview): “I guess the thing that keeps coming back is the people as well. So the friends you make, just the consistency as well. There’s not much that would get me out on a dark Monday wet evening but this does.”
[Anastasia Hancock taking group photo]
Christian Krekel (interview): “And what we found is that, the psychological well-being of those people who actively volunteered in Goodgym, improved significantly and strongly. We found that the drivers were loneliness, a reduction in loneliness, but also more belongingness and connectedness.”
[Group]
[Member weeding]
[Group exercising]
This script was provided by The Associated Press.