LONDON — Shoveling piles of compost and clearing weeds on a cold, damp evening in London might not be most people\u2019s idea of fun.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s smiles and chatter all around as a group of people in running gear put on headlamps and get to work in a community garden<\/a> located on a derelict parking lot rooftop. The volunteers<\/a> warmed up by jogging a mile to get to the site, and the digging, squatting and lifting they are doing is part of a weekly workout session.<\/p>\n Combining exercise<\/a> with community service is the mission of GoodGym, an organization that encourages U.K. residents to \u201cget fit by doing good.\u201d There\u2019s no expensive gym membership<\/a>, treadmills or weights. All participants need is a desire to walk, run or bike and a willingness to sort cans at a food bank<\/a>, pick up trash, visit an older adult or do other kinds of local volunteer work.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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,\u201d said Jason Kurtis, 42, who was among the regulars toiling in the south London garden. \u201cIt\u2019s really fun and it forces me to get out, especially on a Monday night when it\u2019s cold and in the middle of winter.\u201d<\/p>\n GoodGym says it has more than 26,600 members in 67 locations across England and Wales, and that it wants to start new groups in Northern Ireland and Scotland. Most weeks there are meetups happening somewhere. Recent workouts in London<\/a> included clearing sidewalks of discarded Christmas trees, picking plastic litter from the muddy banks of the River Thames, planting fruit trees and setting up cots for homeless people.<\/p>\n Members say that signing up for activities \u2014 and feeling they\u2019re a part of something positive \u2014 motivates them<\/a> to exercise regularly<\/a>. <\/p>\n GoodGym began in 2007 when its founder, Ivo Gormley, started running to deliver a newspaper to an older person in his neighborhood. At the time, Gormley said he wasn\u2019t doing any exercise and missed being part of a basketball team.<\/p>\n \u201cI just didn\u2019t like that idea of going to a gym, going into a sweaty basement and lifting things that don\u2019t really need lifting. I thought I could do something more useful in my exercise,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He started organizing group runs to places where participants could help with community projects big and small: the first group ripped down outdated posters in his east London neighborhood, Gormley said.<\/p>\n The idea gained traction in other English cities and GoodGym, which registered as a charity in 2015, expanded rapidly. The COVID-19 pandemic<\/a> ruled out group runs, but the organization received a surge in requests to help older adults who were isolated at home<\/a>. Volunteers started focusing on tasks like delivering prescriptions and food.<\/p>\n GoodGym still pairs volunteers with retirees who want someone to talk to or need help with practical tasks like moving heavy furniture or lawn mowing. Many home visits call for one volunteer at a time and therefore have no group exercise component, though participants are encouraged to run, walk or cycle to their assignments.<\/p>\n Gormley said he wanted to make it as easy as possible for people to stay in shape and give back. Monthly donations are welcome but voluntary, and members are not pressured to show up, he said. <\/p>\n \u201cYou can just sign up today and have a go tonight. We try to reduce the barriers as much as possible,\u201d Gormley said. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to come back if you don\u2019t like it. It\u2019s a really easy way to get involved.\u201d<\/p>\n In southwest London’s Battersea district, local GoodGym leader Anastasia Hancock instructs members to lunge, jump and stretch as they prepare for their mile-long run to the Doddington and Rollo community roof garden, a rare slice of greenery<\/a> in the middle of towering apartment buildings that were built as affordable housing in the late 1960s and early 1970s.<\/p>\n Hancock organizes a variety of volunteer projects for GoodGym members in her area, but helping to maintain the garden is one her group returns to every month. She recalls how they once helped shift hundreds of bags of heavy compost up narrow steps to reach the rooftop. <\/p>\n \u201cThat was an amazing workout,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n