You do not need to wait for January to get your body moving again – there’s no time like the present.
The trick to sticking with your health kick is often to find the right routine for you, and when it comes to exercise, finding the gym that will make you feel supported as well as pushed physically is key.
There’s no shortage of brilliant gyms here in Manchester, from the do-it-yourself commercial gyms to the fitness facilities manned by highly-qualified trainers who will guide you every step of the way.
Whether you’re a fancy girl who needs fancy facilities to coax you into the gym, or you’d rather get your head down and save some cash, we’ve got you covered.
Here are 11 of the best to try in 2024 – and how much it’ll cost you.
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Ultimate Performance – prices are bespoke and available on request
Ready to transform your body or lay the foundations for lifelong health, and feeling pretty serious about it?
Ultimate Performance is the gym in Manchester to join if you want to stick to your plan and achieve whatever goals you set yourself, from fat loss to muscle building to general health, with some of the world’s best personal trainers coaching from here.
Barry’s is the gym loved by all the famous LA-dwelling beautiful types, and first opened here in Manchester in 2018.
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Workouts take place in the ‘red room’, where rows of benches, dumbbells and treadmills promise a total body workout.
It’s now a global phenomenon, with gyms everywhere from the USA to the UAE to Australia to Mexico.
It ain’t cheap though – memberships start at £125 per month, which gets you eight classes, or you can book a drop-in class for £20. The most expensive membership will set you back £308. Check out all the offers here.
Blok – £205/month for unlimited
Blok in Manchester has a mix of classes and is one of the city’s best gyms. Credit: Blok
This gym is genuinely very beautiful, taking over a corner of the historic Ducie Street Warehouse.
It’s another one with three different studios to choose from – you can do pilates and yoga, take on full-body strength-focused or boxing workouts, or try out barre and cardio exercises.
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There are top-notch changing rooms for getting refreshed in afterwards too.
Unlimited membership is £205 a month, but if you’re happy to commit to a set number of classes there are cheaper packs available too. Check it out here.
You will not find a nicer or more supportive group of trainers than the ones who work at Form – you also won’t find any who take away your ability to walk up stairs quite so efficiently.
As well as one-to-one training, they offer their ‘reload’ programme with small groups training together at their New Bailey Street gym, and the best pilates and yoga classes in town at their Reset gym on Marble Street.
Form promises a longterm change to your life – this is no flash-in-the-pan fitness phase.
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Memberships start from £168 a month and we promise you get a lot of bang for your buck. Find out more at formmcr.com.
F45 – £165/month
Credit: F45
First created in Australia, there are now more than 1,000 F45 studios all over the world, creating what it claims is the most innovative fitness gym on the planet.
Each 45 minute session blends cardio and HIIT-style workouts for ‘sweat-dripping, heart-pumping fun’.
The circuits in the Manchester gyms will kick your ass, in a good way.
It’s £165 a month if you commit to six months, otherwise you’re looking at £195 a month – check it out here.
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Zeno Training Clubs – £99/month
Hero Training Club gym in Manchester. Credit: The Manc GroupHero Training Club gym in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
With four different fitness studios to choose from, Zeno (formerly known as Hero) offers a little something for everyone.
You can seriously test your cardio in their spin studio or in the Athletic studio (where you can also take on boxing classes), push your strength in the Stronger studio (which are basically like small group PT sessions), or reset a bit in the Rejuvenate studio. There’s also an open gym upstairs.
Zeno has some of the best facilities in the city – seriously, there are more squat racks in here than in some of the biggest commercial gyms – and a bloody lovely group of trainers to guide your every move.
Memberships start from £99 a month, and there are class bundles available too. Find out more at herotrainingclubs.com.
TRIB3 – £79/month
Credit: TRIB3
This ‘next-level fitness studio’ follows a pretty similar modal to V1BE, but factors in assault bikes (ouch) and has classes with a more tailored focus.
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There are three different TRIB3 classes to choose from – upper body and core, lower body, and full body – broken down into three zones of treadmill, resistance and intensity.
It’s proving to be a very popular option for Mancs.
Unlimited memberships are £79/month but there are loads of other options too. Find out more at trib3.co.uk.
V1BE – £59/month
Credit: V1BE
It’s all about the cardio at V1BE, Manchester’s boutique gym group that will literally display your heart rate on a giant screen for all to see.
Most workouts are spread between sprint sessions on the treadmills and weighted circuits on the floor, but they also have STR1KE classes that factor in some intense boxing drills.
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You will be sweaty, you will get competitive with yourself, and you’ll definitely love it (once the hill sprints are over).
Membership starts from £59 a month (that’s for open gym access and six classes), or you can go all-in for £79 a month. Find out more here.
Nuffield Health – £51/month
Nuffield is one of Manchester’s biggest gyms, with its own pool
What makes Nuffield Health so extraordinary of all the gyms in Manchester is that is has a real life swimming pool, which is quite a luxury in a city centre as crammed as ours.
The gym has an army of treadmills and bikes, plus a functional fitness room, a free weights room, and several different studios.
There are also physiotherapists and personal trainers based here to help you build the healthiest body possible.
With a rapidly-growing number of gyms nationwide, it’s easy to see why JD Gyms are becoming more and more popular – and it’s got a lot to do with the price.
Their gym in Manchester city centre has more than 300 classes a month, a sauna, and literally hundreds of pieces of strength and cardio equipment.
There’s a large free weights zone, a sprint and sled track, bootcamps, boxing, and personal trainers.
Basic membership is £19.99 a month, which includes classes, but for £25 a month you can also get 10% off at JD Sports online and use any of their gyms nationwide – find out more here.
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PureGym – £12.99/month
PureGym has several gyms around Manchester. Credit: PureGym
Oh well all know PureGym, let’s be honest.
As one of the country’s biggest gym groups, they’re famed for being cheap and practical, with 24-hour opening times.
Facilities are very good for the price and there are four PureGym gyms in Manchester city centre alone. You just have to get used to their weirdly futuristic beam-me-up-Scotty entrance vestibules.
Read more about all things sport in the North here.
Featured image: The Manc Group / Reset by Form / PureGym
Manchester
Cutting Room Square’s first-ever Indian restaurant set to take over former Rigatoni’s site this month
Danny Jones
Manchester foodies, strap in because it’s something big because a brand-new Indian restaurant is coming to the heart of Ancoatslater this month.
Indian Affair, the family-style restaurant that has already seen great success on Barlow Moor Road over in Chorlton, is now set to take over the former Rigatoni’s site (previously Sugo Pasta Kitchen and then Sud) which closed back in May.
Not only will this exciting new opening be Affair’s second location as their reputation around Greater Manchester grows but it will also be the first-ever Indian restaurant to pop up on the ever-bustling Cutting Room Square.
A real hotbed for good food in the city and culinary competition on its own, landing a lot on the square is no mean feat and if you’ve seen their food already, you’ll how exciting this is.
Owned by loving couple, Harshit and Natasha Chopra, the new Indian Affair venue is the first of its kind for the area, focusing on Indian small plates and thalis.
Their flagship restaurant in Chorlton only opened back in October 2022 but quickly became a hit with the locals and is sure to have the same success over in Ancoats – after all, as a city famous for the Curry Mile, it’s fair to say we’ve got a lot of love for the Indian cuisine.
Commenting on the announcement, Harshit said: “We always dreamed about opening a city centre restaurant. We’ve been totally blown away by the love for our Chorlton site and are extremely grateful to those who’ve visited and made it a success.
“As a family, we enjoy spending time in Ancoats, exploring the restaurants and Sunday markets. Cutting Room Square has a community like no other, we felt it was the perfect space for a modern Indian restaurant.”
With a menu inspired by the couple’s favourite flavours from home back in Delhi, every dish will be hand-selected by the husband and wife duo, with thalis options – a selection of smaller plates served on an Indian-style round platter – aiming to offer guests a bit of everything, be it vegan, veggie or carnivorous.
Indian Affair also encourages guests to dine family-style, prioritising socialising, sharing, and tasting a bit of everything on the table just as much as enjoying your own meal.
Credit: Indian Affair Chorlton (supplied)
Small plates range from £5-13, with favourites including chicken tikka samosa, spinach fritters drizzled with yoghurt, tamarind and mint chutney; chargrilled lamb chops, as well as tandoori king prawns in garlic and garam masala.
In addition to offering traditional Delhi-inspired offerings, the team has also curated dishes with more of a modern twist, including chicken and paneer bao and malai artichoke. Oh yeah, they’re clever these lot.
The menu also features classic biryanis, fluffy freshly cooked naans, parathas and rotis from the clay oven tandoor, alongside a wide selection of rice, salads and chutneys to choose from.
Better still: exclusive to the new Ancoats restaurant only, the team is also launching a new lunch menu featuring filled naan rolls, further contemporary Indian takes on loaded burgers and bao buns – all of which will be priced from £8.00 and served up with crispy masala wedges.
Sure to be a hit with the locals, for sit-in and takeaway, you’ll also be able to pick up a paneer tikka or lamb seekh rolled up inside one of those lovely garlic naans, packed with fresh onion salad, mint and coriander chutney. Hungry yet?
Or, if you fancy a proper good burger that’s a little bit different, the butter chicken burger is the passionate pair’s favourite new addition to the menu and not one to be missed. And to wash it all down, Cobra will be served on draft, met with wines, alcohol-free options and a great selection of cocktails.
Safe to say that just like co-owner Natasha, we’re very excited about this one. She added: “Our small plate concept has been a great success in Chorlton. We know the demographic in Ancoats enjoy sharing food whilst socialising, so we hope the menu will be popular.
“We’re excited to try out our new lunch menu with Indian twists on your favourite lunch classics. We’re looking forward to welcoming you all very soon.”
Indian Affair promises to showcase North Indian cuisine, inspired by Delhi’s diverse flavours and home-style cooking at its very best, whilst also reflecting both the traditional and modern sides of the city and their growing home here in Manchester.
Cutting Room Square’s newest arrival soft open on Monday, 16th September with bookings available from Friday, 20 September. See you there real soon, and we hope you’re in the mood for sharing – because we sure are.
Manchester City recreate Definitely Maybe album cover for launch of limited edition Oasis themed kit
Danny Jones
Football season is back underway and although clubs have already released their shirts for this season, the news of the Oasis reunion was simply too big for their club Manchester City not to mark the occasion with a long-awaited limited edition kit.
Man City already have three official match jerseys that they’ll be donning through the domestic season and in Europe, but given that the Burnage boys are back, both Noel and Liam Gallagher are massive Blues and it’s been 30 years since their debut album Definitely Maybe, they had to do something special.
We’d heard rumours of a potential kit collaboration between Noel and City for some time now, with reports dating back a couple of years now but it looks as though, much like the band’s comeback after 15 years, the stars have finally aligned and fans can now grab a sensational collector’s item.
Behold, we give you the limited edition ‘Definitely City’ fourth shirt:
30 years since Definitely Maybe, it’s Definitely City 🤘🩵 Introducing the 24/25 @pumafootball x @ManCity Definitely City Kit by Noel Gallagher
We’d seen several glimpses of the full collection over the past few weeks, with the jersey itself having been leaked multiple times and snaps of the older Gallagher brother in the trademark sky blue overshirt being used as a teaser most recently, but now it’s officially available to the public.
Co-designed by the legendary songwriter and guitarist himself (there seems to be no suggestion of Liam’s involvement at any point in the process), the kit itself is a striking combo of salmon pink into gradients of pale blue and off-white – certainly one to remember.
If you’re a fan of bold colourways like with the retro 1999-inspired third kit for this season, then this Oasis-themed fourth kit is probably right up your street too. It also features the already debuted cup printing with Noel’s own handwriting for the font.
The club and manufacturers Puma have also released a track jacket, bomber jacket, bucket and baseball caps, as well as a retro top that’s giving very 90s pre-match jersey/goalkeeper kit; a new polo shirt, a high neck drill top, limited edition ball, as well as a simple dark ‘Definitely City’ tee.
You can see samples down below and view the full collection HERE.
The new Oasis x City fourth kit is flanked by a whole roster of club fashion. (Credit: Manchester City/Puma)
We’ve already seen the success that nostalgic football and music collabs have produced with the likes of The Stone Roses x Manchester United collection released earlier this year, but it doesn’t get much bigger than one of the greatest rock bands of all-time and the best team in the land joining forces.
What do you make of the crossover then and, more importantly, if you’re a Man City fan, is it the fourth shirt or another part of the Definitely City collection that most takes your fancy?
To be honest, whether you’re a Blue or not, you can’t deny recreating that iconic album cover might be one of the coolest ways we’ve seen a kit reveal in years.
Daisy Jackson -
29th August 2024 
