Manchester’s groundbreaking new gym concept GSquared Health Clubsis planning to “change the face of fitness” with a holistic approach for its members.
And along with the next-level gym facility, GSquared Manchester – which is set to open in January 2021 in the vaults of Royal Exchange Arcade, boasting 12,000sq ft of training space – will also come with its own dedicated tranquil space especially for power naps.
It will be known as the Sleep Pod.
GSquared clubs have always been a place to restore, re-energise and revive, but the Sleep Pod goes one step further by allowing members to escape the city for a moment of calm, and a study by NASA has even claimed that a simple 26-minute power nap can lead to an increase of productivity by 34%.
This undoubtedly makes the Sleep Pod the perfect solution for fatigued, Mancunian city workers.
The brainchild of GSquared’s CEO Andy McGlynn, this private sanctuary for rest is about fuelling the body with holistic therapies, especially for those that need a ‘work in’ rather than ‘work out’.
“For too long, gyms have been known for a 1D approach to health and fitness through the means of exercise.” Andy explained.
ADVERTISEMENT
“But what if your body isn’t ready for an intense workout but more of a ‘work in’?
“We want to be different and support our members in their overall health, wellbeing and performance in and out of the gym. It’s the missing link to really helping people invest back in themselves without the warped idea they have to throw themselves and their already stressed body into a workout before it’s ready to do so.”
This Sleep Pod is just one of the innovative spaces to launch at the new health club, but what else can Mancunians expect come January?
ADVERTISEMENT
GSquared Health Clubs
Well, within the 12,000sq ft of innovative training space, there’s also a studio offering holistic studio sessions, in addition to the usual high intensity classes, and there will also be dedicated treatment rooms for sports massage and sports rehabilitation therapies.
As you’d expect from a gym, there’s a sauna within each of the changing rooms, but in true GSquared style, this is an enhanced offering.
There will also be an Infra-Red Sauna, which is known for expelling more transdermal toxicity than standard saunas, resulting in clear and tighter skin, as well as assisting with deep relaxation, enhanced detoxification and a boost in immunity, and delayed onset muscle soreness.
GSquared’s front of house mirrors that of a five-star hotel too, with a serene foyer, an aquarium, waterfall and gentle classical music playing.
This is the holistic hub of GSquared, where the Sleep Pod and treatment rooms are located.
ADVERTISEMENT
GSquared Health Clubs
With a “multi-faceted approach to fitness and wellbeing”, it’s pretty fair to say that GSquared is a revolution in the gym scene here in Manchester.
GSquared prides itself on focusing on the conditioning and balancing of the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual components of its members, and the journey starts with “the most advanced gym induction in the world”, which includes body composition analysis, spinal alignment, full health and wellbeing analysis and more.
Membership tiers available at GSquared Health Clubs include:
Executive – £95 per month
Platinum – £150 per month
Platinum Plus – £225 per month
GSquared Health Clubs’ membership application will be pre-arranged appointments with state-of-the-art VR technology tours included.
More information ahead of the opening of Manchester’s newest gym concept can be found via the GSquared Health Clubs website here.
Sport
Manchester City could win the biggest prize money in football history this summer
Danny Jones
Treble winners and four-time consecutive Premier League champions, Man City, could collect arguably their easiest payday yet this summer by playing just seven matches, as it has been confirmed that the total prize money pot for the 2025 Club World Cup is a whopping $1 billion.
We know you can’t hear us through the screen but just know there was an audible gulp.
That’s right, the winner of this year’s FIFA Club World Cup competition will not only get to don the same golden badge as Manchester City did last season but also be able to claim the biggest chunk of an equivalent £775m in British sterling should they emerge victorious.
Not only does this now make the upcoming edition of the international club tournament the most lucrative one in world football but it will also be the biggest single pot of prize money ever won in the sport’s history.
BREAKING: FIFA to announce prize money of $1 billion for Club World Cup for 32 teams, which includes Chelsea and Man City 🚨💰 pic.twitter.com/Gd6Ty5tykC
Set to take place in the US this summer from Saturday, 14 June to Sunday, 13 July, the 2025 Club World Cup will be a revamped version of the competition that had already been won once by City, once by Manchester United, and once by Liverpool.
It only began back in 2000, with Brazilian side Corinthians winning the inaugural edition and giants such as Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Barcelona going on to lift the trophy multiple times – Los Blancos boasting the most with five wins.
Cut to the present day and following major sponsorship and broadcasting deals being struck in recent months, with DAZN securing exclusive worldwide broadcasting rights as well as 24 games being televised by TNT Sports (formerly BT Sport).
For a long time, the significance of the Club World Cup has been put to one side and merely dismissed a series of glorified pre-season friendlies by teams and their supporters alike.
However, it’s fair to say that offering figures in the region of £100m or maybe even upwards of that for just four weeks of work, as Kaveh Solhekol puts it, will no doubt see plenty of teams change their tune. In theory, they don’t even need to win them all to get their hands on it either.
To put these figures into context, the total prize money for the 2022 Qatar World Cup was $440 million (approx. £341.8m); Argentina got almost £33m of that and the winner of this current UEFA Champions League campaign will earn around £21.1m on top of the roughly £15.7m they get for qualifying.
So yeah, it’s very big money…
Only Chelsea and Man City are among those representing the UK in the tournament this summer, and although the Blues haven’t been at their very brilliant best this season, you would bank on beating a lot of the big hitters contending for the Club World Cup title this year.
Major European names include record-winners Madrid as well as their Athletico; Bayern and Borussia Dortmund; PSG, Inter, Juventus and Benfica, not to mention the likes of Messi‘s Inter Miami – who have the home nation advantage – Palmeiras, River Plate, Boca Juniors and more from outside the continent.
Although FIFA is yet to confirm exactly how much the winner of this £1 billion competition will take home, in the instance of the now record-breaking 2025 Club World Cup, it seems that it really is the taking part that counts.
Even if the estimate of £77.5m for the champion is vaguely accurate, that’s game-changing money for any team, especially Man City given the shadow of FFP, PSR and the now 130 alleged charges still looming over them.
Investigations and slightly nauseating levels of money on the line aside, as is often the case with football these days, City continue to become an increasingly massive and truly global club.
So much so that the Etihad Campus won’t soon just be a stadium and series of sports facilities but a year-round ‘entertainment destination’.
Manchester City reveal name, official partner and more images of huge new Etihad Stadium hotel
Danny Jones
Manchester City have officially revealed the hotel partner for their upcoming resort and entertainment destination at the Etihad Stadium.
The Eithad renovations have been underway for some time now, with Man City not only looking to expand their home ground capacity but deliver some major renovations to the stadium complex and wider campus, including a museum, ‘sky bar’ and, most notably, a brand-new on-site hotel.
Anyone travelling through or even near the major development and increasingly popular tourist destination, especially given Co-op Live’s colossal presence over in East Manchester, will have seen the bare bones of the hotel being constructed – but now we know what it will be called and who is running it.
Confirmed on Wednesday, 5 March, City’s new Etihad Stadium hotel will be called ‘The Medlock’ and is set to be operated by the global hospitality company, Radisson.
The Medlock – one of the biggest hotels in Manchester, is opening in the entertainment district in 2026 📆🏨
As you can see from the new CGI images, supporters and visitors to the area, in general, have now been given another glimpse at the vision of what The Medlock will look like.
Featuring a total of 401 rooms, a range of suites, deluxe and standard rooms, not to mention a luxury penthouse offering, the latest addition to the Radisson Hotel Group will immediately become one of the biggest in the region when it is completed.
Estimated to open towards the latter end of 2026, guests staying at the Etihad’s Medlock hotel will also have access to a wide variety of food and drink outlets, a roof walk akin to the kind seen at Spurs’ stadium built back in 2019, as well as tour experiences at the aforementioned new museum space.
The project will also see commercial office space in the expanded stadium area, with a wide range of conference and event options.
As one of the world’s largest hoteliers (1,520 venues, to be specific), The Medlock is set to join the Radisson Blu and Radisson Hotel portfolio as a four-star establishment, with the upper-upscale hotel being overseen by industry-recognized hotel management company, Valor Hospitality.
Speaking in an official statement as part of the announcement, City Football Group (CFG) CEO Roel de Vries said: “Today’s announcement is an exciting moment as we reveal the name of our hotel as ‘The Medlock’ and welcome globally renowned hotelier, Radisson Hotel Group to the Etihad Campus.
“Radisson’s enthusiasm and passion for the Club’s hotel project is clear, and we firmly believe that Radisson’s industry experience together with the Club’s ambition and vision for the hotel is the perfect combination.
“We look forward to working with Radisson as we move towards the opening of the hotel and a year-round sports and entertainment destination that our fans and visitors from both the UK and around the world can enjoy.”
As for Radison, Executive Vice President and Global Chief Development Officer, Elie Younes added: “Our brands are always relevant to both our owners and our guests. We are thrilled to collaborate with Manchester City Football Club and create a global flagship hotel within the world-class Etihad Campus in Manchester.
This hotel is a fantastic addition to a growing portfolio of several stadium-based properties in the UK, like the renowned cricket ground, Edgbaston Stadium, the Allianz Stadium Twickenham, the Home of England rugby, and worldwide in India and China.
“We are grateful for Manchester City’s trust in our brands and confident that our long-standing cooperation will unlock further opportunities for all stakeholders.”