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Guide

The best gyms in Manchester for 2024

3 months ago

Updated for 2024

THE January fitness drive is at its most frantic right now with every gym in Manchester jostling for your attention and membership fees.

In our view, the best gym is the one you keep going back to, month after month, without getting bored. Gorgeous facilities and high-tech equipment aren’t worth much if you have to drag yourself through the doors every time. 

So decide what’ll keep you engaged once your January ‘new me’ energy has waned. Do you prefer to workout alone or would you rather share the pain with others at a class-based gym? Do you need to bribe yourself with the promise of a swim and sauna after your workout, or are you fine without, thanks.

Then think about how much you want to spend. There’s a huge gap between the cheapest gyms in Manchester and the most expensive, and a higher price doesn’t always mean a better experience. Our picks for the best Manchester gyms for 2024 range from boutique studios like Barry’s to cheaper options like King Street Gym which offer more than you might expect.

And if you don’t see what you’re looking for below, we’ve got plenty more recommendations. Just go to Fitness and use the filters to find what you want.

#fitnessandwellbeing

  • Book Now Northern Quarter

    Federation Gym

    Gyms

    If bodybuilding, powerlifting or Olympic weightlifting are your thing, there’s a new gym in the Northern Quarter that you’ll want to check out. Federation Gym opened in October 2023 after its owners spotted a gap in the city centre for a luxury, pro-fitness training facility that combines competition-standard equipment with workshops, meal prep, and a posing room.

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  • T-shirts in the store at Barry's Manchester - a class-based gym offering HIIT workouts in Manchester city centre.
    Manchester City Centre

    Barry’s Manchester

    Gyms

    Like all the gyms in this US-born franchise, Barry’s Manchester is known for challenging classes and workout studios that look and feel like a high-tempo club night.

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  • Tomas, one of the trainers at BLOK Manchester
    Manchester City Centre

    BLOK Manchester

    Gyms

    BLOK is popular thanks to the variety of classes on offer at its Manchester studios (you can do strength, various forms of yoga, boxing, barre, calisthenics, HIIT, meditation, pilates and more).

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  • Marvin Tomlinson coaching at Corner HQ, a boxing tech gym in Manchester.
    Ardwick

    Corner HQ

    Gyms

    This boxing gym next to Mayfield Park doubles as the headquarters of boxing tech company Corner, hence the name Corner HQ. While the tech developers tap away on their computers upstairs, the downstairs is devoted to the sport itself with a boxing ring, bags, strength equipment, and indoor and outdoor workout space, plus changing rooms.

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  • The team at F45 Training Manchester NQ, a class-based gym in Manchester city centre
    Piccadilly

    F45 Training Manchester NQ

    Gyms

    The F45 franchise has gyms all over the world but we doubt there are any quite like F45 Training Manchester NQ. The team, led by studio manager Ruben, have created a really friendly, inclusive environment with their no-mirrors, no-egos policy and their high-fun approach to HIIT. 

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  • Weight-lifting at Fighting Fit gym in Manchester city centre
    Green Quarter

    Fighting Fit

    Gyms

    The first thing you see when you step into this under-the-arches gym near Victoria Station is the long line of medals on the wall.

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  • The gym floor at JD Gyms Manchester, one of the cheapest gyms in the city centre.
    Manchester City Centre

    JD Gyms Manchester

    Gyms

    At under £20 a month, JD Gyms Manchester is one of your cheaper gym membership options in the city centre. And you get more than you might expect for that price. 

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  • The spacious gym floor at King Street Gym in Manchester city centre
    Manchester City Centre

    King Street Gym

    Gyms

    Just the tip of this huge, iceberg-like gym is visible from street level. Head down the stairs and you’ll find it’s a much bigger beast than you might have imagined, with an 18m pool, an expansive gym floor, a sauna, a steam room, and two good-sized fitness studios.

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  • One of the swimming pools and the spectator stands at Manchester Aquatics Centre in Manchester.
    Oxford Road

    Manchester Aquatics Centre

    Swimming

    Manchester Aquatics Centre is open once again, following an 18-month closure for an extensive refurbishment and upgrade. The new centre is smarter, more accessible, and crucially, more environmentally-friendly.

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  • Manchester City Centre

    Nuffield Health Manchester Printworks

    Gyms

    This gym on top of The Printworks is probably best known for its pool with views over Corporation Street. There’s much more to it though than a photogenic swimming spot. Especially since it became part of the Nuffield Health Group, which also runs hospitals and medical centres, including one here at Nuffield Health Manchester Printworks.

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  • Girl lifting kettlebell at The Olympus Projects, a gym in Manchester city centre
    Green Quarter

    The Olympus Projects

    Gyms

    The Olympus Projects takes its inspiration from the original musclebound warriors, the Greek Gods. The motivational quote as you enter tells you to forget the constraints of your human form and embrace your inner Perseus, Hercules or Athena. And then you meet the man, AJ, who’s going to help you do it, and you start to believe it might actually be possible.

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  • The spin room at the Sugden Sports Centre in Manchester.
    Oxford Road

    Sugden Sports Centre

    Gyms

    This huge sports facility just off Oxford Road is part of Better, the organisation that runs all the council’s leisure centres and swimming pools. The Sugden Sports Centre gets a lot of investment from Manchester Uni and Manchester Met so their students and staff get discounted rates (and make up the majority of the customers).

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  • Man doing a barbell squat at Train Manchester, a Cross Fit gym on the edge of the city centre
    Castlefield

    Train CrossFit Manchester

    Gyms

    If you’re specifically looking for a CrossFit gym near to Manchester city centre, Train CrossFit Manchester on the edge of Castlefield is one of your best options.

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  • Inside UBX Media City, a boxing gym at Salford Quays
    Media City

    UBX Media City

    Gyms

    UBX Media City is a new boxing fitness gym at Salford Quays offering small group sessions that pack a punch. It’s part of a franchise that has 90 gyms in Australia and New Zealand; this is one of the first to open in the UK.

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  • Urban Reform is a gym near Piccadilly Station in Manchester specialising in strength, conditioning and nutrition
    Piccadilly

    Urban Reform

    Gyms

    This Hyrox-affiliated gym is five minutes’ walk from Piccadilly Station, in the direction of Mayfield Park.

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  • Girl on treadmill at V1BE Mosley Street
    Manchester City Centre

    V1BE by Lifestyle Fitness Mosley Street

    Gyms

    V1BE by Lifestyle Fitness Mosley Street is an edgier, and dare we say cooler, gym than what you might expect from this nationwide chain. Partly it’s in the industrial, neon-lit design, and partly it’s in the V1BE class concept.

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  • The swimming pool at Waterside Leisure Centre in Didsbury, Manchester
    Didsbury

    Waterside Leisure Club

    Gyms

    If you like your gym to be the kind of place where you can spend an entire day, hopping from class to treadmill to pool to sauna to cafe, Waterside Leisure Club will fit the bill.

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  • The swimming pool at The Y Club - a health club and gym with classes in Castlefield, Manchester city centre.
    Castlefield

    The Y Club

    Gyms

    If you want a gym with a pool in the city centre, The Y Club is one of just a handful of options. And if you want it to also have a sports hall, indoor running track, and a whole range of associated sports clubs, it’s your only one.

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  • Weightlifting class at Hero Training Clubs in Manchester city centre
    Northern Quarter

    Zeno Health Club

    Gyms

    With its stylish design and on-trend classes, boutique gym Zeno Health Club (formerly known as Hero Training Clubs) is well suited to the NOMA neighbourhood’s young, apartment-dwelling residents. 

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