Absolute fantastic club. Warm welcoming people. Traditional martial arts that leaves you feeling…read moreconfident and happy. Highly recommended to both the young and old, experienced or inexperienced. Five stars

A welcoming atmosphere pleasant people. strong, hard…read moretraining. Very enjoyable =]

I started taking my two grandsons aged 7 & 12 to the children's class at Dean Mill approximately 7…read moremonths ago now they live for 6.30 coming round on Mondays they love the class so much. I can't praise the two instructors enough for their total dedication and kindness toward teaching the young people their art. They are truly an inspiration and deserve that it be made known of how much the parents and youngsters who attend this class appreciate them. Thankyou.

I'd been a traditional gym member for years after getting into the habit of going whilst at…read moreuniversity, but I became aware that I wasn't really pushing myself and had seriously plateaued fitness-wise. It was a trip to see some friends down in London which changed all this. Walking past Clapham Common I saw a large group of people wearing coloured bibs running and doing different exercises whilst under the instruction of three blokes in camouflage trousers. Making out that their t-shirts had 'BMF' on them I was intrigued so did an internet search (http://www.britmilfit.com/) when I got back home. Fast forward three-and-a-half years and I've not been in a gym since. The great outdoors has become my cross trainer, treadmill and step machine (cheesy yet true). The BMF philosophy is simple: outdoor fitness with like-minded folk by qualified and passionate former military instructors. Though some people might think this sounds intimidating it's not at all, everyone is welcoming and encouraging regardless of your fitness level. Personally, I love going to Heaton Park in particular. Not only because it's a huge park with different terrains and parts of it are stunning, but the people who attend every week are one of the main reasons you keep going back. Everyone motivates you and you can have a laugh during the sessions, all whilst getting the heart pumping and fat burned away. The aforementioned bib colours correspond to your fitness level with beginners (blue), intermediate (red) and advanced (green). Classes start with a warm up followed by at least 50 minutes of individual, paired and team exercises, ending with a cool down and stretches. The beauty of the classes is that no two are the same, each one differs in park location and exercise choices, that's what keeps it interesting compared to a standard gym session. Tip: Your first class is free and there is no obligation to join. Just fill out the online form to enroll before you go. Tip: A decent pair of outdoor running shoes is all you really need. Other than that, an old t-shirt on top and shorts, tracksuit bottoms or running leggings are ideal. In winter, base layer top and bottoms are recommended as well. Tip: Some parks also hold a dedicated 'Running Club' session which is at the same time as a normal class.

Tucked away in Dunscar Business Park in Bolton, I hadn't heard of this place before, but it's a…read morehidden gem. I've been going for about 5 weeks now as my football team booked us in for weekly strength and conditioning sessions and they are some of the best I've done. I've played football to a pretty high level and along the way have had some great and some shocking fitness/strength and conditioning coaches, but Alex down at Kept Fit is probably up there with the very best. He's knowledgable and attentive to your goals and makes specific plans and training sessions to aid what you're there for - for us to be fitter on a football pitch, and it's most definitely working! You can go down for private sessions or book on to a group class if that gives you the added motivation to work harder. Definitely recommend to anybody looking to lose weight, build muscle or just generally improve their fitness without the added pressure and uncomfortable nature of the big gyms! Also worth noting we haven't lost or even drawn a game since we've been training with Alex!

I come to Sugden fairly often, mainly to play badminton with my friends. I must say that prices for…read morebadminton courts are very reasonable, but I don't find the service much good. Once all the fields were taken, even if we had booked one and we were there on time, yet no one was there to check that players were respecting their times. Lockers are provided to drop your stuff, but you have to pay 20p to use one. I considered signing to Sugden just after moving to Manchester because it's very close to uni. Therefore I took their gym induction to give a look at the place and at the machines. The gym is ok, not very big to tell the truth. I was actually rather disappointed with the induction itself, cause it lasted only five minutes, the instructor just hastily showed us the rooms, we didn't even have time to try any machines. Also, we were more than ten people taking the induction, and I was expecting something more serious and personalized since I was paying for it.

I'm not a student at Manchester University, but one of my best friends is and that means that I get…read moreto in to Sugden Sports Centre every week to play a bit of badminton. There are loads of sports halls and courts and stuff here, so lots of space to do whatever sport you're into - be that squash, badminton, basketball, circuit training, etc. If you're playing badminton like we do, then it costs just over a fiver to hire a court for an hour once you're a member. This isn't too expensive, especially when it's split between the two of us. The one thing that annoys me here just a tiny bit is the fact that you have to pay 20p for a locker and you don't get it back. It's quite cheeky to get you to pay for the privilege of having your stuff safe whilst you're exercising. Surely, after membership and court hire, that should just be a given.

Target Fitness offers four different membership packages with the most expensive being about 35…read morepounds a month. It offers a pretty good selection of classes, and has two swimming pools, a large and a small. The gym itself is upstairs cardio machines and weight machines and mats with freeweights, with a more hardcore weights room next door. Most of the machines are pretty new and in good working order. A few of the exercise bikes need some TLC and a couple of the seats dont adjust anymore on the weight machines. The cross trainers are excellent and have some really challenging interval settings on them. Don't expect all the heart rate monitoring plates on the machines to work either. The free weights area has a good range of weights benches and balance boards, including those irritating vibration plate things. As for classes they do all the usual Body Pump/Vive etc as well as yoga, tabata training and Spinning and many others; all are available on the website for you to look at. I attend the Spinning most frequently and you can pretty much go every day of the week if you are a sadist, though you have to book early but can get the odd last minute appointment if you're lucky. The instructors are friendly and make the classes fun and I would really recommend them. I haven't used the pool but I mean it's a pool it looks ok. Blue and splashy. The female members changing has three showers, two cubicles and a lot of lockers. All good here. Opening hours are pretty good, 6:30 till 10pm in the week, 9-5 on saturdays and open till nine pm on sundays SO hard to find excuses not to go. So if you are looking for a midprice gym that is there when you want it I would recommend Target, but if you can afford more, you can probably get better machines at a posher gym.

Great place for bouldering (and some short climbing self belays). Fantastic atmosphere, everyone is…read morefriendly.

Massive new bouldering centre in Trafford Park with a huge selection of problems and very welcoming…read morestaff. Nice, bright and airy building with loads of space to climb or even just watch others climb. Couldn't find a traverse wall anywhere but the place is so big I may just not have seen it. A small gear shop if your need some new shoes or trousers and a membership desk come coffee shop as you enter with a large viewing platform built on top. Hopefully they will have a monthly standing order membership though as not sure how NY have the money spare to pay for a yearly membership even though that is the most economical way to climb if you're keen.

What on Earth is Crossfit, you might ask. Well I certainly did when my friend, who's an avid fan,…read morefirst mentioned this to me. To quote their website, it's "a strength and conditioning programme built on constantly varied, functional movements executed at high intensity." I still wasn't totally sure what this meant so decided to join them for a free introductory session before Christmas. Based in a former garage building in the grounds of the imposing Pear Mill in Bredbury near Stockport, this has none of the sleekness and modernism of the gyms that are popping up all over the place. The large, single space inside is equipped with rowing machines, a metal frame for manual pull ups and areas for weights and floor exercises. Thankfully this is definitely not a 'muscle head' / Rocky Balboa gym environment and there are no floor-to-ceiling mirrors on the walls. No mirrors at all, in fact. After an hour's induction where the centre manager (who's a lovely chap) provides you with a one-on-one session, introducing you to the various exercises involved, you can choose to stay for a Crossfit class - which I did. Fast forward an hour and the human formerly known as Michael was completely exhausted and just about alive. In that time I'd rowed, done pull ups, sit ups, press ups, box jumps and squats (with barbells), lifted kettle bells and lunged my way across the centre. Every class is different and the exercises for the day are written on the whiteboard before you arrive so you know what you need to do. You're provided with your own record sheet to keep notes on your personal bests so you can see how you're progressing week-to-week. It's certainly different to what I've experienced before in a gym; plus the friendliness of the staff and fellow 'Crossfitters' makes you feel welcome. Though I'll probably stick to BMF (http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/bmf-prestwich), this is worth a try if you want to concentrate more on strength and conditioning.