Manchester is a gym-lover's paradise, new study suggests

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Manchester is the perfect place to live if you’re a gym-lover, a new study has claimed. The city itself has 4.7 gym sites per 100,000 people.

That’s according to BarBend, a fitness brand. Its analysis of the seven major UK gym chains — PureGym, TheGym Company, Nuffield Health, David Lloyd Fitness, Snap Fitness, Bannatyne Health Club and JD Gyms — found that there were 26 locations in the city of Manchester, which has a population of 553,000.

That means there are 4.7 fitness centres per 100,000 population, beating out second-placed Bristol which scored 4.282. The only other northern city to make the top 10 is Liverpool, which has 3.623 gyms per 100,000 — good enough for tenth place.

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And bosses at gyms in the city say the pandemic has caused a surge in people looking after both their physical and mental health. Matt Buckley, a PureGym regional manager, said: “Since the Covid-19 pandemic there has been a huge resurgence in activity across the UK, with more people focused on improving their health and fitness.

“In Manchester, we’ve found that our members have been particularly keen to get back into group exercise, which is a clear shift from the height of the pandemic, with our Cycle and Legs, Bums and Tums classes proving really popular once again."

And a spokesperson for BarBend says they’re also seeing more independent gyms make waves in the second city. They explained: “As Manchester's already competitive gym market expands, both independent brands and national chains are opening new branches in the city, which highlights the demand Mancunians have for a change in lifestyle."

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