Sometimes you desperately need a short sharp shock of smushed fruit after your swim. Restorative…read moreVitamin C and lovely stuff. I kind of didn't want to walk all the way over to Amber Café on my way to Petersfield, and I'd noticed the little café at the Aquatics Centre a few times. It seemed to offer way more healthy treats than the archetypal vending machines at the South Manchester leisure centres (hey, they have those too. Hello Nice 'n' Spicy Nik-Naks!), and there was proper coffee too, so I sauntered up to the counter all exhausted with my hair all soggy (I refuse on principle to use my 20ps for hairdryers that wouldn't make a jot of difference to my multilayered thick hair) and asked about their smoothies. They could indeed do them to take away, but they only had about three options available on the generous list which didn't bother me in the slightest. I went for... come on, how could I resist the name?... THE IMMUNISER. It sounds like some kind of *machine*! It incorporated strawberry, kiwi and pineapple, three of my absolute favourite fruits, and it was awesome. Just the right portion and only a little over £2, how can one complain? I'll definitely be using this as regularly as my morning fruit shoot before breakfast. Thanks, Manchester Sports and Leisure! Nom.

Have been coming here to the gym on and off for a while now…read more The gym is small and compact but as everything you need in it for a workout there is always an instructor avaliable if you need any help on how to use the machines there is air conditioning on all the time so you dont get to hot and at £5.20 pay as you go you can stay as long as you like. downstairs there are a couple of pools and you can start at a beginners course or you can go in the advanced side , they also do a ladies only night for those who wish to just be with the girls. next door to the gym is a keep fit class and down stairs is a cafe and drinks machines staff are always friendly and helpful.

Sienna Spa is the Spa and Health Club found within the Radisson Edwardian, Manchester. Built on the…read moresite of historic barrel vaults, this inner sanctuary has a sense or calm and stillness far removed from busy city life. If you want luxury, pampering and fitness - then this is your place. The spa and health club are never packed full and on numerous occasions I have had the swimming pool to myself. The pool is 1.4m deep and approximately 15 x 10 metres. There is a chill out area surrounding the pool, along with a jacuzzi, steam room and sauna. The gym offers a good range of equipment, including two running machines, three cross trainers, four bikes, one rowing machine, two weights machines and more. There is also a weights room for those wanting to focus! After exercising, the changing rooms have powerful hot showers with Gilchrist and Soames shower gel, shampoo and conditioner. Also great hairdressers and straightners for the ladies! Want some pampering? There are various packages - a day or couple of hours etc. Facials and massages tried and tested - and I would highly recommend them. If you go for the Premier club (gym, pool, sauna etc) membership you get a complimentary spa treatments per month - so cool! Lush green apples are beautifully displayed for you to munch on after exercising or your pampering session and two choices of newspapers to read as you chill out. Cost wise - pretty good value for what you get. Love it love it!

Sienna is central Manchester's most luxurious spa facility with its relaxed atmosphere, friendly…read moreand professional staff and contemporary facilities it offers the perfect opportunity to chill out. The club is inside The Radisson Edwardian. The Health Club includes a spacious new gym offering the latest in easy to use fitness equipment. A stunning indoor pool, luxury spa bath, sauna and steam room. Wow!

It's overpriced, and the swimming pool area is always dirty! Women have to get change without a…read moredressing room, in a tiny area together. The staff could have been more helpful. I signed up for 1,5 months and regretting as I paid around £70 in total. Whenever I came there, the water in the jacuzzi was freezing cold! The same in the sauna, as there was no hot at all. The only OK was the steam room, but you had to pay for all the facilities, which weren't worth the price at all! I'm not recommending.

I have been going at this gym for at around 6 years. Overall, I quite enjoy it - for 29 pounds you…read moreget access to all three gyms. I found the staff to be very helpful, and they also sell additional bits, such as padlocks, flip-flops, towels, etc in case you forgot or don't have something. When I lost a key to my padlock somebody came to break it within 5-10 minutes, which I was very grateful for. The downsides are that they don't hire out towels (as do the other two gyms), is always cold in a female changing room which also has only two hair dryers, which is not enough when it's busy.

From the outside the Y Club looks an idyllic gym. Situated literally on the picturesque canal at…read morethe start of Castlefield, a 5 minute stroll from Deansgate, it looks like a posh gym for young professionals. The lovely little swimming pool is visible from the canal itself. So you can imagine my delight when I discovered it was relatively cheap, especially compared to gym groups such as Virgin Active or Fitness First. You can also avoid a contract and sign up for as little as 2 weeks, and it works out at around a pound per day. So alls well so far. Then i went inside. I think the point about the gym not really being for girls is valid, though I think lots of men should be added to that list too, as its only really suitable for bodybuilders who love dingy spaces as seen in American boxing films. Its small and dark, and pretty damp. Basically its no good. Its got all the equipment you need so if you want somewhere to go for just a couple of weeks then it serves a purpose, but its nowhere near as nice as it looks outside, and there are some better value gyms out there, so if it's a longer term membership you're after, give this place a miss.

Once again I have to question the effect that living in a big city has on the expectation levels of…read morethe people who populate it. EVERYONE had raved about this gym so I was really excited when the day of my prebooked free trial finally arrived. Now I don't go to the gym for a lie down, I will put the effort in but one of the reasons it's nice to go to is for the luxury- anyone who has spent a day in a David Lloyd's or Total Fitness will know what I mean. The first disappointment was the space, or lack of it. The Y Club is deceptively cramped- from the outside it looks as though it deserves its own postcode, inside you can see the pool, gym and fitness suite all from the reception. The layout of the gym is ridiculous, with the weights room being split in half by a narrow corridor of a fitness suite, making the planning of a routine unnecessarily difficult. The range of equipment is pretty thin on the ground and the surroundings are extremely dated- it feels like an 1980s swimming baths. The centre is very male centric and I imagine quite an intimidating place for a woman to go to. Not that the men does anything particularly masculine- all too often you are held up from getting on a piece of equipment not by a guy using it to work out but by several guys using it as a meeting place to hold a mothers meeting. Y Club? Y Bother Club more like.

The Mrs managed to catch this of me yesterday before my daily swim at Withington baths currently…read moretraining for iron man triathlon event. Can't tell you how far i've come.

I'm glad that when they built the gigantic Aquatics Centre they didn't let the smaller quainter…read moreleisure centres around town turn to wreck and ruin. Whilst the Aquatics Centre is certainly more suitable for serious swimming, it is nice to have convenient local pools such as Chorlton Leisure Centre and Withington Leisure Centre. Withington Leisure Centre is home to a 25m pool, a sauna, gym and they also hold aerobics and aqua aerobics classes. Memberships are available. My friend had a student membership which she said was really good value as long as you used the facilities a couple of times a week - it's about half the price you would pay at the swanky Virgin gym at Parrs Wood. It's a little bit cheaper for a swim here than at the AC but you have to be prepared to circumnavigate loitering biddies and splashing kids as there are no lanes, and there is free swimming for under 16s and over 65s! The best thing is that you don't need to worry about finding a pound coin for the locker and lugging your pile of clothes, shampoo, towel etc around (which inevitably leaves you with soggy knickers or your towel on the bottom of the pile when you get out!). You simply leave all of your belongings in one of the cubicles around the edge of the pool. I like that traditional touch, and although this pool isn't as pretty as Victoria Baths or as functional as the Aquatics Centre, it's a good place to swim if you live in Withington or Fallowfield.

So every now and again I decide to try looking for a gym in the vain attempt that I might actually…read morego.. Then a friend recommended Spindles gym in the Britannia Hotel, Didsbury and for £18 a month, no joining fee and no contract I literally couldn't not do it. Now there's no excuse to not go. All it takes is a number 43 bus ride, get off at Withington Golf Course and you're there. They have a decent sized heated swimming pool, a spa, sauna and steam room! Also, because it's in a hotel it's usually quite quiet and not that many people use it during the day. The gym is decent enough - they describe it as fully equipped and it seems to be.. unfortunately all I really do is use the cross trainer and running machine so can't give a better description of everything else. It's a simple gym though so don't go expecting power plates or any new gizmos and gadgets. There are also Aerobic classes (included in the membership) which I have yet to try and an instructor can configure a programme for you should you need it. There's a beauty salon offering Facials, Manicures, Pedicures, Massages & Waxing which is open Wednesday to Friday every week.

Spindles Health and Leisure Club within the Britannia Hotel in West Didsbury, Manchester, should be…read morevery good, and with membership from only £20 per month it should be very good value indeed. However, the facilities are far from luxurious and would benefit from more regular and efficient cleaning and maintenance. There is a small swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna and steam room as well as a small but well-fitted gym. Spindles also offers 3 acqua aerobics classes and one aerobics exercise class per week. There is also a hairdresser and beauty salon. The gym and pool area can get quite busy as the facilities are open to hotel guests and non members as well as those with membership packages. Children are allowed in the swimming pool at certain times (and can also become members) and there is a baby pool. It could be very good indeed but.... Although the classes are advertised on the board and promotional leaflets and are included in the membership, time and time again one or other of the classes is cancelled at short notice with no alternative provision. Only two members of staff are qualified to take the classes so when they are on holiday or off sick there are no classes available (and no refunds or reductions to members who pay by direct debit). Shortage of staff often means that there are problems with the showers etc too. Oh and I didn't mention the parking. Although there is a very big car park it is used for airport parking so at holidays times it can be a nightmare to get a parking space. Some areas of the car park are in a very dire condition and never seem to be maintained. Also, quite often there are pool closures or the sauna, steam room or jacuzzi is not available for use. Currently the management have decided to close the swimming pool for two hour intervals at peak times over a four week period as it has been booked out to a company training swimming instructors. This is infuriating to members as we have to continue paying although we are denied full use of the facilities. The management do not respond to any complaints. There is no contract as such, you pay monthly and can leave without prior notice by cancelling your direct debit. It is a no win situation for members as they have to put up with the inadequacies or vote with their feet and go elsewhere. On the positive side there are some very good members of staff who have worked at Spindles for a long time and when you can actually access the swimming pool, steam room etc it can be a very pleasant experience.

Ive been a member since it opened and fair to say I've fallen in love with the place. The staff are…read morevery friendly and there is a community friendly feel to the gym. I've been going regularly for a month or so and the facilities are fantastic. Even at peak hour there's more than enough equipment not to disrupt your workout and members are extremely polite, respectful and focused. I have swimming and gym membership but have yet to try the swimming pools. There is one large one and a second smaller one for private and women only sessions. The studio space where various classes take place is sizeable, which is just as well because workshops are always full. The gym changing area is always in clean condition and is also very spacious. The library downstairs is also a genius idea and a perfect meeting/waiting place if you're hooking up with some friends after the gym. Whilst I walk here there is ample parking space behind the centre as well as numerous residential roads. My favourite part about Arcadia is that due to its locale, I can see myself making friends with some of the regulars in the coming weeks and finding a training partner. Whilst this isn't something I seek overtly because I'm fairly well motivated and don't see the need. My mind has changed gradually haven't witnessed first hand, benefits of having a gym partner. I can see that not only does it focus your efforts and push you a little further but it also makes the work out more fun (Obviously depending on your partner) As I'm missing out on the cricket season this summer due to a shoulder operation and consequent rehabilitation. I expect to become part of the furniture this summer.

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.