The Rise of Gym Cafés

Going to the gym is no longer simply about exercising – it’s about refuelling healthily too. New-style gym cafés have arrived!

- Sarah Ivory

Regular exercise and a healthy diet go together like peaches and cream – one without the other just doesn’t work as well. But, until recently, gym cafes were far from healthy places to refuel, selling cans of Coke, muffins, chocolate bars and packets of salty crisps.

Thankfully, in cities across the globe, an increasing number of healthy cafés, shake bars and restaurants are cropping up at some of the world’s hottest gyms and studios. Get your fitness fix, then refuel in the gym café post-workout – these on-site eateries are serving up a host of healthy food that lets busy members pursue eating better and exercising under the same roof. It makes such good sense – and is super convenient – it’s just amazing it hasn’t happened sooner.

London is the hub of gym cafés in the UK, and it’s a sure sign of how fitness studios are going to upscale across the country. At the treadmill-focused Barry’s Bootcamp (barrysbootcamp.com) studios on Euston Road and Worship Street, The Fuel Bar offers a variety of protein shakes that can be made-to-order while you work out. ‘Our shakes are made there and then – they’re completely fresh; not from a carton or bottle,’ says Sandy Macaskill, co-owner of the studios. ‘We create them from our own recipes that Barry’s Bootcamp instructors have tested, so we know they’re nutritionally beneficial post workout.’

Typically a grab-and-go joint, the bar also has a seating area so members can catch up over a £5 Simply PB or Plain Jane shake after a tough workout. But Macaskill notes the calorie count of a shake does vary, with some being as little as 150 calories while others are nudging up to the 350 calorie mark.