Manchester Gyms and Fitness

The sound of clanging metal emanates from a factory-like structure flanked by asphalt and trees. This plant doesn't manufacture station wagons or wrought-iron fences. Here, certified CrossFit coaches transform exercisers into athletes with barbells and sledgehammers. Classes revolve around functional workouts, which teem with strength-training moves inspired by Olympic weightlifters and gymnasts. In addition to building lean muscle mass with dumbbells and pull-ups, participants torch calories and cultivate stamina with cardio challenges such as rowing and sprinting. During On Ramp classes, instructors show newcomers how to exercise safely, whether they're wielding a heavy weight or jumping rope with a sleeping boa constrictor. The exercises can be scaled to different levels of fitness, allowing beginners and accomplished athletes to work out side by side.

Dance Amore's chief instructor Deborah Loomis has been performing for more than 20 years, boasting a resumè that includes acting, dancing, and singing with the Massachusetts Allstate Choir and taking to the stage as a female lead in Bye Bye Birdie. At Dance Amore, she puts this experience to use helping children and adults alike tap into their melodious side through an eclectic curriculum. Her dance classes cover tap, ballet, jazz, and hip-hop for different age groups atop Harlequin floors. She also translates choreography into calorie-busting workouts with Zumba programs. At sessions for toddlers, she encourages freeform movement and the development of motor skills, outlining dance's foremost basics, such as refraining from repeatedly hitting the speakers to find the music inside. Deborah guides pupils in the process of making their own music, as well. She oversees beginner's flute, piano, and voice lessons that set the stage for future practice. Parents and loved ones keep abreast of their children's progress by attending yearly recitals, where each student showcases their burgeoning talent.

The nine-hole course at Copper Hill Golf Club is designed to welcome beginners while still challenging advanced golfers, an egalitarian approach that earned it the 2012 Walter Lowell Award for Public Service from the Connecticut Section PGA. Having founded the Golf Academy in 1994 and taken full control of the club in 2010, two-decade PGA pro Paul Banks runs the outfit as a welcoming environment where golfers can both enjoy the game and improve. In line with its emphasis on introducing the game to new players, Copper Hill hosts an extensive youth program, training up duffers as young as 5. Its extensive practice area comprises a 3,500-square-foot pitching and chipping green along with a four-tier driving range, where up to 32 club swingers can hone drives, approaches, and putter-juggling acts on grass tees.

Course at a Glance:

• Nine-hole, par 36 course
• Total length of 3,039 yards from the back tees
• Four sets of tees per hole
• Scorecard