Mens Health UK – October 2025
Summary
Tom Grennan fronts the October 2025 cover of Men's Health UK, still rocking but trading late nights for early lifts. This issue puts Hyrox's Olympic ambitions under the microscope, investigates whether Gen Z is falling out of love with meat, and follows one writer's super-dosed creatine experiment to its bloated conclusion. Bethnal Green Weightlifting Club fights for survival against London redevelopment.
The Grennan interview (p.28) tracks the singer from party circuit to pull-up bar, with his exact 4-day training split revealed. "Games Bound" (p.74) reports on the campaign to take Hyrox to the Olympics, including the drug-testing framework being built. "A Slice of Life" (p.74) analyses what a meat-reduced diet means for a generation. "Fighting for Survival" (p.80) documents the Bethnal Green Weightlifting Club's legal battle against eviction. "A Sobering Decision" (p.88) follows a writer through 30 days alcohol-free with biometric data. "Going With Your Gut" (p.100) tests stomach-training for performance. The MH Grooming Awards 2025 (p.107) run across 8 pages.
Content Guide
▸ Cover Story / Features
p.28 · Tom Grennan: Still Rocking
The singer shares his training split: 4 days upper-lower with boxing conditioning. He admits he used to drink before shows and now hydrates with electrolytes. The single habit that improved his recovery most is sleeping in compression boots, which he now packs for every tour stop.
p.74 · A Slice of Life: Gen Z and Meat
Data from 2,000 UK respondents shows 34% of 18-25 year-olds identify as flexitarian. The article prices a week of plant-forward meals against a standard meat-heavy diet and finds a 12% savings gap.
p.80 · Fighting for Survival
Bethnal Green Weightlifting Club has 6 months to vacate after 40 years in the same building. Coach and members share their contingency plan, including a mobile gym fitted into a shipping container.
p.88 · A Sobering Decision
A 30-day alcohol elimination tracked with a continuous glucose monitor and Oura ring. Sleep scores improved by 18%, resting heart rate dropped by 4 bpm, and the writer lost 2.3 kg without changing his diet.
p.100 · Going With Your Gut
Stomach-training protocols used by elite ultra-runners. The 6-week tolerance plan starts with 200ml of carbohydrate solution during runs and builds to 800ml per hour.
▸ The Cut / Fuel / Train
p.11 · No Stupid Questions: Gymimation
A debate on whether animated workout demonstrations on YouTube count as real coaching. The consensus: follow-along is fine for cardio, but lifters need real-time feedback.
p.13 · Last Night's Dinner: Athletics Star
A UK track athlete shares her post-competition meal: 250g salmon, 300g sweet potato, steamed broccoli and a protein shake with specific creatine dosage listed.
p.41 · What Supp?: Creatine Super-Dose Experiment
A writer takes 20g daily for 7 days and reports bloating, water retention and a 3kg scale weight jump — then returns to 5g and watches the water disappear in 4 days.
p.57 · 28 Days Later: The Big Workout
A progressive 4-week full-body programme using only barbells. Week 4's squat session is 5×5 at 80% of tested 1RM.
p.64 · How I Built My Body: Athlete Profile
A Paralympian shares his adapted training split, including seated cable rows and weighted pull-ups with a belt attachment. His protein target is 2g per kg of body weight.
▸ Life.Style / Adventurist
p.107 · MH Grooming Awards 2025
90 products tested across 12 categories. The £12 Boots own-brand moisturiser outperformed six luxury entries in blind hydration tests.
p.114 · Wrist Assessment
Five GPS watches tested for accuracy on London running routes. The Coros Pace Pro deviated by only 12 metres over a 10 km loop.
p.130 · 60 Seconds' Rest With… Luke Donald
The golfer answers rapid-fire questions. His favourite cheat meal is a full English breakfast; his pre-round coffee is black with a pinch of salt.
Editor's Take
October 2025 is one of MH UK's most culturally engaged issues this year — the Bethnal Green club story has real stakes, the sober experiment produces honest data, and Grennan delivers a credible cover. The Gen Z meat piece is interesting but undercooked at 3 pages. Grooming Awards are thorough but the 8-page spread feels like ad-buoyed padding. Best suited for the London-based reader who cares about gym culture beyond programming.
Strengths
• Bethnal Green club story has genuine community stakes
• 30-day sober experiment shows real biometric data
• Grennan training split is immediately usable
Weaknesses
• Gen Z meat piece needed deeper analysis
• Grooming spread is disproportionately long
Verdict: Recommended — Strong reporting and a useful sober experiment offset uneven pagination.
