I Tried Aarmy Every Week for 3 Months. Here’s Why the Workout Has Such a Loyal Following

A single visit rarely explains why clients stay loyal to a workout. I went to Aarmy every week for three months to find out what keeps clients coming back

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The first visit to a workout class is often a blur of logistics: finding the locker room, grabbing weights, learning the flow. It rarely gives a good read on why a brand retains clients long-term. I usually test wearables and fitness products for months before judging them, so for Aarmy, I did the same: I went every week, often 2-3 times, for three months, to see what keeps clients coming back.

What Is Aarmy?

Aarmy was founded by Akin Akman, a former master instructor at SoulCycle whose cult following, “Akin’s Army,” became the inspiration for his own studio. Aarmy has one location in Noho (plus a brief pop-up in Chelsea earlier this year), with a mat-based room and a separate cycling room, each holding 40-50 people. The studio runs about 15 classes a day from 6 am to 7 pm, taught by nine instructors: Akin, Sophia, Ugo, Yavuz, Danielle, Anjali, Boom, Christina and Alicia, who all have slightly different styles but the same overall workout thesis.

The Studio

The studio is the first preview of the workout to come: unpretentious, with two workout rooms and rows of black lockers without locks, a small detail that adds to the community feel. Dozens of classes later, I never once worried about anything getting stolen. There are no showers and only a handful of changing rooms, but the front desk staff is outstanding: genuinely welcoming and helpful with any troubleshooting issues. Several of them stand in on classes just to make sure everyone’s settled, sometimes dancing along unapologetically as class kicks off.

The Bootcamp Workout

More than almost any class I’ve tried in New York, Aarmy has a genuinely strong community where people act like they know each other even when they don’t.

Bootcamp is a 50-minute mat-based class with dumbbells and booty bands. Nearly every instructor runs a long warmup, 5-10 minutes, which initially made me think the workout itself would be easy. I was wrong. Once it starts, you get 35-40 minutes of full-body or focus-area (Upper, Lower, Abs) work, with the instructor demoing a sequence before you follow along.

The moves themselves are often familiar, but the choreography is what sets Aarmy apart: skater jumps and heavy squats layered and timed to music in a way that’s genuinely energizing. I’d finish a set dripping sweat and check my watch, surprised by how hard I’d actually been working, having been too distracted by the room’s energy to notice.

The high fives between sets felt like a gimmick at first, but they’re actually a smart retention tool. Everyone buys in, from beginners with 8-pound weights to veterans lifting fifty, and it feels genuine rather than performative. There’s also a good amount of plyometrics and the occasional martial arts-inspired move, which keeps things dynamic even when the underlying exercises are familiar.

I loved exploring all the instructors’ styles: from Akin’s perfectly choreographed cycling choreography, to Anjali’s intense focus on power and technique, to Sophia’s ability to dial up the entire room’s energy with just a few instructions. Yavuz’s classes were consistently packed, with fun throwback music and beat-based choreography. While each had a slightly different focus, one piece was consistent: I knew no matter whose workout I attended, I would leave dripping in sweat and energized.

The Cycling Workout

Aarmy’s cycling class is unlike SoulCycle or Peloton. The choreography leans dance-like, with arm moves layered into the ride. First-timers should sit toward the back, since the front rows are unofficially reserved for regulars who don’t need a clear sightline to follow along.

My heart rate ran consistently 10-20 bpm higher here than in standard spin classes, largely because the arm choreography makes it a true full-body workout rather than just a leg burner.

My Progress from Aarmy

My progress was the biggest surprise. I was already running 6-7 days a week and strength training 3-4, so I doubted Aarmy would move the needle much. But halfway through my testing window, I ran a half-marathon and shaved three minutes off my personal best, enough to qualify for the NYC Marathon, without any dedicated run training. Aarmy was the only variable that had changed.

I also got stronger, adding about five pounds across most lifts, and felt more confident in the weight room and in HIIT formats generally. The bigger shift was psychological: strength training had always been something I tolerated as a runner, and Aarmy made it something I actually looked forward to.

What We Didn’t Love

With no showers and only three bathrooms for 40-50 people per class, lines before and after class can run long. Aarmy stocks Grown Alchemist products in the bathroom (the Skin Renewal Toner Mist is a great post-workout pick me up), but the lack of showers limits flexibility afterward, which feels like a real miss given the price point.

Aarmy Fitness Review: Pricing

Aarmy doesn’t offer memberships. New clients get three classes for $60, including a 7-day trial of the on-demand platform, or a 7-day unlimited pass for $99. After that, drop-ins run $40, with class packs bringing the cost down: five classes for $192 up to 50 for $1,700. It’s priced at the high end of NYC boutique fitness, but the packs make sense if you plan to go as often as I did. I should add that live-filmed Zoom classes also run for around $20 a class, which is a good alternative if you can’t make it to the studio.

Aarmy Fitness Review: The Final Verdict

After three months as part of the Aarmy community, I can attest that it’s not just a hard workout, though it is genuinely one of the toughest boutique mat-based classes I’ve tried. It’s the choreography, the music, the community, and the front desk staff that make the windowless Noho studio feel alive. The workout is a great fit for anyone who wants a workout that pushes strength and cardio at once. It’s less of a fit for total beginners intimidated by a packed room moving at full speed, or for anyone who prefers to work out anonymously, since the community here is loud, real, and hard to opt out of. The class is an investment, but for the people it clicks with, it’s one worth making.