Cyc Fitness Astor Place

Aaron’s lively personality had us hooked within seconds. His energy made us happy even for being on a bike at 7AM. The various dance moves combined with a stellar music selection gave us feel-good vibes. However, Cyc Astor Place is in the NYSC Flagship building, which is not our preferred “boutique” (because it’s not a boutique fitness studio) fitness environment. The building is dark on the inside and could probably use a facelift one of these days!

RUNDOWN

WORKOUT

Aaron kept us guessing for 45 minutes by incorporating a different set of dance moves into each song. We kicked off class with a sprint out of the saddle and turned up the resistance immediately. His class was similar to tabata – challenging us to burn out every sprint and every hill we hit. He added an engaging exercise – up in 1st position, 2nd position, 3rd position, saddle. REPEAT. Aaron’s arm section was the standard biceps, triceps, and shoulder press routine. We were underwhelmed and would’ve liked to see a routine that differentiates Cyc from other spin classes.

INSTRUCTOR

This was one of the more challenging Cyc classes we’ve taken. Maybe it’s because Aaron’s go-to teaching style is speed and lots of choreography. His loud mashup of EDM coupled with his strong command of the room had us wide-eyed and awake. If you prefer tunes with lyrics and like some slow climbs, this class may not be for you. That said, if you’re up for the challenge and could use a change of scenery, take the chance with Aaron!

SPACE

The studio is located on the lower level of the NYSC Flagship Elite building at Astor Place. Cyc Astor is centrally located to the 6, R and Q subways and is walking distance from Union Square. The building is very old but has a lot of character. The women’s locker room is huge – with about 10 showers and over 100 lockers, there is plenty of room. For ONCE we were able to stay through the stretch instead of running out of class to snag a place in the shower line. This was positive.