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If you listen to a lot of podcasts, you’ve probably heard about FightCamp quite about over the past year. It’s practically impossible to listen to a podcast without hearing a FightCamp ads pop up. Think of FightCamp as the boxing alternative to Peloton. The basic FightCamp setup comes with a free-standing boxing bag, quick wraps, boxing gloves and Bluetooth-connected punch trackers that track your workout as you follow along with the FightCamp instructors in the app.
For years, FightCamp was only available on iOS devices, but an Android app was released in March of this year – finally giving me the opportunity to give FighCamp a try.
There are a few different bundles to choose from when purchasing FightCamp. If you already have your own punching bag, you can just purchase the punch trackers and quick wraps for $400, but if you want to go all-in, the $999 FightCamp Personal setup will get you everything mentioned at the top of the article.
Getting things set up is pretty simple. Once you will the standing boxing bag’s base with water or sand and get the bad strapped to the base, install the FightCamp on your Android tablet or smartphone from the Google Play Store and then log in. Connecting the trackers to the app is fairly simple as well. The first time you do it, you’ll have to plug the tracker charger via USB to bring them to life and then connect them to your device via Bluetooth by double-tapping each one and then following your phone or tablet’s usual Bluetooth pairing process.
All-in, the setup took about 15 minutes, which included dragging my garden hose down to the basement to fill up the base of the punching bag.
As a regular Peloton rider, I’m pretty familiar with the types of classes offered by FightCamp. They have various tracks based on your skill level. If you’re a boxing notice like me, you can jump right in at the beginner level with trainers who will walk you through all the basic moves. But if you already have a solid foundation, you can skip right to the more advanced workouts that are offered or even stack different workouts together as well.
Like other similar services, FightCamp is constantly adding to its workout class portfolio with new lessons added each week. And if you have days that you’re not in the mood to box, there’s a wide selection of core workouts, warmups, and other conditioning and strength-building workouts as well.
The FightCamp Android works pretty well, but it’s not perfect. I didn’t have any issues with connecting the punch trackers or with the trackers keeping track of my punches during the workouts. That being said, the information offered by the app is limited to your punch count and your punch rate (punches per minute).
These stats do help you set goals and reach the targets for specific workouts, but there’s no indication as to how hard or fast your punches are. Without this information, it’s impossible to know how much effort you really put into each workout and track if you’re progressing over time. I’m hoping FightCamp is working on a new generation of trackers that will provide more information to users about their workouts.
One other complaint I have is that FightCamp on a small screen isn’t ideal. If you don’t own a tablet with at least a 10-inch display, you’ll definitely want to invest in one. If you have a device that offers video-out over USB C, you do have the option of connecting it to your TV. It would be nice to have the FightCamp app available on Android TV since most newer smart TVs have Bluetooth which would allow users to connect the punch trackers directly to their TV. Another alternative would be to enable Chromecast support within the app, allowing the workout videos to play on the TV while your phone or tablet keeps track of your punches.
Overall, I have a great time using FightCamp as an additional workout option. The workouts they offer can be pretty intense, but there are plenty of options, no matter what level you’re at. My kids have had a great time with it as well, though they enjoy just throwing on the boxing gloves and hitting the bag without using the app.
From what I can tell, FightCamp on Android is just as good as it is on iOS. It’s disappointing that it took them so long to deliver support for the Android platform, but I’m sure there are a lot of people who are happy that it’s finally here.
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