Getting a workout in while you’re traveling is a challenge. But the Liteboxer Go can help you squeeze in sweat sessions from wherever you are. Or as the company describes the portable boxing workout system: “fitness anywhere, anytime.” The Liteboxer Go is part video game (think old-school Dance Dance Revolution), part workout app (throwing in some strength training and meditation), with a big dose of cardio boxing. Read on for my full Liteboxer Go review.
I’m a NASM-certified personal trainer and nutrition coach. I’m also a former college athlete, so I’ve done my fair share of workouts, from lifting weights, kickboxing, and running to Pilates, yoga, and even a few months of belly dancing. When I test fitness equipment, apps, or workout systems, I look for the quality of the equipment (fitness isn’t always gentle), caliber and safety of the workout, versatility, customization, and ease of use. That’s what I had in mind as I took on the Liteboxer Go.
What is Liteboxer Go and Its Competition?
The Liteboxer Go is the portable version of the Liteboxer. If you’re scratching your head because you haven’t heard of Liteboxer either, it’s okay. It’s all relatively new. The Liteboxer is a virtual reality home workout system with a wall-mounted or freestanding shield that has built-in punching targets with sensors. The package includes boxing gloves and wraps.
The Liteboxer Go aims to provide a similar workout, but instead of a shield with targets and sensors, you punch at the screen of a device, like a tablet or phone. And if you have a Roku TV, you can cast to a big screen. Using two tiny, lightweight wrist sensors, you throw punches to the beat of the system’s customizable tunes, either following an instructor or freestyling like you’re Rocky Balboa. You can do guided workouts, strength training, spar with other members, and more.
Right now, the Liteboxer Go is fairly unique. Its closest competitor is the Quiet Punch, a portable boxing system with a punching pad that suspends in a doorway. The Liteboxer Go is by far the more portable of the two (I tucked it into my suitcase for a vacation) and boasts more workout types, like freestyling and punch tracks.
But Quiet Punch costs less in the long run because the app, which has over 500 workouts, is free. LB Go has a free basic plan, but it’s pretty limited in what it offers. A monthly subscription is required to unlock all of the content and truly take advantage of everything you can do with Liteboxer Go.
First Impressions
The Liteboxer Go comes in a small neoprene carrying bag that measures 7.5 inches long by 4 inches wide by 4.3 inches tall. It contains:
— Two one-pound egg weights
— A charging box with two wrist sensors
— A charging cord
— A media stand
There’s nothing cheap about the Liteboxer Go or any of its components. It has a gaming feel but in a sophisticated workout format. The media stand is perfect for this portable kit. I used it to hold my phone or tablet in the living room, on the back porch, and in a hotel room.
As part of my Liteboxer Go review, I also found that I loved the egg weights that fit in your hand and stay put with a finger hold. The easiest way to ramp up any workout, cardio or strength, is to add weight. One pound isn’t much, but when you’re doing rapid strikes, they make a difference.
Like many of today’s fitness tools, LB Go requires an app and syncing sensors via Bluetooth. App setup is pretty simple for the most part. You open an account and customize your settings, specifying your goals, music preferences, gender, and age. Initial setup took about 30 minutes.
Using a phone for a boxing workout is a little tough because of the small screen, but it worked. The app worked well at sensing my sometimes awkward movements. And the ability to use a phone or tablet let me work out from almost anywhere.
However, I quickly looked for ways to cast to a bigger screen. Unfortunately, the Liteboxer app is only compatible with Roku TVs. That’s pretty limited, considering the many TV operating systems available. While being able to use a tiny phone or a slightly larger tablet screen saved space, I would have preferred to cast to a TV or larger device once in a while.
Workout Intensity: Breaking a Sweat and Battling Fellow Boxers
The Liteboxer Go includes the following workout options:
— Trainer classes
— Punch tracks
— Sparring
— Strength
— Freestyle
— Thumboxer
Each workout features progressive movement patterns covered by an instructor before each song or section. The Liteboxer Go trainers are high quality, confident, and explained the movement patterns well, BUT they went fast. It would have been helpful to either have them go slower or repeat the patterns a couple of times before jumping into the workouts.
You might be worried about taking up boxing virtually if you’ve never done it before. But what it comes down to is time spent practicing. You can set punch tracks to easy, medium, hard, and extreme, though not every song has an extreme level. It’s almost like working your way through levels of a video game, except you get sweatier along the way. I suggest sticking to the easy level until you get the hang of the movements. You’ll pick it up faster than you think.
I’ve done some kickboxing, so the punches aren’t completely foreign to me. However, I appreciated instructor Lissa’s tips on form throughout her workouts, like keeping your thumbs down and when to turn your hips to add power to the punch.
For competitive types, there are leaderboards for every song and workout, giving you a chance to earn points by hitting the “target” on the beat. You can earn badges for things like accuracy and accumulated punches, too. The more accurate you are, the more points you get. Songs set to higher levels have more punches, and consequently, let you accumulate points faster. I didn’t master any songs on extreme, but I did a decent showing on “Driving Cars Onto Mars” by Milano.
The leaderboards also give you a chance to see who is on par with your boxing skills. You can then “spar,” which is to challenge another member to a specific song to see who can get the most points. Challenge accepted!
Liteboxer Subscription: Is It Worth It?
For a standard monthly membership, Liteboxer offers 400+ trainer-led workouts and access to hundreds of songs in Punch Tracks where you can pick your songs to create a custom workout. On the basic (free) plan, you get four trainer-led classes, four strength classes, and 25 songs. I understand that Liteboxer makes money through their subscription service, but that seems pretty sparse, even for a free plan.
The Liteboxer Go isn’t outrageously expensive, but it still costs over $100, and then you add on a monthly subscription fee. The subscription fees range from $13.99 to $18.99 per month, depending on the length of sign-up.
While I don’t love the quantity of classes on the free plan, the ones that are available with the membership are fun, challenging, and varied in what you do based on the instructor and the class type. I’m a fan of Lissa and GW myself. If you love music, you’ll appreciate the range of tunes, from hip hop and classic rock to country. Bonus: You get to pick your own music (no more suffering through songs you can’t stand).
My favorite feature and greatest strength of the Liteboxer Go is portability. The system is compact, easily tucking away in the corner of a suitcase. I toted the Liteboxer Go on vacation to a tropical island. Temps were in the 80s with 80 percent humidity, which was too much for this mountain girl. I loved having the option of getting my sweat on from the comfort of an air-conditioned living room or shaded deck.
I did run into some trouble with my account after testing for about a month. While it seemed like a glitchy issue, Liteboxer’s customer support was fantastic. They responded within an hour and worked with me for 48 hours, getting the development team involved to resolve the issues so I could log into my account. AND I didn’t lose any of my stats or badges.
Who Should Buy the Liteboxer Go?
It’s hard to get a cardio workout in a tight space, but the Liteboxer Go manages it while remaining fun and giving you some intensity options. That said, I’d like to see Liteboxer come out with heavier egg weights to up the challenge and add another level of strength to the workouts.
— Beginning boxers looking for a portable way to stay in shape and practice their moves and form
— People who need serious tunes and a heavy beat to keep moving
— Frequent travelers who need a compact cardio option
— At-home users with limited workout space
— People who love a boxing workout but don’t want to commit to a punching bag or large system
But if you really want to unlock the true benefits (and not get bored), a monthly Liteboxer subscription is where it’s at.
Futurism may receive a portion of sales on products linked within this post.