On the surface, FightCamp may look like just another punching bag, but it's really an all-encompassing fitness program with fantastic coaches, workout classes, and smart punch trackers that show you how well you're doing.

The only other similar option on the market right now is Liteboxer, but that system focuses more on gamifying the boxing experience and creating a fun workout environment. FightCamp takes on a more educational approach, setting beginners up for success with Foundation Paths that guide them through the basics of boxing and kickboxing.

The FightCamp Personal package, which is what I tested out, costs $1,219 and you get a set of smart punch trackers, quick wraps, boxing gloves, a bag ring, and the free-standing FightCamp bag. If you don't want to pay for everything all at once, FightCamp offers monthly payment plans for the equipment. Then, you'll also need to sign up for a FightCamp subscription that costs $39 per month, even after your equipment is entirely paid off.

If you have more people in your home that might be using the FightCamp, you might consider the Tribe package for $1349, which comes with an additional set of boxing gloves and quick wraps, a kids set of boxing gloves, and a heavy workout mat. Or, if you already have a punching bag set up in your home, you can just purchase the smart punch trackers and quick wraps with FightCamp Connect for a much lower price of $439.

To help you decide if FightCamp is worth the high price tag, I spent some time using it. But before I could start throwing punches, I had to unpack my FightCamp and set it up.

Setting It Up: Go With Sand Instead of Water

Instead of a punching bag that you have to hang from the ceiling or buy an expensive stand for, FightCamp comes with a hollow base that you fill with sand or water to weigh it down. Then, the punching bag sits on top of the weighted base and handles any punches or kicks you send its way.

The company recommends sand because it's able to stabilize the punching bag better than water can (water is a liquid, after all, so it'll slosh around inside with every punch you throw). Plus, filling the base with water is only about 250lbs, whereas if you use sand, it's about 350lbs. But if you don't want to buy sand until after you test it out, you can weigh it down with water instead.

If you live in a one-story home and are able to hook up a water hose to a faucet outside, filling this baby up with water is a breeze. If you don't have that setup or anything similar, it's going to take you a while to fill the base all the way up. Like a really, really long time.

The space I wanted to put my FightCamp in was on the second floor, so I couldn't use a water hose. Instead, I had to make multiple trips between my bathroom and the FightCamp with empty apple juice containers. I don't remember exactly how many trips it took, but overall, I spent about an hour and a half to two hours filling up the base.

You can also use a combination of sand and water, but that just sounds awful to clean if you ever need to. The bonus of using both though is that it brings the total weight of the base to about 450lbs, so it's much more solid.

When I decided on filling my FightCamp base with water, it was mainly to save money while testing it out. But knowing how cheap sand is now, I would have gladly paid the roughly $35 to fill it with sand. The setup process would have gone a lot smoother and the base would be more secure.

After I finished setting it up, it was time to start checking out the equipment.

The Equipment: Everything You Need for Boxing Success

With FightCamp personal, you get the free-standing bag and base, of course, but you also receive punch trackers, quick wraps, boxing gloves, and a bag ring to help your punching bag stay in one place.

The free-standing bag looks and feels premium. I absolutely love the idea of not having to hang a bag from your ceiling or buy a costly stand to hang it from. Plus, even though the base is weighted, it's easy to tip your punching bag and then roll it into a corner or even a closet when you're not using it. Being able to easily move around your FightCamp by yourself is a huge bonus.

It is slightly more difficult to get it into and out of the bag ring, but that's the point. If it was easy to get your FightCamp out of the bag ring, then the bag ring really isn't doing a good job of stabilizing your bag.

The punch trackers are accurate and it was awesome to see how many punches I threw during a workout. As soon as my glove made solid contact with the punching bag, I saw the punch count increase pretty much immediately.

Tracking your punch count not only helps motivate you, but it also helps you see how much you're improving with every workout. Plus, you can also look around the community to see how others are doing and even compete for a spot on the leaderboard.

For both the quick wraps and the boxing gloves,  I went with a size small. Inside, they were comfy and they provided decent stabilization while punching. However, they could've used a bit more padding and didn't feel like the premium gloves they were advertised as (maybe a medium quality at best). Higher-quality boxing gloves provide more protection for your hands. If you already own boxing gloves you love, you can bring them to the FightCamp experience!

The quick wraps weren't as comfortable as the gloves. The material that lines the edges of the thumb hole was a little scratchy on my hand and often left a clear indent after I took the wraps off. I did order the small size, so I expected them to be tight, but it seemed like they were cutting off circulation at some points.

After breaking them in after a few more sessions, though, I feel like I might not even notice the scratchiness or tightness. Plus, they provided plenty of protection for my wrists and knuckles.

Overall, I love the concept of FightCamp's quick wraps. Traditional boxing wraps take a lot of time and practice to get them just right. With these quick wraps, all you have to do is slip them on your hands and you're good to go. There's even built-in slots for the punch trackers so they can stay secure while you're letting out your anger on the bag.

For any long-time boxers, the quick wraps aren't going to be preferable to traditional wraps. If you're using traditional wraps, you can still wrap the trackers inside and they work just as well. For a beginner like me, though, I'll probably invest in large quick wraps before I even think about switching to traditional wraps.

But what about the super important stuff: the workouts? Let's talk about those.

The Workouts: Great Classes Taught by Great Coaches

The variety of workouts and FightCamp coaches was awesome. With any kind of virtual workout, it's difficult to keep things interesting and engaging, but FightCamp manages to do that. The coaches don't feel overly bubbly like a lot of virtual trainers do; they pump you up and help you get the most out of your workout.

Personally, I love Coach PJ because his energy is infectious and he explains each round well enough that even a beginner like me can follow him. After every workout, I was thoroughly drenched with sweat and pretty dang proud of myself. Plus, it's so therapeutic to punch that bag. Even though my base was filled with water and hard punches made it wobble a little, I transferred all my frustrations to that bag through my punches.

In the app, there's a section dedicated to warmups, drills, and even stories where you can meet all the different trainers and find out which one you vibe with most. But the biggest workout collections include FightCamp's Paths, Boxing, Kickboxing, and Core workouts. Here's a more in depth look at each of these.

Curated Paths

FightCamp's Paths are my favorite way to workout right now, especially since I'm just starting out, both with FightCamp and with boxing in general. Each Path is a collection of tutorials, drills, and workouts that you can follow instead of searching for workouts yourself.

FightCamp offers Foundation Paths for Boxing, Kickboxing, and one for just learning the ropes of your new equipment. Each of these is 10 days long, with rest days built into the Path.

Then, once you have the basics down, there are three more Paths to choose from: The Prospect Path (Boxing L1), The Contender Path (Boxing L2), and The Kickboxing Path (Kickboxing L1). Each of these Paths contains 15-25 Chapters that you can complete at your own pace. I think when you're brand new to boxing or kickboxing, Paths are an awesome option to help guide you and figure out what kind of workouts you like best.

Boxing and Kickboxing Workouts

There are a ton of different boxing and kickboxing workout videos from all of the trainers. There's full-body workouts, knockouts, burnouts, lower-body workouts, combo workouts, and more. And you can usually find every type of workout from each trainer, so if you find one that you like, you can stick with them.

When you're looking at the workout videos, you can sort by recently uploaded, open level, or intermediate level. If you want to do a workout you've already completed, you can sort by Do it Again. And if you don't feel like using your punch trackers, you can sort by Trackers Optional.

Just browsing through available workouts lets you see how many rounds there are and what skill level the workout falls under. Then, selecting a workout shows you how long it is in minutes, the total punch goal, and which body weight exercises, if any, you'll perform.

There are workouts that are only 15 or 20 minutes if you're short on time. Or, if you're feeling like you really want to push yourself, some workouts are 30 or 35 minutes long.

Core Workouts

Lastly, FightCamp offers Core workouts, which either stabilize or shred your core, depending on what you're looking for. These workouts are only five or eight minutes long, but that's all it takes to start feeling the burn in your abs.

When scrolling through the Core workouts, you can see the skill level and how many minutes the workout will take you. Then, selecting a workout lets you see exactly which body weight exercises are in store for you, like mountain climbers, crunches, planks, and more.

Conclusion: If You're Interested in Boxing at Home, I'd 100% Recommend FightCamp

There's just something interactive about boxing and kickboxing that make it a great workout choice. And with FightCamp, I was able to experience a workout that I love from the comfort of my own home.

With the $39 per month subscription, you're paying about as much as you would for a traditional gym membership, where you might have access to a punching bag, and about half as much as you would for a dedicated boxing gym. Keep in mind though, if you pay for a boxing gym membership, you won't have to buy a punching bag or FightCamp's trackers, which would offset the cost.

But as an introvert who loves boxing, I would gladly pay that amount to essentially have a virtual trainer helping me reach my health and fitness goals. FightCamp constantly adds new content, so it never feels stale, and using the punch trackers to monitor my progress (both during and after the workout) was satisfying and motivating.

Plus, unlike a lot of other at-home workout equipment, FightCamp is able to be put out of the way when not in use. For anyone with a small apartment or just not a lot of extra room at home, this is definitely an advantage. If you want to leave it out on display, it's an attractive punching bag; but it's nice to have the option to hide it if you want to.

Overall, I'd highly recommend FightCamp Personal for people who are interested in boxing and kickboxing and don't know where to start. It is pretty expensive, but when you compare it to other boxing equipment or at-home workout machines, it's comparable.

And if you're still not convinced, there are a few FightCamp workouts on YouTube you can try at home with no equipment to get a feel for the program and the coaches.