Kettlebelle Fitness

(Note: This is an unpaid review not sponsored by HIITBOX).

If you have Googled health or fitness recently, chances are that advertisements for fitness subscription boxes have popped up at least once on your Facebook or Instagram feed.

The concept of fitness subscriptions has taken the health and wellness space by STORM in recent years. Popular ones that come to mind are Fabletics, FabFitFun, HIITBOX, Barbella, etc. The fitness industry is a multi-BILLION dollar business. It can be overwhelming for the average consumer to even know where to begin when it comes to finding the best apparel, workout gear, nutrition supplements, etc.

The basic concept behind fitness subscription boxes are where a stylist gathers at least 4-5 favorite fitness and nutrition finds based on your completed profile. Typical offerings vary by company but are usually leggings, tank tops, nutrition bars, portable workout gear (Ex: Resistance bands), etc.

The frequency of your subscription varies by company with some offering month-to-month, 3-month, 6-month, and yearly subscriptions. There is usually some type of price break between each level.

So what exactly is the appeal behind these subscription boxes (particularly related to fitness)?

1. The Element of Surprise – There is something totally thrilling about the ‘grab bag’ concept! Pleasant surprises are few and far in between, so it’s wonderful to have a nice surprise to look forward to every month!
2. Less Stress – A lot of us tend to get decision fatigue from all of the decisions we have to make throughout the day, so there is something freeing about being able to hand over creative control to a stylist!
3. Motivation – Who doesn’t feel ready to take on a workout when we have new gear and feel our best?
4. Perceived Value – Fitness apparel, workout equipment, and nutrition supplements come with a HEFTY price tag! Monthly subscription boxes can be around $30-$50/mo. How awesome is it to get 4-5 items for that price when high quality leggings cost DOUBLE that?
5. Brand Awareness – For those particularly new to the health and fitness space, being able to try multiple brands at home gives you an opportunity to find products that work for you that you may have not have necessarily heard of before!

For the above reasons, I decided that trying a fitness subscription box was worth a shot. Enter HIITBOX.

What is HIITBOX?

I discovered HIITBOX through Facebook advertising. They were running a New Year’s promotion at the time, so I decided to give it a click! If you go to HIITBOX’s ‘About Us’ section on their website, their mission is centered around the following:

‘Trying your hardest, trying new things, and trying to improve things that you want to see change. Whatever your long or short term goals are, getting out there trying is the only surefire way to achieve them…We deliver the workout and challenge to your door, so that you can try your hardest, on your own time, without having to stress about it.”

HIITBOX

How it works is that you take a fitness quiz where HIITBOX asks you not only general sizing questions, but also takes a deeper dive into your fitness goals, how you workout, what you listen to when you workout, and preferred brands. You are then matched with a stylist, and get to review their pic, bio, and see past items they have recommended in HIITBOX. I really like this feature because it puts a face to the stylist’s name and makes you feel more connected to them!

My February HIITBOX

HIITBOX subscriptions are processed on the 21st of each month. I received the tracking information for my February box on 2/22, and it arrived at my doorstep on 3/3. It shipped from Yorba Linda, CA so I consider a week turnaround to be pretty good!

What did I get?

1. Rise & Grind HIIT Box Leggings (orig value $79)
2. Access to Open Fit ($15 value)
3. Mini Yoga Ball/Mini Exercise Ball ($12.99 value)
4. Jump Rope ($15 value)
5. MonoB Leggings ($59 value)
6. CLIF Bar ($2 value)

TOTAL VALUE = $182.99

1. Rise & Grind HIIT Box Leggings

Pros: The leggings are insanely comfortable and the waistband does not ride down!

Cons: The print – I like more neutral prints so that I have more freedom/versatility to match them with my other workout items. I would never pick out this print for myself.

Conclusion: Snakeskin just isn’t my thing. However, I will say that the fit was fantastic. I would definitely want these in another pair in a more neutral color, but unfortunately the snakeskin completely turned me off from wanting to wear them. I also would pay $50 at most for these.

2. Access to Open Fit

This is an app that offers 350+ live personal trainer led classes, on demand workouts, meal plans, and nutrition tracking.

Pros and cons TBD. The card says to check my email for details on how to setup my OpenFit account, but I have checked my email and have not received one. Will email customer service to see what is going on.

3. Mini Yoga Ball/Exercise Ball

Pros: Great size for abdominal workouts! My young kids also enjoyed playing with it around the house when not in use.

Cons: Difficult to inflate and keep inflated. The method to inflate this ball is a small plastic straw. Once you take the straw out to try to insert the plug, it immediately begins to deflate quickly.

Conclusion: I enjoyed receiving this in my box, and this is something I would definitely use. Would just prefer that they provide a handpump or studier means to inflate the ball.

4. Jump Rope

Pros: Sleek design and the handles are super comfy to hold! The rope is plastic so I wouldn’t be afraid to use it on my tile or hardwood floors. Was the perfect length for my height!

Cons: Wouldn’t be my top choice for double unders or speed work – seems to have a slight drag. No brand listed so not sure where to buy it from.

Conclusion: I LOVE IT! Perfect jump rope for getting a recreational workout in on the go. I would definitely take this in my luggage for vacation!

5. MonoB Leggings

Pros: I tested this at CrossFit with a workout consisting of 150 calorie row, 150 lunges, and 150 burpees, and these leggings barely budged AT ALL! The waistband does not slip – HUGE bonus for me! The fit is also super flattering and I love the side ties by the calves!! I am also a sucker for black leggings! Can easily translate from workout to casual athleisure wear.

Cons: Honestly I have none! I absolutely love these!

Conclusion: These are seriously in my top 3 favorite leggings! I normally wear Lululemon or Sweaty Betty, but MonoB might just be my new favorite! I had never even heard of this company before, but now I definitely want to check out more of their products and see what other leggings they offer!

6. CLIF Bar

Pros: I love anything chocolate chip so the flavor was a huge bonus to me!

Cons: I couldn’t even bring myself to eat this because it has over 21g of added sugar. The calorie count is also pretty high for an average snack at a whopping 250 calories.

Conclusion: This bar does not align with my nutritional standards, and honestly I could have done without it.

Final Thoughts on HIITBOX

As you can see from my review, I ended up liking 3 out of the 6 items I received in my HIITBOX, with one item TBD as I am awaiting my account information to setup OpenFit app.

Based upon the values shown, that’s still a $87 value – almost the full value of what I paid for a 3 month subscription. I would still say that’s an incredible value – even if I didn’t love every item I received!

So, what can I do with items I receive that I don’t 100% like?

On the website, I could not find a policy for returning items simply because you don’t like them, but they do have a size exchange program.

However, I have thought of just a few ways that you can put misfit items to good use!

1. Gift them to a friend
2. Donate
3. Sell on FB marketplace or other selling platform
4. Save leggings for a costume or for just lounging around the house

I hope you enjoyed my review of HIITBOX. Now tell me, have you ever bought a fitness box subscription? If so, what was your experience? Are you curious to try one after reading my review? Let me know in the comments!!