BoxVR is still one of the best fitness-oriented games on the VR games catalog (read our review here), which makes it a prime contender for us to dig right into.
There really aren’t any good guides out there on how to tackle and prepare for some of the newer BoxVR workouts that came with the title’s major update back in May. It’s also pretty tough (and annoying) to try and hunt down some of the best songs from the BoxVR soundtrack. Luckily, we’ve got you covered. A single workout session should be at least 15 or so minutes, so here’s our guide on what to expect from every standard 11-15 minute workout in BoxVR. Note that the estimated total kcal burn in each section is based on the calorie tracker baked into BoxVR itself.
BoxVR Workout: Cold Flow
Total Time: 11:07
BoxVR Instructor: Jodie
Estimated total kcal burn: 63.6
11:07 – 7:46 (Jon Keith – Anything You Want) The first minute of Anything You Want rotates between light uppercuts, squats, and dodges. Minute two introduces short two or three-punch uppercut to jab combos between squats, then some deeper and longer squats. Minute three switches your right foot to the forward position and repeats the earlier patterns from minute two until the end of the track. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 24.3
7:46 – 3:55 (Ruslan – Cold Flow ft. Whatuprg) The first minute warms up with light jabs, dodges, and squats before quickly transitioning into uppercut to jab to dodge combos. Minute two reintroduces squats and retains the same emphasis on combos before easing up around 6:16 for a 20-second break. Minute three largely returns to the warm-up rotations from minute one, and minute four returns to the same intense combos and squats from minute two. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 43.1
3:55 – 0:00 (Tyrone Briggs – Monster) The first 30 seconds warm up with a rotation of light hooks and jabs, followed by squats and blocks. After that, the song breaks out into a mixture of jab-jab-hook combos and uppercut-uppercut-squat combos. The second minute continues the same rotation but with added blocks. Minute three leans more heavily on jab-jab-jab-hook and jab-jab-jab-uppercut combos with occasional squats and blocks to break up the action. The final minute mixes squats, blocks, and sequences of punches together in rapid succession for a final push toward the end of the clock. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 63.6
BoxVR Workout: Let’s Work
Total Time: 14:26
BoxVR Instructor: Caroline
Estimated total kcal burn: 64.9
14:26 – 11:36 (Koyotie – Let’s Work) Start off with your left foot facing forward. The first minute opens with alternating mid-intensity jabs, hooks, and uppercuts. Minute two adds more punch repetitions, this time doling them out in rapid combos, before receding back to light jabs, hooks, and blocks for cadence. Minute three feels much like minute one and two mixed together, teasing a break (with only jabs) but faking out and moving back to the complete rotation introduced in minute two for a few seconds before the track ends. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 14.7
11:36 – 8:15 (Wendy Child – Crazyboutcha) Crazyboutcha starts with quick rotations of jab-jab-hook combos, blocks, and squats. The song builds up to a crescendo at around 10:36 where the rotations become jab-jab-block and are generally quicker (and more intense) than those in the first minute. During the last 20 seconds leading up to the 9:36 mark is a sequence of many quick left and right jabs that you’ll need to take on one after another. The track then breaks out to a pretty standard rotation of jabs, hooks, and blocks. The song continues like this, with the inclusion of a few well-timed squats and short heavy jab sequences until it closes out at 8:15. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 30.9
8:15 – 5:13 (Harrison Amber – Swift) The first 30 seconds of Swift begin with a warmup of light jabs before moving to jab-jab-hook combos. After that, you get a short break with a few stray jabs, hooks, and uppercuts to keep your cadence moving. At around 7:23, the song begins to throw a series of jab combos at you, before following that up with a series of hook combos. Within 20 seconds, you’ll be mixing jabs and hooks up in mixed combos which lasts until the 6:48 mark, where the track slows down significantly again, allowing for a short break. The same jab-jab-hook and hook-hook-jab combos pick up again at around 6:40 and don’t break too much until 5:13. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 44.4
5:13 – 2:27 (Hotel Apache – Wasted Thunder) Wasted Thunder rolls hot off the stereo with another simple warmup that makes you rotate between jabs, dodges, and hooks. The song doesn’t differentiate this too much, and actually continues with the same rotations past the break at around 3:40, then essentially maintaining the same cadence throughout the entire track until it ends at 2:27. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 54.5
2:27 – 0:00 (Cymatix – Shiny Night) Starting off with a series of mid-intensity jabs and blocks in succession, the song picks up around 1:37 with the addition of hooks and uppercuts, though the rotation doesn’t change too much in intensity or speed. Squats begin to appear at around 1:07, though these are quite manageable due to the lack of combos and a steady cadence maintained through the song. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 64.9
BoxVR Workout: Prime
Total Time: 14:30
BoxVR Instructor: Daniel
Estimated total kcal burn: 78.3
14:30 – 11:53 (Native 51 – Can’t Stop Me) The first minute of Can’t Stop Me has you throwing alternating hooks and jabs. At around the 13:30 mark, you’ll begin encountering blocks and uppercuts mixed in with the hooks and jabs. At 13:16, things speed up quite a bit with intense uppercut-jab-uppercut combos that are only broken by infrequent hooks. The track slows back down around 12:35, only momentarily, with a short return to the warmup rotation, before faking back into sustained combos until ending at 11:53. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 12.3
11:53 – 7:50 (Valleys of Wolves – Just Begun) Opening up with jabs and blocks, the track quickly introduces light hooks and uppercuts. Within 30 seconds or so, Just Begun accelerates into full combo mode with alternating punches and blocks. At 9:10, the combos cease and flow into a break period with light blocks and light hooks, allowing a full 30-second break before the song sharply drops back into full-speed at 8:40. There are no squats or dodges to worry about in this song or for the rest of the workout. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 31.2
7:50 – 6:07 (Ryan Taubert – No Other Name) This one picks right back up at roughly the same speed as Just Begun, throwing you right into alternating jabs, hooks, and blocks. Offering respite at 7:05 for a quick breather, No Other Name builds right back into its cadence with alternating hooks and jabs. It’s quite short and simple, ending at 6:07. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 39.6
6:07 – 2:27 (Riley and the Roxies – Twisted American Girl) Again opening right back into the same cadence, Twisted American Girl has you throwing jabs, uppercuts, hooks, and blocks right off of scratch one. This is a much more intense track than No Other Name, dropping you almost immediately into a non-stop sequence of mid-intensity combos without much break between. At around 3:45, you get somewhat of a rest as the cadence slows down to match the break in the song. It only lasts for a few seconds, however, as you’re thrown right back into the action for about an entire minute before the track ends. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 58.8
2:27 – 0:00 (The Seige – Prime) For a workout grand finale, Prime pumps you right back into the thick of things with intense jab-hook-jab combos and blocks. There’s a five-second rest period at around 1:25 before things get intense again with not only jab-hook-jab combos and blocks but also single-armed jab-jab-jab combos that can wear you out quickly if you aren’t paying attention to your form. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 78.3
BoxVR Workout: Take It
Total Time: 14:37
BoxVR Instructor: Ianthe
Estimated total kcal burn: 88.4
14:37 – 11:24 (The Seige – Don’t Fall Asleep) This one rolls in hot with squats, uppercuts, and jabs in a pretty quick series of repetitions. Expect things to even out with more predictable hook-jab-squat combos around 14:00, though there are a lot of rapid squat-to-punch movements to contend with over the entire three-minute song. There are a few short breaks around 13:40 and 12:20, but the track maintains a consistent cadence throughout. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 22.2
11:24 – 7:30 (Tyrone Briggs – Monster) Running a bit slower than Don’t Fall Asleep, this still has you throwing a lot of jabs and completing plenty of squat reps. There are fewer combos to worry about however, with squats mainly appearing during bridges and breaks with alternating jabs and hooks making up the bulk of the chorus and other “heavy” parts of the track. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 41.1
7:30 – 4:13 (The Seige – Ctrl Alt Del) Opening with a few sparse squats and uppercuts, the first 45 seconds of Ctrl Alt Del allow you to take a short break from the more consistent cadences from the first two songs. Things do pick up very shortly around 6:30 with a mess of punches, dodges, blocks, and squats, before settling back down to a very comfortable rhythm at 6:00. After 5:30, the remainder of the track progresses through a steady stream of mid-intensity combos that include all of the aforementioned punches, dodges, blocks, and squats. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 55.4
4:13 – 2:04 (The Seige – The Drum) The Drum is another cadence-heavy track with a pretty heavy flux of uppercut-uppercut-jab-squat combos that can be difficult to nail in sequence. At the 2:50 mark, things slow down for a 20-second build to the “drop”, which lands at 2:30 and lasts for the remainder of the track. This last bit isn’t nearly as hard as the earlier section of the track, so don’t worry about saving your energy early on. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 69.6
2:04 – 0:00 (The Seige – Take It) The first 30 seconds are primarily dominated by quick jab combos broken up by dodges, without much else going on. As the chorus kicks in, you’ll find yourself throwing alternating hooks and jabs for a solid 20 seconds before the bridge. Afterward, the song slows back down to the same ‘slow’ rotations from the first 30 seconds and stays relatively consistent until the track hits 0:00. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 88.4
BoxVR Workout: Prometheus
Total Time: 15:00
BoxVR Instructor: Jodie
Estimated total kcal burn: 73.4
15:00 – 10:37 (Senbei – Party Smasher) Party Smasher dives right into the action with alternating jabs, before introducing squats and dodges at 14:45. Things begin to build up at around 14:30 with alternating punches, squats, and a final crescendo of jabs to a tipping point at 14:00 where you’ll find yourself squatting, dodging, and punching in rapid-fire combos until a break period at 13:00. Things build back up between 12:30 and 12:00 with an increasing wave of jabs to yet another drop that brutalizes you with more squat-dodge-punch-squat combos. At 11:00, Party Smasher throws one last series of sustained squats at you before finally ending at 10:37. Note that the squats don’t really let up during any of the break periods in this track. In fact, this might be one of the most difficult tracks for those with issues squatting. Likewise, it’s the best workout to choose for leg day. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 29.9
10:37 – 9:22 (Cossy – Booty Bounce) Booty Bounce starts off at full cadence with alternating jabs and uppercuts in a steady rotation until the end of the track. It’s quite short, and there are no squats to worry about this time through. This is essentially a minute-long rest period after the heavy squats from Party Smasher. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 35.6
9:22 – 5:59 (Liam Aidan – Bring It) The first 30 seconds of Bring It is reasonably slow, shooting sparsely connected hooks and jabs at you with plenty of breathing room between. Leading up to the 8:40 mark, however, things begin speeding up with heavy alternating jab combos broken up by dodges. Expect heavy action until 8:00, at which you get somewhat of a tiny break from punching. Things pick up again around 7:30 with the same combos as before, with the addition of freshly introduced squats jammed right into the middle of your jab combos. Expect another short break at 6:50, followed by even more squats. Jab rotations make yet another comeback at 6:30. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 49.9
5:59 – 3:15 (Ex Makina – Prometheus) Heading right into an intense series of squats, Prometheus really isn’t playing around. Before the end of the first minute, the track will have already gotten you throwing hard hooks and uppercuts as well as landing multiple sustained squats. If that sounds intense enough, note that it only gets harder as the track begins rotating unpredictable combos with intermittent squats and dodges around the 3:50 mark. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 62.1
3:15 – 0:00 (Xan Young – Passion) Beginning with a lower intensity than the previous track at a steady cadence of alternating jabs, hooks, and blocks, Passion seems like an easy break toward the final three minutes. This is actually a total fakeout; things get intense again almost 20 seconds into the song with the addition of multiple squats breaking up the cadenced punch combos. The breaks aren’t necessarily too easy either, each rotating between squat reps and hooks albeit at a lower speed than the main chorus. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 73.4
BoxVR Workout: Good Time
Total Time: 15:00
BoxVR Instructor: Daniel
Estimated total kcal burn: 78.4
15:00 – 11:20 (Riley and the Roxies – Twisted American Girl) The first minute of the track begins with rotating jabs, hooks, squats, and blocks. The next minute slows down and moves more into a steady rhythm of jabs, uppercuts, and hooks. There are some intense squatting patterns around the 12:40 mark, but most of the rest of the track is pretty focused on intense upper-body rotations. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 20.2
11:20 – 8:15 (Monty Taylor – From Rainfall to Rainbows) This track starts off with a few dodges, before leading into jabs and hooks. Around the 10:30 mark are some interesting dodge-hook-block combinations that slow back down in time for a break around the 10:00 mark. The track picks back up into a rotation of squats and hooks at 9:50. The rest of the song moves through a rotation of uppercuts, hooks, and squats. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 33.5
8:15 – 5:25 (Koyotie – Let’s Work) Let’s Work begins with uppercuts and squats in repetition, before tapering off to a series of jabs, uppercuts, and hooks. Like the others in Good Time, most of the intensity is focused on your upper body, but be prepared to endure long repetitions which immediately cycle into squats. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 50.6
5:25 – 2:41 (Reaktor Productions – Knockout) Knockout opens up with repeating squats and uppercuts, albeit at a lower intensity than the other tracks in the playlist. Things do ultimately pick up, however, once the track gets going, but this one doesn’t come with too many surprises over any of the ones you’ve just completed. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 66.3
2:41 – 0:00 (Hey Buko – Gonna Be A Good Time) Gonna Be A Good Time starts with a few light jabs and hooks. Things don’t pick up until around 2:00, where squats and dodges are introduced. Most of the track is pretty easy and light in comparison to the first several tracks in the playlist, even more so than Knockout right before it. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 78.4
BoxVR Workout: Miami
Total Time: 15:02
BoxVR Instructor: Samir
Estimated total kcal burn: 85.1
15:02 – 12:12 (Mattijs Muller – Miami Beach) The first three minutes of the playlist are primarily interval squatting mixed with uppercut and hook repetitions. Miami Beach is a pretty relaxed beat to work out to, and there isn’t much in the way of unexpected stuff to throw you off of the repetitions here. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 14
12:12 – 9:44 (Zi – Bucket of Sunshine) Following Miami Beach, the next two and a half minutes of Miami features heavy repetitions of jabs and hooks. Around the 11:00 mark, a few dodges are introduced occasionally breaking up the punches, but there aren’t any squats to worry about here. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 22.9
9:44 – 6:39 (Midnight Riot – All Eyes On Me) All Eyes On Me picks up the intensity with some heavy back and forth hook-jab-hook repetitions broken up only by squats and blocks. The intensity finally eases up around the 7:00 mark for a short break, but only before leading into a finale of quick squats and punch combos before the track ends. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 38.5
6:39 – 3:19 (Lael – Can’t Lose) Coming in at a much slower speed than All Eyes On Me, Can’t Lose gives you a short 15 second period to breathe (and throw some alternating jabs) before throwing you back into a series of squats and uppercuts. Throughout the song, you’ll run into a much higher number of squats than you encountered in All Eyes On Me. The good news is that much of the track repeats itself, so once you’ve mastered parts of it, you’ll only need to stay focused and finish the rest. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 63.6
3:19 – 0:00 (Wendy Child – Crazyboutcha) Crazyboutcha begins on a soft note, giving you about a full minute to warm up before it dives into a series of quick alternating combinations of jabs. Your legs get somewhat of a break here (there are some squats that come into play closer to the 1:20 and 0:40 mark) but your upper body will be tested pretty heavily for the last several minutes of the playlist. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 85.1
BoxVR Workout: Movin
Total Time: 15:35
BoxVR Instructor: Ianthe
Estimated total kcal burn: 75
15:35 – 12:04 (Twerl – Reverse ft. Anuka) Reverse begins with a heavy bout of squats and dodges, so you know exactly what you’re gonna be getting here, but worry not. Reverse has a handful of breaks to break up the tougher squat periods, and there are a few jabs and hooks to break up the lower-body action. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 17.9
12:04 – 8:13 (Zi – In An Age) Continuing on with the same level of intensity as Reverse, In An Age mixes more punches and upper-body work into the mayhem while sprinkling squats throughout. The track is full of similar repetitions that are predictable and easy to manage as long as you keep your energy up. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 32.6
8:13 – 4:28 (Krane – Movin) Movin doesn’t give you much time to rest your arms before you begin shooting jabs and hooks. There are more blocks here to contend with, for what that’s worth, and a handful of frequent squats. Expect to focus more of your energy overall, especially later into the track (past the 6:00 mark) into your arms and upper body, as the jab-hook-uppercut-hook-jab repetitions do become fast and intense. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 52.2
4:28 – 0:00 (Krane – Seventeen) Seventeen begins innocently enough with punches and squats in alternating repetitions, but don’t be fooled. This track contains gnarly (read: very long) squats that begin around the 3:00 mark. Luckily, after that period (around 2:30) things do even out with more blocks, dodges, and punches than squats. The last several seconds before the end do see a return of those long squats, but then that’s it. Congratulations! Estimated total kcal burn to date: 75
BoxVR Workout: Clockwise
Total Time: 15:58
BoxVR Instructor: Jono
Estimated total kcal burn: 67.2
15:58 – 12:19 (Alexander Lewis – Clockwise ft. Nick Row) Clockwise starts off with heavy repetition of jabs, hooks, and uppercuts. Note that this entire playlist is free of squats, making it great for a cardio heavy upper-body workout (and especially if your legs are feeling tired from other workouts). Estimated total kcal burn to date: 17.7
12:19 – 9:32 (Jam Studio – Downtown) Downtown begins with a small break, giving you a bit of space between hooks for the first 30 or so seconds of the mix. It does speed up, adding blocks, uppercuts, and jabs throughout. All in all, this song doesn’t get too intense. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 26
9:32 – 6:40 (The Seige – Rage) Rage picks up where Downtown leaves off, giving you some time to get into the rhythm before speeding up and getting more intense. Expect heavy alternating rotations of jabs and hooks here until the end of the playlist, with not too many breaks between. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 38.7
6:40 – 3:59 (Jam Studio – Megatron) Similar to the other songs in the playlist, you’ll be throwing tons and tons of punches here without too much rest. Megatron does also introduce some blocks to keep things interesting and fresh. Estimated total kcal burn to date: 47.5
3:59 – 0:00 (Tyrone Briggs – Victorious) Easing the playlist back down to a manageable ending point, Victorious throws the standard grouping of punches and blocks at you in repetition. Only the last 30 seconds or so are brutal, but then that’s it. You’ve done it! Estimated total kcal burn to date: 67.2
BoxVR is now available on the Oculus Store, Steam, and PlayStation Store for $30.
