Review: Getting HIIT by FOXX

Right in the quaint Joo Chiat neighbourhood, Ken Mok opened his first boutique fitness gym – FiiTBOXX – back in January 2022. With curated modern equipment, smart integrated technology, and boutique gym amenities, the gym is a one-stop strength, cardio, and functional training facility. Yet that’s still not enough to offer that extra spark in the workout experience. Hence the launch of their latest instalment – FOXX.

FOXX, Singapore’s first boutique high-intensity interval training (HIIT) studio, is the brainchild of Ken and his business partner and close friend Joyce Hayati Tan, which was launched on 3 December 2022.

I had the pleasure to attend a couple of trainings led by amazing coaches Jen Goh, Yommana and Xener, with whom I spent 45 minutes of burning torture, so intensive that this man in his prime (ahem) couldn’t even handle.

The after effects of waking up in the morning with sore claves and arms are clear signs of a true intensity workout! Check out a snippet of how I was being HIIT below:

After experiencing a cosy dim environment with colourful strobe lights that help with the adrenaline pump of the music to the workout, I managed to pick up whatever strength and energy left in me to ask Ken to describe how the conceptualisation of FOXX came about.

Q: What transpired your decision and inspiration to start your own fitness business?

I have managed more than 40 gyms and yoga studios across 4 countries in Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong for the past 20 years. Being a fitness fanatic myself, I am always up-to-date on the most recent fitness trends and innovations from across the globe.

I started off in the fitness industry as a personal trainer, as I am a big fan of training and keeping fit, so to me, I am basically getting paid for doing something that I love! What makes it extremely rewarding for me is the difference I help make in people’s lives.

After being a successful personal trainer for more than 5 years, I moved on to become a gym manager at a different gym chain. I was inspired to start my own boutique fitness and use my expertise and creative ideas to spark change in the local fitness market after observing the swift international growth of boutique fitness over the past few years.

So last year, we launched FiiTBOXX a boutique gym with excellent equipment, a cool environment and with a personalised 1:1 coaching & program, located right in the heart of the vibrant Joo Chiat Road. Riding on the success of FiiTBOXX, we have just opened FOXX earlier this month, which is our proprietary HIIT training & group fitness classes boutique studio.

Q: What sets FOXX apart from other fitness studios in Singapore?

FOXX is a boutique HIIT group class studio offering a proprietary HIIT training programme, the ITZ Series. We created our own programme as we wanted our participants to experience a wide range of exercises, as compared to standardised exercises in franchised HIIT studios.

Our studio is designed with an industrial-chic vibe, with 5 different training zones. The modern amenities, ambience, lighting, audio sound system provide an upbeat and motivating environment to encourage working out.

We’ve curated a wide range of premium equipment designed specifically for our proprietary programme; it is non-bulky and safe for beginners, and easy for groups to rotate between zones. Our programme is results-driven as well.

Participants are issued with MyZone heart rate trackers so that they can view key data points on the in-studio screens, such as calories burnt, heart rate, and effort put in, allowing them to monitor their fitness progress throughout the session.

Q: Any advice for busy individuals like myself to stay fit and healthy?

My advice is to select workouts or fitness programmes that you will enjoy, and routines that won’t take up a lot of your time. This may depend on your level of motivation, the surrounding conditions, your level of competence, or whether you feel more at ease having someone to guide you through the process. If you find anything you enjoy doing, you need to change your mindset and make it into a lifestyle. When you start to get better at something after practising it a few times, it will inspire you to keep doing it.

Q: How did the concept of FOXX ITZ Series and tailored programmes come about?

FOXX ITZ Series is our proprietary HIIT training programme specially created by our Master Coach Jen Goh. With more than 400 different exercises incorporated into our programme and rotating weekly, each class is not the same as the one before it, so that participants will enjoy every workout.

Each class lasts 45 minutes, keeping the entire workout quick and efficient while still being challenging, which is ideal for the busy Singaporean.

There are two main programmes in the ITZ Series – ‘Shred & Build’, and ‘Cardio Knockout’.

‘Shred & Build’ is an athletic-based workout which aims to shred calories, build strength, and muscular endurance. It burns a high number of calories and increases metabolic rate, which allows the burning of more calories post-workout.

‘Cardio Knockout’ is a fast-paced workout blending high-intensity cardio intervals, boxing, functional, and core exercises. It burns up to 1000 calories, torches fat, while improving cardiovascular fitness and endurance level.

Q: Who is your target audience? Any specific age range?

My target audience is everyone, regardless of fitness level, armed with New Year resolutions to start a healthy lifestyle this coming 2023.

Q: Can children or minors participate in FOXX HIIT workouts?

We all know how important it is for children to have active lifestyles and has many advantages for their health. At FOXX, we created a HIIT programme called FOXX Cubs, tailored for youths aged 9-14 years old. This workout is fun and safe and has parts of boxing, lifting, functional movements, running, and more.

They will build their knowledge in motor skills, muscle strength, coordination, endurance, agility, balance, concentration, and confidence. Youths can grow up healthy, strong, and develop a lifelong love for fitness. FOXX Cubs will begin in February 2023, every Saturday and Sunday at 11am. Come try it out!

Q: Congratulations on launching FOXX, what can our readers expect from this programme? 

Thank you, given our designed FiiTBOXX and FOXX with growth and franchising in mind; the current automation and system is easily expandable, so we intend to add a few more locations locally next year.

All The Wellness Insider readers are welcome to come for a free trial to experience boutique fitness. Current FOXX opening promotions include a 15% discount on all regular ITZ Series packages. Simply download the FiiTBOXX app to get started! Follow us on Instagram @foxxhiit for more updates.

Use promo code READER1 to redeem 1 FOXX ITZ class.

Q: How do I book a session and redeem my 1 complimentary session?

You can download the FiiTBOXX app (available both on Apple or PlayStore), go to ‘Join’, select ‘FOXX GROUP CLASSES’, hit on ‘ITZ’, ‘Single ITZ Classes’, then enter your promo code READER1 and ‘APPLY’.

Go to ‘Book’, ‘FOXX GROUP CLASSES’, select ‘Date & Class’, hit ‘BOOK’ and you are good to go! Please take note that this promo code is only valid through 31 January 2023, so do make sure to use it before that date.

We’d like to thank Ken and his team for the incredible HIIT workout as well as taking the time to take the interview. We hope that all our readers will get the chance to kickstart their new year fitness goals and get foxxy (wink)!

From The Wellness Insider team, we wish you a fit and healthy 2023!

Images: FiiTBOXX, FOXX Studio