Everybody Tae Bo Tonight!

Hey everyone!

Exercise has always been something I've enjoyed, and being active has been a part of my life from a very young age. I remember taking long walks around the neighborhood with my parents and brother as a kid, and riding bikes around the local track while my mom walked or jogged. I was always involved in extracurricular sports in middle and high school, but I've learned as an adult that I excel more at solo sports like running and Spinning (if you consider Spinning a sport like I do!). When I was a teen, I remember getting my sweat on with exercise videos in our basement and really digging how the videos break up cardio monotony. Believe it or not, I burned it up to the likes of Richard Simmons, Denise Austin, Mari Winsor of Winsor Pilates fame, and who could forget...the inimitable Billy Blanks!

What's the point of all this, you ask? When I decided to start a blog, I knew that I wanted empowerment to be a central theme, but I also wanted to give practical tips and fitness-related advice. In terms of living an active lifestyle, empowerment is a crucial element that often comes in the form of accessibility and options. I'm a big fan of both when it comes to working out, so I thought it would be fun to share some reviews of fitness trends--including exercise videos!!--to encourage you to look outside the box when your workouts are starting to get a little ho-hum! 

I hope you enjoy my first review of Billy Blanks’ Advanced Tae Bo workout! 

For those of you who may not be familiar, Tae Bo is a high-impact cardio fitness system that targets your total body by combining boxing moves and elements of Tae Kwon Do.  It was created by Billy Blanks, and it was one of the first cardio-kickboxing-style methods to achieve commercial success. 

Before now, it had been years since I did Tae Bo and it definitely kicked my butt! I have to say I was impressed by the variety of exercises and muscle groups that I was working, not to mention the amount I sweat! Because there are so many elements of boxing and martial arts weaved into the Tae Bo system, every move is dynamic and forces you to increase your range of motion for the ultimate calorie burn. During this workout I kept thinking how great it would be to have a heart rate monitor to be able to track my calories burned!

Billy Blanks’ Advanced Tae Bo workout definitely achieves its claim: “to increase cardiovascular fitness, strength, muscular endurance and flexibility” (via Wikipedia).  I was huffing and puffing from warm up to cool down! In terms of portability, the Advanced Tae Bo workout, if not the entire Tae Bo system, is ideal because all you need to torch mega calories is a DVD player, enough space to roundhouse kick, and some motivation. In my case, I needed an Internet connection to access YouTube, but its still very portable and practical for staying fit with minimal equipment or when traveling.

I have to give Tae Bo high marks for makin' me sweat. I could even see little beads of sweat flying through the air as I jabbed and right-crossed my way through the 50-minute session! One issue I had, however, was that many of the sequences had too many steps, and for uncoordinated folks—yours truly included—it can be very frustrating to have to learn what’s in essence a dance step as part of your workout. Some of the sequences are downright awkward, too! There were times when I’d catch a glance at myself in the mirror and laugh out loud because I looked so silly.

All in all though, Tae Bo packs a one-two punch (pun intended), and I'd definitely recommend it to mix up your existing cardio routine. While it may not be as convenient as hopping on the treadmill or elliptical machine at the gym, alternating Tae Bo and other cardio workout videos into your rotation will definitely help you to avoid boredom and more importantly, plateaus. 

Me, post-Tae Bo! Holy sweat, Batman!