Billy Blanks: Ultimate Tae Bo

Nobody beats Billy Blanks when it comes to providing a good motivating workout that anyone can do at home. Keeping in mind that nothing really replaces an in-the-gym session where you are keeping pace with your fellow exercises and under the watchful eye of your instructor, "Billy Blanks Ultimate Tae Bo" delivers what would be expected for a mainstream at-home workout session.For anyone who has done Tae Bo before, this video ranks in the middle level with regard to intensity. Blanks does not start this session off with his usual stretches (surprise). Instead he goes into his signature butterfly/punching warm-up immediately and follows up with moves that are familiar to any Tae Bo devotee and therefore seem 'no brainer' rather than 'strainer'.As a long time runner who is experiencing some hip discomfit, I decided it was time to return to Billy to tighten up some core muscles. Approaching this exercise with Billy's voice shouting out "tighten up" and "suck in those abs" has enabled me to use a Pilates technique to almost everything physical that I do. Tightening up the core and allowing your arms and legs to move from that powerhouse I believe is the longterm key to longevity. As we age, we want to continue to have freedom of movement without pain. Blanks promotes this simple yet life-giving idea throughout his entire series. He appeals to both men and women who like the idea of kickboxing moves with a Pilates foundation without the ballet association or zen of yoga. After just a week of doing 45 to 1 hour of Tae Bo per day, I can already feel the difference in my hip. Blanks' exercises are tucking me in and reminding me how to move efficiently again.This workout is long--90 minutes with a break after the first hour which allows those who do not wish to continue to pick up the next day for a shorter session with the remaining half hour. About 45 minutes into the workout, Billy abandons the punches and kicks and breaks it up with some dance moves which detract from the overall pace and because they are unexpected will most likely lower the heart rate at a crucial fat burning period.Some of the combination exercises seemed clunky to me--in his most recent video sets  Billy Blanks' Tae Bo 2004: Capture the Power Billy seems to be relying on punch combinations that are offbeat and move you around the floor rather than actually work on core. Instead of pumping the action up, this reliance on combinations slows things down because it necessitates repeated instruction. When Billy sticks to the format that he made famous -- standing stomach crunches, kicks above the waist and down on the floor butt burning, his sessions give me the workout I truly desire. Note: Sadly, as there is no 'on the floor' portion of the workout in Ultimate Tae Bo, I decreased my overall rating of this product down one star.Blanks includes an interesting "Meet Billy" segment to the DVD and thankfully the 'Learn the Moves' instructional portion is relegated to the Bonus Material section so that we pros can skip the intro and get to the meat of the workout.Bottom line? I like Blanks--he makes mistakes which are not edited out of the overall presentation, but I think this just makes him human. You cannot beat his motivation, his amped up enthusiasm or the fact that his body looks just as good as it did over ten years ago when he started this series. That said, he must be onto something. Recommended with the caveat that exercise is relative to your own fitness level and what you have become accustomed to doing. This is 90 minutes of standard Tae Bo signature moves. Nothing new--just extended.Diana Faillace Von Behren"reneofc"

I bought a lot of DVDs from Amazon and is now mapping me program to . . .

Medical experts have stated that maintaining your heart rate around 70% for over 90 minutes at least once a week is excellent way to increase calorie burn to loose weight. I usually do long power walks at least 2 x week for 90 minutes. Ultimate Tae Bo will be perfect for when the weather is too hot or too cold or raining.This is 90 minutes of medium intensity cardio. There is not floor work so it is all standing. Billy warms up with slower cardio but he does not do his standard stretches and instead just builds intensity for ten minutes and then keeps it at this level. He does take two breaks - one around 40 minutes where they do some dance free style and then around 57 minutes where you can stop or continue on for another 30 minutes of cardio and standing exercises. The mood is loose and Billy really seems to be enjoying himself and he even talks less than usual and focuses on having fun.Some people have complained about the intensity being too low as compared to other Tae Bo workouts. Tae Bo is what you put into it. You can always wear weighted gloves, take the moves high impact and do jumping jacks or other moves while he talks or during the free style section. For most people the breaks will be welcome and it will be a challenge to complete the dvd. I found the intensity perfect for doing a LONG work out and have Zero dread factor when doing this. I have even done if after work because it is great for reducing stress and not so tough that I felt burned out. I wore a heart rate monitor and burned around 1,000 calories for the first part and 433 for the second in total of 1:31 minutes.

I have been a gym goer for over a decade. I love Billy Blank's Ultimate Tae Bo DVD. It allows me to be the boss of my work out from several aspects. I don't have to rush to the gym to attend a specific class at a a specific time. I don't have to pay montly gym membership dues. I can do it in the comforts of my home at the time and at the pace of my choice. I burn upto 460 calories in an hour and what else you can ask for. I have seen my body change right in front of eyes only after 2 weeks.This is not rocket science, this is cardio. Simple rule, burn fat with cardio, tone and build muscles with strenght training and add portion-control and watch calorie-intake and you will be a winner. Looking and feeling great is a life-style which is different than achieving the weight-loss/looking good via diet pills. Healthy life style renders results slowly but surely!With the combination of this DVD and strength training exercises twice a week, and healthy diet, I can confidently say that any one can achieve weight-loss. In addition, by following the cardio + strenght training + healthy diet regimen, it is very easy maintain a healthy life style in this fast paced society.This is a great program to build cardio endurance. However, one must be very careful with the form with jabs, upper-cuts, and hooks because if done incorrectly it can cause shoulder injury.Good luck to all of you!

Love his workout routines and keeps me in shape. He works the core.

I have many TB DVDs at home. I feel this one will become my favorite. The 88 minutes workout is challenging! Billy balances to move so you don't get exhausted and can do the entire workout while sweeting a lot!! The 31 minutes workout is also great. I plan to use it to complete another 30 minutes workout. Great buy. If you are a Tea Bo fan, you won't regret it and you will love it.

To tone up

数年前の買ってあまりにも長いので何度か流して見てそれっきりだったのですが、最近ふとこれをやりたくなって再生したところ再生できなくなっていました。データが壊れた？のか分かりませんが、アメリカ品質なのでこんなものなのでしょう。出来ないとなるとやりたくなるのが人情。再購入しました。ちなみにこちらにはデラックス版と通常版があります。デラックス版の方には本編以外にもう1本エクササイズが収録されているので、デラックス版をおすすめします。で、やってみました。最初は60分まで。多分、Taeboをやったことがあれば普通についていけると思います。極端に心拍数が上がりまくる事も無いです。（fitbitで計測しています）最初は割とアップテンポで進んで途中からはあまり速い動きはありません。それとキックとパンチが中心でニーレイズ系は少ないので長時間休みなく続けられました。後半30分は・・・んー、ネタ切れ？別にTaeboで無くてもという感じでした。ちなみに個人差はあるかと思いますがfitbitで計測して前半60分で大体330～350カロリー、全部通して450カロリー程度の消費でした。日本版のTaebo脂肪燃焼プログラム２（約50分）で280カロリー程度なので、Taeboの消費カロリーはどれも概ね同じくらいの消費カロリーかと思われます。私は女性なので男性ならもっと行くと思います。あと、このDVDをやるのに一番必要なのは時間の確保と集中力かと思います。

長時間だけれどゆるい感じのエクササイズばかりでジョギング感覚なので気持ちよくできます。ビリーと同じウエイト付きのグローブを装着したくらいです。でも終わってから来ました、疲労が。気持ちのいい疲労感です。50代半ばの私にはこれがちょうどいい、というところです。きつい筋肉刺激や心肺機能を急激に上昇させるのとは違って、わたしには「身体にはこれが安全で最も有効なエクササイズだ」という、わが身からの反応を受け取りました。若い人たちは、ウォームアップがわりにこれをやってから、ジリアン・マイケルズなど、また違う角度の刺激をハードにやることをお薦めします。

購入したばかりなので体験後の感想を書けず、参考にならないと思いますが、開けてみてディスクのリージョンが「ALL」となっていたことに正直、まずホッとしました･･･。リージョンフリーのものでも、こちらではリージョン1と書かれているのでビリーの最近の発売の商品を参考にこちらを購入したのですが･･･。先日Tae Bo Ampedを、他の方のレビューの「リージョンフリーだった」という言葉を参考にして購入したのですが、届いたものはリージョン1でショックを受けたことがありました。その後、ロットで仕様変更になった？とか書かれていたのでなんだかどれも心配ですが、自分のところに届いた商品はちゃんとリージョンフリーでした。しかし、輸入DVDにはよくあることなのでしょうか？ディスクは「ALL」と書かれているのに外箱にはリージョン1と書かれていました。これでは誰もがリージョン1の商品と思うのでは？なので初めに開封するときは本当に開けていいものなのか迷いました･･･。内容のレビューでなくて本当に申し訳ありません。ですが、ディスク1枚に長短2つのワークアウトが入っていてとてもお得な1枚だと思います。