Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

I usually prefer a slower paced workout however thought I’d try something more challenging for a quick and easy way to burn some extra calories. I ran across Billy Blanks Tae Bo: Cardio Circuit 1 and knew it would be a sure thing for weight loss.

I have used Billy Blank’s exercises in the past but didn’t like them much because I felt that it was too strenuous and quite frankly too hard. This workout was a lot easier to follow along and still a challenging workout sure to burn extra calories.

About Billy Blanks
Billy Blanks has been around the sports and fitness industry for years. He is the creator of “Tae Bo”. He took some of the fundamentals of Tae Kwon Do, Boxing, and dancing and modified it for fitness. Tae means leg and bo means boxing. Billy Blanks holds numerous titles in karate, and won the boxing golden gloves award in the 80’s.

Equipment Needed
No equipment is needed for this workout. A good pair of shoes will be required and plenty of room to kick around in. 1-2 pound hand weights can be used to increase the intensity but certainly not needed. Previous knowledge of Tae Bo or instructional Tae Bo video may be needed.

Set
The set is done in Billy Blank’s studio which has bright red carpet on the floor. There are a lot of people on the set doing the workout along with Billy. They do not look like actors. There is a variety of men and women with different ethnicities, heights and body types. Each person is wearing something different.

The Workout
The workout is divided into three different segments: upper body cardio, lower body cardio, and total body. The workout starts with a warm-up with things such as reach overs, sprinter stances, and bending over and stretching the legs. The workout has things like punch-across arm movements, twisting at the waist, making circles like you’re fist. There are kicks with the legs out to the side and several different moves hooked together like cross and kick. Knee lift and kicks are high all the way up to the waistline. Pivoting the hips. Pull knees up, punch arms back. He says that twisting movements really trim the waist so a lot of that is done in the upper body abs section. The side lift is great for the abs. You pull the armpit down to the waistline while the knee goes to the waist. If the knee doesn’t go above the belly button it doesn’t count. Another more challenging move for coordination in double time is kicking forward going back and touching the ground like in a runner’s stance. There are no floor activities. Each movement gets 4 to 6 sets of repetitions which are 8 counts each. The first set is slow so everyone knows what to do, the next few are at a quick pace, and the final ones are double time for cardio.

How did Billy Blanks do?
The instructor was good at reminding about proper form. Several times he called out things like quit bouncing which I noticed that I was doing. Constant reminders help with keeping the form correct. The viewer is able to watch the many people in the room for the movements but I think that Billy’s demonstrations of what to focus on and what not to do throughout the workout add value.

There are bouts of high-intensity movements to increase the heart rate mixed in with toning movements. The workout is divided up in upper, lower, abs, and full body. There’s a lot of focus on the abs.

Billy’s communication wasn’t the best. The audio wasn’t always synched with the other exercisers and the music so it was difficult to hear what Billy was saying a lot. Another problem for me is that he rarely demonstrates a move before performing it. It is difficult to watch what they’re doing on TV and do the exercise correctly.

Who this is for
This is most definitely an intermediate workout for individuals who workout at least twice a week. One thing that I noticed that this really requires is the ability to balance and move quickly. It will probably take a few views to learn the routine.

Who this is not for
This has a lot of punching and kicking which if done correctly should not be a problem. Incorrect form could definitely cause harm. I would not recommend this workout for anyone that has weak knees or problems with the rotator cuff of their shoulder without consulting their doctor or viewing the instructional video first. There's also a lot of twisting back and forth at the waistline which may cause a problem for those with lower back pain.

This is seriously a hard workout and would probably be discouraging for beginners.

Drawbacks
Billy Blanks is very difficult to hear in most of the routine. I had to turn the volume up 4 times and still couldn’t hear him clearly. The background music and counting interfered and distracted a lot.

There wasn’t any guidance whatsoever on how to modify this workout for beginners. Billy mentions that if you’re out of breath and can’t count then you need to take a break.

Replay value
Most workouts have very little replay value to me but this routine is pretty exciting and I don’t mind repeating it. It will probably take a long time to get all of these moves down as smoothly as the folks in his routine. I think it has high replay value.

Overall
The workout is a super challenge for me. To begin with the movements have to be learned preferably before the workout. Since I have seen his workouts before I was familiar with some of the moves but by no means as graceful as they are on the DVD.

My heart rate was elevated through the whole workout. I am quite frankly surprised that I made it through this workout alive. I’m not very coordinated and not too familiar with the routine so I do a lot of flopping around. I think the workout is fun and I’m CERTAIN that I burn calories when I do this workout. I have already seen results.

After doing this workout all of my muscles are fatigued and weak. Oddly, I have an unexpected energy boost later in the day. I was certain that I wouldn’t be able to move the next day after using this workout but oddly I wasn’t sore at all. I usually always do a 45 minute workout but this 35 minute workout is enough for me.


Tae Bo Cardio Circuit 2

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age