Customer Reviews

Billy Blanks' Tae Bo: Fat Blasting Cardio & Total Body Fat Blaster

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

It's rare to find a DVD that provides a good solid 45 minutes of cardio exercise. Typically they are stop-again-start-again kind of things, not able to raise the heart rate.

I have been doing the Fat Blasting Cardio DVD for a couple of months now and still cannot complete all the reps while wearing the Billy Bands. My heart rate stays in a good zone for the entire workout. I feel that during the winter, when I cannot run because my asthma is aggravated by the cold, this DVD is my best cardio option. I have not tried the Total Body Fat Blaster.

One problem with Tae Bo is that if you've never had experience with either Tae Bo, kickboxing, or some form of Martial Art, you will have trouble mimicking the form you see on the DVD. This is a good way to get an injury early in the process of learning, which can be frustrating. I recommend a small amount of instruction on proper form while kicking, and don't be afraid to start out doing slower reps than you see on the DVD. I would say that it's pretty easy to blow the knee of your standing foot if you try to do more than your body is capable of. Also, unless you have a good deal of upper body strength, it is wise to do the workout without the Billy Bands until you feel confident. Believe me, it's still plenty cardio.

I ordered this dvd and I have been doing the workout without the "Billy Bands" for a couple of weeks and I found it amazingly effective for the intermediate level! You WILL definately feel it the next day , but when I went to Billy's site (www.billyblanks.com) and I finally purchased the Billy Bands, I wasn't prepared for the challenge it brought! To put it bluntly, I am a person that hardly ever curses, but with these bands, the resistance makes the workout so much more intense, that I was cursing up a storm everytime I stopped to sip some water! The bands make all the difference and unfortuneately are only available on the above website. So, I highly recommend this if you've done Billy's other workouts. However, if this is your first Billy Blanks DVD, start with the Instructional DVD. THE REST OF YOU, GET READY TO CHALLENGE YOURSELF, BUY IT NOW!!

this is one of the best tae bo workout you can have. NOw I did not have the resistance band like he did in the workout and I still got a great workout out of it. the energy was there and you could feel you working your body to the point where the fat are just poping out of you. The students in the video looked like they were really challenged by the resistance band and basically screaming after each reps. I can't wait to add resistance band to my workout as I can tell it will help me not only burn fat but also tone up. it is like having two in one. Fat burning and tone up at the same time. it is great Go for it, it won't disappoint.

When I think of Tae Bo I think of lots of cardio, not so much with this video. You must have his bands (at a cost of $20) in order to get a full workout. I did it without the bands and it was not too bad, but very boring. He starts out with a warm up and some cardio to get your heart rate up, but then puts on the bands for 40 minutes. The DVD is 55 minutes long, so without the bands your just kind of standing there. If you have never worked out before, your own body weight can provide enough resistance to give you a good workout, but its worthless if you are in shape. Truth be told- its worth it if you buy the bands.

First, allow me to answer the "Billy Bands" question so many have in below comments. If you cannot buy "Billy Bands" then go to your local sporting goods store and purchase any resistance bands. They are the same thing. Or you can use wrist and ankle weights if you cannot find resistance bands.

Now, I must say that this is a wonderful highly effective work-out. I have taken Cardio Kickboxing (Tae-Bo) for six years, and taught it for the last three years. I am definately in the advanced category. I've done some of Billy's work-outs at home once-in-a-while. Most were interesting, some too easy for me, some a good work-out. The Fat Blasting 2-Pack which includes Total Body Fat Blaster and the Fat Blasting Cardio DVD's are the best that Billy has put out. The bands are fun and I sometimes alternate with free weights to achieve different results. My husband enjoys doing them with me and we both think these are very challenging cardio work-outs. Keep in mind that these realy are pure Cardio with very little, if any, ab work. However, if you have done any Tae-Bo before or have taken a Cardio Kickboxing class in a studio, then your proper form will work your abs enough during the work-out.

I would not recommend this work-out for beginners. I also urge anyone that is interested in Tae-Bo or has only done it at home to take a couple of Cardio Kickbox classes at a local Martial Arts Studio (not a health club). You will be surprised how hard it is to get the form correct without live instruction... and improper form leads to injury or slow results.

Billy is energetic as ever, and it is a good workout. But both of the workouts make use of bands. There is no information on where to get the exact bands that Billy is using (they look thinner and longer than some I've seen.) Fat Blasting Cardio can be done and be useful without the bands, although having them would probably increase the workout. Total Body Fat Flaster on the other hand is basically worthless if you don't have the bands. It's not even really a kickboxing or Tae Bo tape. I used weights and copied their moves. I'm not sure I will buy the bands, because the people on the screen with Billy appear to be having issues with the bands so it just looks like it would be very awkward.

Part of me is sorry that I bought this set, because it is not actually what I was expecting from what is advertised on the box and in the marketing materials. But I'm trying to give them a chance for what they are, which I guess is good but not great. In an effort to come up with something "new", he's created a workout that is just awkward.

I just bought this video from a store, should have bought it on Amazon and read the reviews, because I did not know I would need the resistance bands "Billy Bands", and it does not state it on the DVD cover. The workout was pretty good, and as with Billy's other Tae Bo workouts, I worked up a sweat. But about 10 minutes into it, he whipped out the bands and used them for the entire workout. I would rather not have to buy props to go with these videos, as with Billy's other videos, you don't need anything but yourself. As the other reviews stated, I could definitely see how the workout would become much more challenging when adding the bands...I guess I felt duped!
I am a fan of his first basic and advanced videos, and I also enjoy Kathy Smith's kickboxing workout. If you want to buy the $15 bands off his website, this could be a good option for you.

I just tried the Taebo fat blasting cardio and let me tell you that it is absolutely awesome. good for people who are familar with the Billy blanks DVDs and are looking for a good challenge. It is very important to know the techniques .. a wrong technique could cause injury . Also dont always look at the students for direction/guidence I noticed that several students billy were preforming the wrong techniques throughout the video... not good. Overall a great video

This workout is not designed for beginners. That having been said, I am a beginner and really love this set. All of the moves are shown rather quickly before a set of them is performed, but the moves are easy to catch on to. As a beginner (or someone getting back into an exercise program), it is difficult to find something that is going to be do-able at a beginning level that you won't have to discard later because it is too easy. This set is great for beginners with initiative as well as advanced students. Though the program goes at a very fast pace, it is very easy to follow along and execute the same moves at a slower pace.

My suggestion is if you are a beginner, take the moves at half pace the first couple times until you feel comfortable with them. It is really a great work out, but it is important to pace yourself to be sure you do not injure your body.

This program is not for you if you want something to slowly ease into. It is for you if you are prepared to just jump right in and get in shape. There is a lot of jumping in this program and there are optional (sold seperately) resistance bands for the more advanced student. The programs work very well with or without the bands, though.

I am very excited to continue to use this program to get in shape. I would recommend it to all levels, but it really is a high paced work out so be careful not to over do it! He is very motivational and really interacts with you throughout the workout (as much as a recording can, mind you). I just loved the workout and felt great at the end.

As a side note: if you are the type of person that needs to have every move explicitly described to you, this program does not do a step by step really. Billy shows the moves briefly at a slower pace and then jumps right into them. I personally didn't have a problem with the way the moves were presented.

This is a very High Energy, fast moving workout. If you are familiar with the original Billy Blanks' Tae Bo Workouts; this one is much quicker with more complex moves. Not effective without the proper Bands. I prefer the original workout more. I don't like the idea of performing strength-resistance moves at a very fast pace because this can open the door to injury much easier. Exercise smart, not hard! It's the consistency of any workout that counts most.