Customer Reviews

Billy Blanks' Tae Bo: Cardio Circuit, Vol. 1

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I previously left a review for Billy Blank's Tae Bo 2-pack dvd set which contains the fat blasting cardio and total body fat blaster...both are awesome workouts. This one is also incredible. Not as hard as the others I mentioned but still challenging, intense and fun.

Billy Blank's is very motivating, the people in his class are really working hard and are equally motivating. He talks you through everything as well. I admit, it is very challenging and a bit intimidating, especially to a beginner. I have been doing his dvd's for 3 weeks and not only has my body improved as far as toning and shape but I am stronger, more flexible and definitely more confident. My kicking has improved incredibly. I can balance myself with the use of my abs and kick straight out and hold it. I never was able to have such control before.

I totally recommend this dvd and suggest you just do some stretching before you begin because he does not stretch for long. Other than that, keep some water by your side and get ready to sweat...it won't take long at all. Don't give up, the payoff is worth it!!

I picked up this DVD because I was looking for a cardio workout after hitting a plateau using an elliptical machine, and it was the only one in the store without a perky blonde instructor. (The last thing I want early in the morning is some rail-thin Barbie chirping at me!)

I got lucky with this purchase. It's a fast-paced workout, and it does take a few times to get the hang of all the excercises. Billy Blanks demonstrates well, it's just that some segments required a little practice before they felt comfortable. But after using it for just a couple of weeks, along with a sensible diet, I've almost got my stomach (long lost to post-smoking poundage) back! I've also got much more energy the rest of the day. When I'm ready to vary my workout again, I'll be looking for more Billy Blanks DVDs.

Love this workout. It is only 30 minutes long, but you really work up a sweat! The ab exercises are great. You can slim & tone your waistline without having to get down on the floor & do a bunch of those awful crunches. Love the red carpet! It reminded me of Billy's greatest workouts...the get ripped advanced series, and his live advanced series. This really gets your heart pumping and the moves are signature Billy.

Great for your abs! I love it that it is only 30 minutes and you get a great workout. This DVD is more organized than some of the other past tae bo tapes. Billy Blanks is inspiring and since the rest of the crew is keeping count, he doesn't get off when he goes back to working out after some instruction. I have slimmed down my abs and made my legs leaner and stronger. This workout doesn't bulk you up - it does a nice job of toning and making you look leaner. I turned to tae bo after having my second baby and am thinner now than before I had my first. Great workout and short enough to keep with it regularly.

This DVD is my favorite Tae Bo yet!Billy Blanks breaks down the workout into different sections for your abs,upper body, and lower body.He motivates you to keep working, but doesn't push to hard and reminds you to stop and walk if you need to.This DVD is fun and energizes you.Great for anyone who wants cardio.You can also add strngth training by using the weight balls advertised with Tae Bo 2004 as a few of the cast memebers were using them.

I'm a huge Taebo fan and have been doing it on and off for about eight years. A few months after having my daughter, I decided it was time to up my workouts and turned once again to Taebo. I bought this video after starting out with the Taebo Cardio video. This video is very fast paced and wonderful for a quick, but effective workout. It's divided into abs, upper body, lower body and then an all body segment. The all body segment is very fast paced and will get your heart rate up. The only two negative comments I have; but are very typical of Taebo, are; his counting is uneven (he'll do two sets on one side and then four on the next) and there are a couple exercises where I feel that I'm a little "out of control" when he has you pick up the pace. Other than that, I can't complain because it's a great cardio workout in just 30 minutes.

I have been doing this work-out for about a month now and have seen results. Not only have I lost inches, but my overall health has improved.
Billy Blanks is encouraging and motivating. The best part about this video is that it is only 35 minutes long. I highly suggest this to anyone who is looking for a great cardio video in a short amount of time.

CALORIE BURN: I wear a bodybugg to measure my daily calorie burn which also allows me to measure how many calories I burn during a specific workout, as well as how many I burn per minute during the workout. I mention this only so you'll know what I say is based upon scientific measurement rather than perceived exertion. This dvd ranked far higher than most of my exercise dvds on calorie burn. (and I own WAAY more fitness dvds than I should)

TONING: The beauty of Tae Bo is that you get cardio combined with toning but this "circuit workout" takes it to a new level. The sheer act of kicking and punching elevates your heart in any workout, but Billy Blanks, in my opinion, really has worked his moves out to a great science (I do own several of his in addition to several other kickboxing, tae bo, etc workouts). For example, this is an excellent ab workout due to the twists and moves created to engage your obliques. However, whereas most of his other workouts are correlated to be utilizing certain moves and muscles continually, this one breaks up the dvd into circuits that focus on your upper body, lower body, and abs specifically. But the beauty of a circuit workout is that you are blasting calories due to the high heart rate, yet you are also toning by using your body to strengthen your muscles so that you continue to elevate your metabolism and calorie burn long after the workout is over. You'll feel it and you'll get results. You'll use your body in this one for great strength training while your heartrate is elevated for calorie burn...doubling the results. I love that.


INSTRUCTION: I have several of Billy Blanks' dvds for a reason...he has great energy and always has exceptional workouts that scorch calories and tone well. I happen to love the counting down he does along with his group because it enables you to know you are to tempo and not have to stare at the tv the whole time if desired. It's also energizing. His cueing is excellent as even a beginner would never miss a step. Trust me, I have NO coordination in spite of the fact I workout often so cueing that's good is very, very important to me. I like that he provides a studio that's full of people. Keeps it interesting for me and this one had even more people than in many of his other dvds. Better yet, they were of varying fitness levels...some had rock hard abs, while some still needed some shaping. That's actually a good thing...no matter where you are in your fitness level you can both relate and be inspired. That said, they were all still fairly fit because it's difficult to do tae bo and not be in shape fairly quickly...this hits all the muscles.

LEVEL: There are no weights in this. Tae Bo is inherently designed that if you know how to kick and punch, you can do it. You'll burn calories and firm up even if you workout daily. I feel this one even though I workout often but if I go for weeks without a workout I can still jump in do it. I also ordered weighted gloves for when I really want to amp up my arm toning and burn. Because the cueing and instruction is great, you can jump in and do tae bo on this one even if you never have before. In fact, the first Tae Bo I ever did was a short Billy Blanks dvd and it got me hooked.

LENGTH: 36 minutes. But even a 20 minute workout with this one is good.

MUSIC: Excellent and upbeat, not the boring electronica I often hear in fitness dvds.

SET: A very nice studio, full of people so there's many to follow and it's visually interesting.

ENERGY: Due to the instruction and team, it's through the roof. You know how, after you've done a set of reps that were tough, and the count is over you just wanna yell "AAAAAAAH!". They do. As a group. It pumps you up and I can't really even say why. Tons of energy here in so many ways.

NEGATIVES: This is one of my favorite workouts that I own so I'm reaching to find a negative on this one...Honestly I don't know of any other than the fact that someone needs to throw Billy a towel every now and again because the poor guy drips all over the place but he's such an energetic instructor and I typically can get bored easily in dvds...so who cares.

ALTERNATIVES: These are some other workouts I like with similar results:

The Firm: Pump, Jump, n Jab
Billy Blanks': Tae Bo Extreme
Jillian Michaels: The Biggest Winner Cardio Kickbox
10 Minute Solution: Knockout Body


CONCLUSION: I have a full library of fitness dvds and this remains a favorite.

I didn't totally sink this DVD, because it does give you a cardo workout. However, there are several problems with Billy Blanks' instructional techniques.

1. He doesn't give you even reps. on each side of your body. He is so busy talking and walking around, he forgets to keep track of how many counts of 8 have passed. So you end up doing 2 counts of 8 on the right leg, then 4 counts of 8 on the left leg. This is through out the whole video, so your body does not get an even workout.

2. He doesn't know how to instruct for a camera. When he says "Right leg," he means his own right leg. (Your left leg.) To keep mirroring him, you have to remind your self to always use the opposite side of your body. This is for every exercise on the DVD. It gets old having to second guess his instructions. I want to enjoy a workout and put my all into it. That is hard to do when you are busy correcting the instructor's mistakes.

3. He doesn't bother with proper form. If you are just wanting to sweat, without concern for proper technique, this isn't a problem. For people who want to learn real form, look elsewhere.

4. (This one is actually more of a production problem than a problem with Blanks.) There is a woman wearing a microphone who is counting 8 all the way through the workout. The problem is they didn't bother to put a microphone on Blanks, so the woman is louder than he is. The rest of the crowd on the DVD is counting with her, so Blanks is very hard to hear.

I had high hopes for this video because I love kickboxing. But I got frustrated and turned it off half way through.

i'm in my midteens and i'm about 15 lbs overweight. i've been doing this workout for a few months, but i usually do it on and off. it really works. i've lost about 5 pounds in about a month (my bad eating habits dont let me lose more weight). But I really recommend this dvd for anyone who wants to lose weight. it doesn't take as long to see the good results as it does with other workouts (especially if you, unlike me, have healthy eating habits). It's very intense and it may take you a couple of tries to do it without needing to take breaks every 2 minutes. besides losing weight, you will also find that you become more flexible and can kick higher. one of my only complaints about this is that sometimes he's so busy talking, he forgets how many sets have been done and you end up doing twice as many sets of an exercise on one leg than on the other leg. if you're a beginner, you may not be able to do this (but give it a try), but if you would like something more basic, i would suggest doing "tae-bo basic workout" (VHS) first. Judging by the way things went with me, i'd say that by doing this everyday for two weeks and eating well, you'll begin to see great results. totally worth buying.