Customer Reviews

Tae Bo: Total Body Fat Blaster [VHS]

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

All I can say is WOW! to this dvd. I was new to the whole tae bo thing and it does seem a bit intimidating when you first try it. Once you do it consistently, you pick up the moves and it is fun. I have been doing Billy Blanks exercise videos for about 3 weeks and notice a huge difference in the shape of my body, my core strength, flexibility, and power.

The kicking was hard at first. Now I am able to hold my leg out straight, I have really good technique and my abs have become stronger which help with the kicking.
The resistance bands are a must and you have to order them through Billy Blank's website. They only cost $14.95 and are a great piece of equipment to have. You can do the workout without them but you really should invest in the bands.

The only thing I would recommend is to stretch prior ro starting the dvd. He does a warm-up but this dvd is a bit on the advanced side and his stretching period is not a long one.

Good luck to anyone who buys this dvd. I promise you will love it...just don't give up!

Overall, I would say that this workout is intermediate to advanced. I have about 12 different Tae Bo/Billy workouts that I rotate on a regular basis and compared to the others, I don't work up much of a sweat doing this workout.

One thing I don't like about this workout is there is only about 10 mintues at the end of good cardio. The rest of the workout consists of using the Billy Bands, mostly for arms. However, this is probably one of the better workouts for arms. Also, except for the last 10 mintues, there is not alot of kick sequences.

Billy also does some complicated combination moves near the end of the workout. Until you get the hang of these moves, you will waste time trying to figure out what is going on and trying to follow Billy.

I'm a big fan of the Billy Bands, but compared to the other workouts that use the bands, this workout is not as intensive cardio-wise. If you really want a good workout with the bands and a good workout cardio-wise I would suggest Ultimate Bootcamp, Cardio Bootcamp or Boot Camp 2. If you just want a very intensive cardio workout, I suggest the Get Ripped Advanced workouts.

Overall, I rated this workout a 3 just because of the low amount of leg work and and low amount of good cardio. Don't get me wrong, this workout will get your heartrate up and keep it up, but I just don't feel that I have "really" worked out after doing this.

I am the queen of starting things and not finishing them, either losing willpower, finding it doesn't meet what i need...or simply not having time. This has proven to be costly at times - gym memberships, $60 pilates sets, running shoes, gas to drive to the school's gym...i could go on.

I was recently married and decided I'd rather not make good on a long-running joke that I'd gain 100 pounds as soon as the ring was on my finger. I needed something I could do at home, in private, whether in the tolerable winter cool or the godawful summer heat (i'm in florida)...pilates was okay, but i actually LIKE to sweat, LIKE to feel my heart jackhammering away, LIKE the feeling of noodlelimbs and soreness the next day.

i like to feel like i'm really working something.

i did a lot of research and eventually decided on Tae Bo - I have the house to myself at least three mornings a week, so that wouldn't be a problem. i ordered mine used, under $15 including shipping, and received it on Tuesday night.

I made it through 40 of the 55 minutes that night, but had to finally give up because i was just tapped (i'd played racquetball earlier that day). i did it again this morning and made it through the whole thing.




In short, I'm hooked. Billy Blanks is an awesome leader, motivating without being patronizing. The girl who does the workout without the bands is about the cutest little thing i've ever seen. It's nonstop, and an awful lot of fun.

Two things of note:

1) this DVD utilizes the "billy bands", but the aforementioned girl does them without with very little modification and it's still an awesome workout. i'll probably get them once i build my strength up somewhat, and for some of the exercises (biceps, triceps, presses) i'm using a pair of 3 lb weights instead.

2) some of the combo moves, especially at the end, can get to be a bit much. i sat through two of them after a couple of attempts at slower speed; i'll practice them each time i do it.




Like I said, I'm the queen of workout remorse; i have none about this DVD. it's great. i love it. :)

I had never done Tae Bo before this video. I was a total beginner with 35 pounds to lose before I started this DVD. I didn't read anything about this workout before I bought it and didn't know what I was getting myself into! Your heart will pump and you'll sweat your [...] off! It really feels like you're getting a workout! Maybe this is too "easy" for people on an advanced level, but if you're on a beginner or intermediate level and you take it one step at a time, gradually adding time to each workout you'll be able to complete this in no time! After less than 2 weeks I was able to do the entire DVD all the way through. After 2 weeks I saw my arms becoming more toned and sculpted and I DIDN'T have the Billy Bands. People are making a big deal about the bands, but honestly, if you're a beginner I think the bands would be unnecessary and a little too tough. I've lost inches and pounds with this workout and I'm sure you will too. Give it a try, it's worth the money!

Let me preface this by saying that I am WAY out of shape (have not worked out for about 5 years), so others might not have any problem at all starting at this level. Also, the tae bo workout really is fun, and even if you're out of shape and can't do all the reps, you'll get something out of it.

The reason I wanted to write this review is that it's not very clear by looking at the box exactly what kind of workout you're going to get or what fitness level you should be at to try it. I first did tae bo 5 years ago, and it was more of a beginners' workout. This one is I think 55 minutes long and is more of an intermediate level workout.

There is a different Billy Blanks workout called "Foundation/Energy" that I would start out with if you're completely new to it. Looks like it contains two shorter workouts. However, if you plan to stick with tae bo, the Fat Blaster DVD is a good one to have because you can work up to completing the DVD (I got mine last week and can only go about 25 minutes, but that's starting from fitness level ZERO).

So overall, I think this is a good workout to have, and I'm completely satisfied with my purchase. I just wish I'd gotten a beginners' DVD first so I could get into the groove of the moves before starting this one.

First off, this video is a waste of time if you don't have the Billy bands. It's a strength training workout with some cardio built in and you'll need the bands to get anything from it. If you are looking for an intense cardio workout look elsewhere. I expected 'fat blasting' to mean advanced cardio and was disappointed. I hate standing still and doing bicep curls and tricep extensions when I could be sweating. You will get a good upper body workout, but it didn't make me sore like the Ultimate bootcamp did (essentially the same video with different moves).

Total Body Fat Blaster is a really intense workout. I have both this one and Fat Blasting Cardio. Even though Fat Blasting Cardio is good, I really find this one to be a lot better. It's not as intense in respect to cardio, but rather it deals with lots of resistance training with the bands. Billy does some great outer thigh, quad and hamstring exercises with the bands. There isn't a lot of kicking in the workout because this workout mainly focuses on arms. Let me just say, after taking off the bands, my arms felt like jelly! The only reason why I gave this four instead of five is because I really found Shellie; his daughter, to be a little more annoying than usual. Normally, I don't mind her at all, but with the all of the grunting and yelling during the workout it got on my nerves after awhile. Other than that, fantastic workout!

I loved it. You really sweat. Even my husband is dripping after this workout. High energy workout, for sure. Personally, I don't think this is good for beginners. You should definitely have some form of endurance before you do this workout.

This video gives you a great workout. The only suggestion I would make is to definitely get the resistance bands. I did the video without for the first 2 weeks and now I am awaiting their arrival!

This workout is *GREAT* I can't understand the few negative comments about it. It is a good compliment to the boot camp workout series. You get a solid 50+ minutes of fat burning & muscle sculpting using the bands. Your arms will be screaming as you do all the arm exercises. The moves are more balanced in this fat-blasting, cardio workout! It's a must for any Tae Bo fan! Billy will motivate you to the end!