Customer Reviews

Taebo: Ultimate Abs/Butt

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I read the other reviews before I purchased this video and have been doing TaeBo for about 7 months pretty regularly. What nobody said loudly enough for me was that this is quite advanced - it is a 9 out of 10 on the take my breath away scale. What this video contains is a collection of clips from other advanced TaeBo workouts from several different genres (you can tell by Billy's daughter's hair) which change very rapidly - I did not have a chance to catch my breath between sets as in other videos. I would not recommend this video to anyone who is not in quite good physical condition. Billy is great as always in this video, but he cannot make up for what your body lacks in endurance due to the level of your physical condition. The workouts are a little on the long side - difficult to finish if you have young children in the home - and the floor work is very difficult and fast-paced. This video also lacks the balance of other videos (sometimes the clip does not include both sides of the body). It is essential to do some additional warm up and cool down as well. If you are in quite good shape and are familiar with the basic moves/routines for TaeBo, this may be for you. If you are like me - just getting into shape and do not have a lot of time to spend on one workout, you should try some other more basic videos first (I like the Cardio and Flex workouts - they are shorter and a little slower paced).

As an individual who normally works out about 2 hours a day (ashtanga yoga and kickboxing), the Ultimate Butt component of the DVD really really left me breathless and burning. This is probably without proper form and alignment. I probably wouldn't be able to walk if I were to complete this video as it was intended.

Pros:

1) The video - if you get through it - really isn't too long. However, the first 15 minutes (for me) felt like forever. Once you get over the 15 - 20 minute hump, it will go by more quickly.

2) Does provide a great workout for you hips and seat. You will feel the deep tissue burn - especially with the floor exercises.

3) The multiple hard bodies (Billy Blanks, various females in the background) will inspire and encourage you to go on

4) Billy can be encouraging - can be a bit too enthusiastic - but that is probably just his personality. And, there is no way a person can get as ripped as he is being lethargic.

Cons:

1) Does not work both sides of the body equally. There are about 3-4 (?) times Billy works only one side before the video cuts into another segnment. This is hugely annoying and unforgivable for an exercise video.

2) Can be a bit tough on your knees

3) User needs to have some familiarity with form and alignment before using this video. The sequences are a bit fast and little instruction is given to proper postioning.


Overall, I am happy with this video and pleased with my purchase.

"Tae Bo Ultimate Abs/Butt" is a great targeted workout for Tae Bo enthusiasts who have already mastered many of the moves. If you're new to Tae Bo, this isn't the workout for you - Billy switches from one exercise to the next fairly quickly, giving you little time to recover in between segments. Nor does he explain the correct form for many of the moves (most of which you should be familiar with if you've worked your way through another TB video or two). The two 55-minute workouts on this DVD also test your endurance, so if you're out of shape, a newbie to TB, or have a hard time with the Basic workouts, you should hold off on "Tae Bo Ultimate Abs/Butt."

That said, those who have been doing Tae Bo for some time will enjoy these "new" workouts, even though there isn't any new footage to speak of. Rather, Billy and his crew have gathered 55 minutes of the best abdominal and gluteal exercises from previous videos and edited them together into two separate workouts. Each consists of a roughly 5 minute warmup, followed by 30+ minutes of kicking and/or punching, 15-20 minutes of floor exercises, and a quick 3-5 minute cool down.

Each workout does a great job of targeting and working the desired areas. I especially like the variety of floor exercises in the Ultimate Abs workout - rather than doing a zillion crunches, Billy mixes it up a bit and introduces a number of new exercises. Unfortunately, the floor portion of the Ultimate Butt workout just repeats the same two exercises over and over - be prepared to do plenty of to-the-side leg lifts and roundhouse kicks, with a couple of other drills sprinkled in here and there!

However, "Tae Bo Ultimate Abs/Butt" isn't quite perfect. Like many Tae Bo workouts, some of the exercises are repeated more on one side than the other, and some are only done on one side, period! This is really unforgivable - since the tape was edited together, Billy and his production assistants could (SHOULD) have hunted around for the best examples of each exercise. For each uneven set, I could easily think of another video on which the set was performed with equal repetitions on each side. Also, the editing is a little choppy - before one segment is over (i.e., before you've reached the last 8-count), the class is already starting on the next exercises. This makes it quite difficult to maintain the correct form and do the entire set. Of course, after doing the workout a few times, you learn to anticipate these difficulties and compensate for them. Yet, it's still a major gripe - they had the opportunity to fix many of the problems present in their live/complete workouts and still they dropped the ball. C'mon, guys, listen to your loyal followers already!

I've been an avid tae bo person for 3 years now and I love the results! However on this video it was made from other parts of his other workouts and edited together. sometimes I had to rewind a few parts to get the same amount of moves on the other side but it doesn't bother me too much. sometimes we'd do alot more reps on one side. The energy is great and over all I think this is one of the toughest out there. sometimes I have to still rest during a set. It's very challenging and it will make you sweat. I did the abs every other day for a month and now I have a six pack for the very first time!

I use this video three times a week and I love it. I stretch out before I turn the video on, then I work out for a half-hour and quit. The video is almost two hours, so I get four work outs before I have to start the video over again. I like it because I get a better variety than my normal taebo videos, and they are all the more advanced workouts. Only buy this video if you are in pretty good shape, or you will get frustrated from the start. A couple of times during the video they seem to cut the reps short, and you have only worked out one side of your body. But other than that one flaw, this is one of my favorite workout videos, and has kept me in shape over this long winter.

This video is definitely intense in terms of working the abs and glute area. Every time I do this video, I am sore for several days. It's an advanced workout and one that you should do after doing Taebo for awhile. It's also something someone should watch through before doing because it's clips of his Live videos so unless you're 100% familiar with everything Billy does, it can be a little hard to follow. I recommend this if you're looking for a great abs/glute workout.

I enjoyed this workout because it jumps right into the movements. Blanks is motivating and encouraging, while reminding you to keep your form. The workout is actually snippets of various workout routines. Because of this, the pace and movements jump around in that good kind of way ... I didn't get bored and it really worked my abs and butt as promised. I thought it was a good buy.

If you are not a TAEBO user, you shouldn't be buying this video, at least, not yet. You first have to purchase the Basic TAEBO video which it will teach you step by step on how to punch and kick, etc. Once you have master that video, then you can move on to advance. Give yourself a few months on advance before you try this ultimate workout. This video will make you sweat within the first five minutes of the workout (once you have warm up).
Ultimate workout combines other advance videos so you can get the most out of the workout. It will keep you in cardio mode the entire time by jumping from one excersise to the other in seconds. Like all videos, you have to work out and practice so you can keep up. If you have to pause your dvd player every five minutes, do so until you can keep up.

Once you get to this level, you will not want to go back to other basic ones. If you workout five days a week, I recomend to work out with this video twice a week (one day use the abs and the other day the butt workout) I Love it.

I really loved the DVD!! I think it's the best DVD for abs and butt around. I would highly recommend you buy this one. As I read in the other reviews you must be in great shape to do this DVD. The only thing I didn't like was the jumping from segment to segment pretty rapidly but it still kicked butt!!

I do not recommend this dvd. I think it was thrown together. Workouts are not completed and at times there are no reps for the other side !! I would hate to walk down the street with one butt cheek firmer than the other ! I found it very annoying!