Tae-Bo Workout: Instructional and Basic (Tae-Bo: The Ultimate Total Body Workout for Men & Women) [VHS]

Energizing. Explosive. Powerful. Uplifting. That’s how superstar athletes, Hollywood celebrities and thousands of people just like you from around the world describe Tae-Bo, the hottest workout in America. Personally developed by 7 time World Martial Arts champion Billy Blanks, Tae-Bo blends your own hidden strength with the ancient arts of self-defense, dance, and boxing combined with today’s great music. Tae-Bo is unlike any workout program you’ve ever tried before! See consistent, amazing results from your very first workout as Tae-Bo takes you to your next level of physical fitness.

Billed as the "future of fitness" and hawked by numerous celebrities, Billy Blanks's Tae-Bo actually deserves much of the hype it's receiving. A mixture of boxing punches and martial arts kicks, Tae-Bo is fun and easy. One of the best elements of this two-tape set is that the first tape (which is 40 minutes long), Tae-Bo: Instructional, lays out the movements you need to successfully complete a workout. Once you've mastered the steps, you won't have to fast-forward through half the tape to get to the workout, nor will your workout be slowed down by the repeated lessons. After you feel comfortable with the movements (and they're really quite easy to follow; nothing too complicated to trip you up), you're ready to move on to Tae-Bo: Basics, a 27-minute workout (5 minutes of warm-up, 18 minutes of Tae-Bo, and 4 minutes of cool-down) that will have your heart pounding and your body sweating. The only downside to this tape is the less-than-exciting music. Blanks, a seven-time World Martial Arts champion, is a superb instructor, providing encouragement and careful instruction (if you don't know by the end of the tape to hold in your stomach, that's no one's fault but your own). Not only is Tae-Bo great exercise for all levels, but the punches and kicks are wonderful for working out stress and aggression. This is the aerobics exercise video for people who are bored by aerobics. --Jenny Brown