Tae Bo Is A Super Workout!

by Nelson Alejos

Tae Bo was pretty popular in the late 90's, but in case you've never heard of it, here's what it's all about:

Tae Bo was created by martial artist Billy Blanks. He combines martial arts moves into a routine that most people can do no problem. He ran workshops all over the place, and he made some workout videos for us non-celebrities.

I first tried Tae Bo when I was in junior high, as a part of my PE class. The video workouts were about a half-hour long, forty-five minutes if you include the warm-up and cool-down.

The videos contain different levels of workouts, from basic to advanced. After high school, I bought the videos myself so I could do the workout at home.

I used the basic level video the most often, so I'll describe that workout here.

The warm-up includes a series of stretches, and lasts about ten minutes. Then you move into jabs and right- and left-hooks. About 2 repetitions of each, then 4 repetitions in double-time.

Then there are knee-raises, roundhouse kicks, front kicks, uppercuts, and more jabs all mixed up together.

Usually about 2 repetitions of each move in regular time and 4-8 repetitions in double-time. Then a Tai-Chi-like cool down session.

Once you can do the basic workout without wheezing, you can move on to the advanced workout.

Lots of cardio, and by the end of 4 weeks, I had a six-pack.

The videos can be a bit expensive, but totally worth it. This is a super workout, and I really enjoyed it. Awesome.