Tae-Bo for me

by Karen
(Campton, Kentucky, USA)

The toughest workout I have ever done is Tae-Bo. I had the beginner's Billy Blanks DVD’s. My sister had used them before and she said they were wonderful.

I was not in good shape at the time. I was moderately overweight and I had not exercised in a long time.

I bought the DVD and I noticed I was very sore after the first time using it. The workout lasted around 20 minutes, and was easy to follow.

One word of caution about the workout though -- watch the instructional section to learn how to do the moves correctly. If you punch or kick wrong you can really injure yourself.

The video consists of stretches, and kickboxing combinations. I really enjoyed the side kicks.

After going on a healthy diet and using the workout once a day, I lost 20 pounds in four months.

Initially I had to start and stop throughout the video, but as I got better I could finish the entire thing.

Billy Blanks is encouraging and entertaining. He did not make me feel awful about stopping when I was tired.

I really felt the burn when I was doing the moves. I noticed a difference in my body as well. I had muscles and felt much stronger.

The warning I gave earlier about doing the moves incorrectly comes from experience. I was doing well with the videos and one day I kicked improperly and injured my knee. I was not able to do the workout after this injury.

I really wish I could do the workout again because it was the best workout I have ever done. I was happy with my body for the first time in many years.

Karen

Note from Dr. Dan

Karen,

That's great advice about "doing the moves improperly."

Joints in your body are meant to have a certain range of motion. If you go beyond that normal range of motion you can hurt the joint.

So if you do a kick, for instance, and let your leg snap at the end, you can overextend the knee.

This can injure the ligaments -- the fibers that hold bone to bone. Or you can injure the cartilage -- the smooth cushions at the end of bones that keep the bones from rubbing together.

Dr. Dan