Billy Blanks
Well, just when I wasn't sure if a new Tae-bo tape would perk my
interest, out comes Advanced Live 9. This is a great well rounded
workout! I am very excited about this because I've weeded out my Tae-bo
collection to my favorites; 2, 4 and 5.
I did this tape with my niece after dropping my only child off to his
freshman year at college. I needed a good workout! I was sweating,
laughing, and exhausted upon finishing this tape. We had a great time
and I'm glad I found another keeper.
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The tape started off with a good cardio warm-up similar to his other
tapes, but Billy seemed like a college freshman himself; excited to be
giving us such a great workout. The stretches were good and by the time
the workout began, we were VERY WARMED UP!
His combos were so varied, there wasn't a moment for clock watching. We
were not bored with this tape at all and couldn't believe how the time
flew by. What I liked the most was his build-up of arm patterns along
with aerobic movements that progressed to good kicking segments.
The roundhouse segments were long and not as fast as in his prior
tapes. He also did a front kick/back kick combo that was pleasingly
long (don't you kickboxing fans LOVE long kicking segments!) and then he
proceeded to do standing ab work that was very cardio intensive. We
then went to the floor for a new back kick move that had you balancing
on one hand and one foot while squatting and kicking to the back (safe,
but quite challenging!)
We then hit the floor for some quick glute work (intense kicks and
isometric holding) and THEN we did a very difficult pushup segment!
First you did regular pushups, then 3 down, 3 up and then a quick 8,
after which you repeated the sequence several times - it was awesome.
After the pushups came a challenging series of floor abs and a nice
stretch.
I loved this workout. I have found some very good kickboxing tapes
lately, including Todd Gheiser's and Eversely Forte's new advanced tapes
so this was like getting the icing on the cake. Billy's latest is a
winner all the way!
Instructor comments:
Billy was fun and upbeat during this tape, however, he took off at one
point, while another cast member taught the class (it was only for a
very short time). When he came back, it was back to business. He
seemed very pleased with this workout and I felt a new enthusiasm coming
from him and the rest of the class. I give this tape and Billy a solid
A+!
Janet O'Neil
8/19/00