Of the three workouts in the new 2004 Capture the Power set, I find Power to be the most fun. It is mostly cardio with two short strength segments, one at the beginning just after the warm up and one at the end just before the cool down. The 1/2 squishy balls are used throughout the entire workout except for a short segement of jabs and kicks. Billy frequently cues to squeeze the balls as you work to increase the intensity. Punching while holding the balls takes a little getting used to, and doing speed bags while squeezing is definitely tougher.

This workout will seem familiar to anyone who has done Tae Bo in the past. The combos are made up mostly of typical Tae Bo moves. Some of the combos are a bit awkward (even Shellie messes up at one point) but they're only repeated a few times each. Each combo is done slowly a few times through before going at tempo. One of the differences in this new set is the numbering of punches and kicks which is described fully in the Foundation instructional video, but it's not hard to pick up: jab = one, cross = two, etc. Though this system is used pretty conisistently in the Energy workout Billy kind of drops it for the most part in Power.

Overall, I felt that this workout kept my heartrate up more consistently than the Energy workout. This is a great workout for Tae Bo fans, and a good place for newcomers to start. The warm up was a bit short, but I like the new extended tai chi cooldowns.

Instructor Comments:
Billy is at his motivational best in this workout. I found myself tearing up a bit at his ending message. Though his cueing has improved a bit, he still does not mirror cue which doesn't bother me anymore.

Kate Hedstrom