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Tae-Bo
Combining Boxing and Motivation
By Julia Rosien
"It involves a lot of twisting at the waist, which I don't like," says Stephanie Whitts, a 55-year-old self-proclaimed acrobatics buff. Whitts thinks it's a fad. However, Tae-Bo has been around for many years, but the celebrity personality of Billy Blanks has pushed it into the spotlight recently.
For some, the workouts are too intense. "I think it's something many will throw themselves into and out of quickly," says 28-year-old Liz Waters. Waters prefers to go to the gym for the warm ups offered before and after a session. She finds Blanks videos "monotone and spacey" with too much pep talk. Waters agrees the lure of Tae-Bo is Blanks himself. "Most guys just can't imagine hopping around to music with Richard Simmons or some girl in spandex. The strong macho guy thing sucks them in," says Waters.
Blanks is a seven-time world karate champion and 36-time gold medal champion in international competition. He holds a seventh degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, the dominant Korean version of karate, and black belts in five other forms of karate. His videos hit the top 50 chart in 1999 – the only fitness videos to ever achieve that.
Videos can be fun but doing a program like this without the benefit of an instructor also can be dangerous. Standing in front of a television is not the same as someone putting his hands on your hips and adjusting your stance. "I walk around moving people and showing them how to correct their technique," says Marchesanzo.
So are you ready for the workout? Grab your water bottle and shorts and head to the nearest gym or video store. Go into it expecting results, and you'll get them!