Tae Bo Extreme
Equipment needed: step, light hand weights
Level: Intermediate
Bottom line: the inexplicable charm that propels many Tae Bo workouts past their flaws fails to make this workout challenging, useful or fun.
I’m trying to be open-minded about this DVD, but doing Tae Bo on a step is like having Hulk Hogan teach you ballet. It just doesn’t work. Personally, I enjoy Billy’s manic style and even find his sweaty minions grunting in the background motivating. The reason this workout fails is because it’s just bad.
I’ve said this before: Tae Bo workouts have flaws that might otherwise make them “bad,” but when I do them, I find myself so motivated, energized and challenged that I couldn’t care less about the production quality. The problem for me is that Tae Bo Extreme uses the same old, repetitive moves from the rest of the Tae Bo workouts, except it uses them in much easier, slower combinations that are awkwardly placed on the step for part of the time. Billy pauses often to reteach these familiar moves, which wouldn’t be a problem in an introductory or beginner level DVD but certainly isn’t appropriate for one that calls itself “extreme.” The cardio lasts for about 20 minutes and is followed by a toning section that is thoroughly useless for advanced exercisers.
I know that many users of this DVD enjoy it, and many cite Billy’s enthusiasm as the cause. Really, any workout that involves a lot of motion can be a good workout if you’re motivated to put work into it, but this one flopped for me on pretty much every level.
Overall: Compared to other Tae Bo workouts and other workout DVDs, this one is awkward and unchallenging. I can’t imagine doing it again.