DVD Review: Tae Bo® 2004 Capture the Power: Strength

Are you ready to step up a notch with your workouts? Try the Billy Blanks' Tae Bo® 2004 Capture the Power series DVD entitled Strength. Tae Bo® Strength incorporates weights to increase the intensity of your exercise routine.

I rediscovered Tae Bo® a few years ago. I needed to lose weight but I was reluctant to try Tae Bo® again. The first videos I had tried about ten years ago left me wanting more-more motivation and more variation. I had also developed knee problems since I first tried Tae Bo® and I wondered if the fitness routines would be "knee friendly". I was pleasantly surprised by what I found with the 2004 Capture the Power series.

Billy Blanks and Tae Bo® keep evolving. The 2004 Capture the Power series introduced fresh routines and new tools. Billy Blanks developed two half pound weighted balls to add strength training to the workouts. Everyone needs strength training. At the gym, I would do cardiovascular training on the elliptical machine or the treadmill. Then, I would use free weights or weight machines for the strength training portion of my workout. Tae Bo® Strength allows me to get cardiovascular and strength training in one intense workout without leaving my home.

The weighted ball technology increases the muscle work in the routine, and everyone knows that muscle tissue burns more calories than fat. In the workout, Billy will take you step by step through a series of bicep curls, military presses, triceps kickbacks, and deltoid moves with the balls to build more muscle. The balls are held in the hands throughout the workout to help increase balance and execution. The balls only weigh half a pound each but they are effective. Billy recommends that the weighted balls not be used the first time through the workout in order to get used to the Strength routine.

The routines are more complex and challenging than the Tae Bo® Energy DVD. With each new workout, the routines build on the ones before. Kicks and punches are combined in unique sequences to achieve maximum results in minimum time. Tae Bo® has taught me to work smarter. And the whole time I'm working my arms and legs; my abdominal muscles are growing stronger to stabilize my midsection and my lower back.

I was impressed with the motivational words during the workouts. Billy Blanks keeps me going even when I want to give up. He lets you know that tiredness is normal and falling off balance happens to everyone. As I have continued using Tae Bo® Strength, my fitness level has increased. My arms have begun to show definition thanks to Tae Bo® Strength. I can make it through a forty-eight minute workout and still feel energized at the end. My knee is in great shape, too. The workout intensity is high, but the lower body moves are effective without jarring my knee. My leg muscles get the work they need without sacrificing my knee to do it.

Overall, I recommend Tae Bo® Strength to anyone looking to shape and tone their body. The routines don't get dull and the instruction is top notch.