Search - Taebo - Ultimate Upper/Lower Body on DVD

Awesome Assortment of Upper/Lower Body Exercises

Kelly Garbato | Kearney, MO USA | 11/22/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I've been doing Tae Bo for almost two years now; I started with the original 4-pack, gradually made my way through the Basic and Advanced workouts, and am proud to say that I can now do the Tae Bo II: Get Ripped DVDs (generally considered to be the most difficult in the Tae Bo series) without missing a beat. Along the way, I lost 30 pounds and gained a ton of confidence. Tae Bo is a fun and effective workout - if you're in search of a new program, look no further!

However, if you've never done Tae Bo before, I definitely do not recommend the Ultimate Upper/Lower Body for beginners. This DVD features two 55-minute workouts, each of which is made up of clips from previous workouts. As the title implies, one workout focuses on upper body work (i.e., arms), the other, on the lower body (mostly legs, with some ab work thrown in for good measure). Both of the compilations tend to jump from move to move very quickly, with little explanation or chance for recovery. As usual, some of Billy's instructions can be confusing or erratic, and the format in these "best of" DVDs exaggerates these flaws rather than eliminating them. This is disappointing; you'd think that the editors would have chosen the best representations of each exercise, but they don't always. These problems also plague the other "Ultimate" DVD, "Ultimate Abs/Butt."

Nonetheless, I love this DVD! I'm less than thrilled with some of Billy's newer workouts - ever since he switched from Ventura Distribution to Good Times Entertainment, it seems like his DVDs have gotten more stylish but less challenging (e.g., the Capture the Power series). Thus, I find myself hoarding as many of the old workouts as possible. Luckily, Ultimate Upper Body/Lower Body makes a fantastic addition to my library!

The Lower Body workout, in particular, offers a steady yet challenging cardio workout, with lots of roundhouse kicks, sidekicks, knee raises, and squats. You'll definitely feel this one the next day! I'm not as impressed with the Upper Body workout, though; many of the punches are performed while you're balancing on one leg and thrusting the other foot to and fro. Consequently, I find myself worrying more about keeping my balance than executing strong and controlled punches during these exercises. Even so, the Upper Body workout really does work your arms!

An added perk of having split Upper/Lower Body (and Ab/Butt) workouts is that, if one part of your body is feeling especially fatigued, you can still put in a good workout without falling over from exhaustion. As my arms become more muscular, and I put more effort into my punches, I find that my arms wear out more quickly than my legs. On days when I can barely manage a decent punch, I just pop in the Ultimate Lower Body workout, since there's very little arm work involved. I know Billy and the crew were probably just in search of a way to better maximize their profits when they pieced these compilations together, but the Best Of/Ultimate series definitely makes for an effective workout program, particularly in the long term.

In regards to the workouts themselves, I think the Lower Body deserves 5 stars, the Upper Body, 3. Production quality and editing is less than stellar, though, so I'll have to knock 1 star off of the final average, bringing the rating to 3 stars total. The Lower Body workout alone is worth the price, though, especially if you're starting to become bored with the Tae Bo DVDs you already own and find the newer ones a tad too easy."