Don't sleep on Tae-Bo...

Now. Many of you may know Of Billy Blanks. I don't. I mean, aside from watching two of his movies, I really don't know him. They say he's a World Champion. Ok.... My girlfriend and I did a Tae Bo work out today, and despite the tape being about 14 years old, the fact remains... I HAD A BLAST!!! AND I WAS SHOCKED THAT I HAD A BLAST!!! Being NASM certified, the entire workout read like a properly structured cardiovascular training session - which it is - only you don't realize that until AFTER you're drenched in your own sweat... and possibly fecal matter... depending on your fitness level. I think I'm in excellent condition... and i was dripping in sweat by the end of the session, thinking to myself: " Did this B@#$% drug me?!?!?!" But isn't that how life is: the first time something doesn't make sense to us, we tend to blame our girlfriends... who may or may not have drugged us... 99.99 percent of the time, they have drugged us... with their estrogen levels... I digress... It starts with a decent warm up, with lots of dynamic stretches, which I sense are some of the Warm ups that Billy used as he was preparing for his training sessions back in the day. Not a problem, because as I did the warm ups, I learned a thing or two and my wheel started to spin Big Time. Speaking of tiny leotards... My ONLY complaint was the fact that Billy wears a leotard that is about 3 sizes too small, but I suspect that many of the women... and some of the men that watch the program don't mind it, which is ok... BECAUSE ITS AMERICA!!! AND I LOVE IT!!!! The tempo starts slow and gradually builds to a fever pitch, where you're punching and kicking and having so much fun that you don't even realize that you haven't heard your girlfriend for the last 20 minutes... because you knocked her out in the first 5 and you've been trampling her for the last ten minutes... Sorry baby:( I think I challenge myself pretty well during my training sessions... but I found myself digging deep when it came time to throw that last roundhouse kick in a set of 20. Very intense. I was slapped in the face as well, because here I am, this big strong guy... and i'm struggling to through 20 roundhouse kicks in succession. As for the self defense aspect, I wouldn't rely on the combos you're learning as you watch to defend your family: the punches and kicks are mainly for conditioning, and nothing more. Can you modify some of the punches and combos so that you can use them in a fight? Absolutely. But that takes us into the realm of Combat, and sparring with other live individuals in front of you. I love fighting, or Martial Arts, because even though neither one of the combatants in saying a word, there's a silent conversation going on. It's like a hurried negotiation, with tons of time constraints...That's for another post.... I'm gonna put on my Chinese Medicine hat for a moment and express the workout like this: Dynamic warm ups - yang Punches and kicks - yang Cool down - Yin Which reminds me: I've been on my Chinese medicine grind since recently and I have a theory in regards to dropping excess pounds: Yang is expansive and goes outward, like a fire. Maybe a person who has a slow metabolism is more on the Yin side, and therefore has their water and earth element rhythms overactive....? My observations so far: Earth Rhythms tend to be very... fleshy ( read: overweight). Hey, there's nothing wrong with that. Water elements( yin, contracting, shrinking) to be on the slim side, as do Metal and Fire rhythms... Spring rhythms are tight asses.... In Chinese Medical theory, each person vibrates to a particular rhythm, and each rhythm has meridians associated with it, and each rhythm has a tendency to become out of balance and manifest a certain condition ( diabetes, heart problems, asthma, etc) Balance the rhythm and you balance the condition. Anywho... TANGENT!!! Tae Bo works. 3- 5 times a week, depending on your schedule and daily activities. Make sure you drink plenty of water before hand, and make sure that you take a rest when you need it. Like I said before, i'm exceptionally fit and I struggled with certain techniques, but then again, that is telling me that those muscles may have a imbalance, and concurrently, the meridians that feed those muscles may need corrections.... another topic, another post. Have Fun!!! Amir