Tae Bo Flex Express Review

I got this DVD from the library over a week ago. I renewed it at least once since I was scared to try  it. I did Tae Bo way back when. I had it on VHS back in the late 90s. I was a Tae Bo addict. I was about 100 pounds lighter, and it still kicked my ass. I'm not sure what possessed me to get Tae Bo from the library in my current condition, but I did it. I checked out the back and noticed that it was only 21 minutes long. I figured I could get through 21 minutes even if I had to huff and puff and stop every two minutes to catch my breath. I wanted to get through a Tae Bo work out, and I was going to do it if only to find out what was different with Tae Bo Flex.

All that hype, and the DVD fell short for me, way short.

Once you hit play, you've got plenty of time to go get water and/or set up your BodyMedia workout tab and your Nexercise workout. Once you get through all of the intro stuff, you get the studio with Billy Blanks standing in the front and a bunch of people behind him doing some warm up move. Billy Blanks says a few things and then goes right into a stretch series. I've always been told lately that you need to warm up before you stretch, but nothing told me that I should be warmed up before starting the workout. The stretching lasts about four minutes. There is little direction and even watching him, I was confused about what was moving where. 

Once the stretching is done, you go into some punching exercises and we learn about what makes Tae Bo Flex different than the Tae Bo of old. Well actually, not so much. After you've done some sets of a particular move, he says, "Flex." Which is kinda like playing Freeze Frame when you're a kid. He says Flex and you hold your position. It doesn't matter how awkwardly uncomfortable that position is. It's okay to fall all over the place though, he even does it at one point. 

There are some knee raises and some tap out type things. There is also a section with round house kicks. Oh and let's not forget the jumping jacks and round house kick combos. Those were fun. NOT. Then you do some more punching. Without warning, you're into the cool down. He doesn't even say anything about being in the cool down. He just plants his feet and starts raising his hands up over his head while breathing deeply. 

I did find this workout to be a huge challenge to my balance. I have no balance, and "flexing" while only having one leg on the ground and my other limbs going in three different directions, is a bit difficult for me. I didn't really feel the burn in this workout though. I realize it's called Tae Bo Flex Express, so that would indicate that it's going to be short, and I did read the back so I knew it would only be 21 minutes, but I've done 10 minute Tae Bo DVDs that caused more pain when I was 100 pounds lighter. 

My BodyMedia device screen shots are below. The tallest blue blip on the left is the workout. It doesn't look very impressive.