Tae Bo Total - Basics

The Tae Bo Total series seems to be much less common than some of the other Tae Bo videos, I believe the series was sold on QVC a few years ago. From what I've seen so far, the series is very similar to the Tae Bo II: Get Ripped vidoes, and these two basics videos are quite similar to the two basics from that series.

The Basics I video is a combination of floor work and kickboxing. It begins with a lengthy (7-minute) warm-up which includes a lot of nice stretches. The warm-up ends on the floor, and you move right into butt moves on your hands and knees. These are tough moves, but the segment only lasts about 3 minutes.

You then return to standing for a 12-minute kickboxing segment. Billy performs many sets of punches, but few kicks; only the roundhouse kick was included. Also, he does not really put together different punches in combination; rather, he combines punches with leg movements (not kicks), and I found some of these combinations felt awkward to perform. At the end of the kickboxing segment, there is about a 2-minute segment where you hold a static balance move with one leg raised. Finally, the workout ends with some very brief (about 2 minutes) cool-down stretches. This video was 26 minutes long.

The Basics II video is a standing routine. The 6-minute warm-up was more active, as it included some moves to begin raising your heart rate in addition to the stretches; there were also two brief sets of push-ups at the end. Billy then moves into a 17-minute kickboxing segment. The first part of this consisted entirely of punches, mostly jabs with a lot of standard aerobics moves mixed in (eg, squats, jumping jacks). Towards the end of the section, Billy gets into some kicks, doing a front kick, rear kick, and then a front/back combo. This segment ends with a knee/kick/punch combination, and then there are 4 minutes of cool-down stretches. This video was 27 minutes long.

I preferred the second video, as I look to Tae Bo for the kickboxing, not the floor work. I wish that Billy would do more kick/punch combinations rather than doing everything in isolation. However, this are nice videos if you don't like combinations and enjoy doing basic punches with only a few kicks thrown in. Tae Bo is expecially nice if you are looking to work your abs in a standing position; Billy frequently emphasizes tightening your abs, especially in the second video.