Best of Tae Bo: Ultimate Upper & Lower Body [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

Both the upper and lower workouts in this DVD will get your heart rate going and the sweat flowing.

The snippets of workouts are from various other tapes that Billy has already produced, which is why I gave it only 4 stars. With a lot of the snippets coming from "Get Ripped" and "Live". I own both of those series so it was a little disappointing to be seeing the same routines, however, it did give me assurance that both of those series are a great workout.

The leg workout is a killer while the upper body will leave your arms and shoulders screaming for aspirin.

Overall a great addition to my ever growing library of Taebo!

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.

So I bought this 6 months ago, after already been used to Tae Bo, and I must say the Lower Body is my favorite! It definatley makes me sweat, the moves are fast, and I am not standing still at any time. I want to be able to keep moving and this workout provides just that! And targets really good ares of the lower and upper body, especially the hips!. The moves are also not that hard- a lot of moves are the same as from the "Get Ripped" series. These are each 45 min long- so shorter than the other Tae Bo workouts which are usually about an hour. I rarely do the Upper Body because I dont sweat as much ( I dont know why but if I dont sweat I am turned off easily, that is why I have never purchased yoga or pilates! lol)

I definatley recommend this to anyone!