Tae-Bo or Not Tae-Bo?

A hot workout. A ubiquitous infomercial. But has the trendy new fitness routine been oversold?

It's time for y'all to put some gas in your tanks," shouts Billy Blanks. He cranks up the volume on the stereo, and the Billy Blanks' World Training Center in Sherman Oaks, Calif., is flooded with the ragged sounds of Rob Base & D.J. E-Z Rock and human agony. Teeth clenched, sweat dripping, 150 men and women kick out their right feet, then bow at the waist and kick back their left feet. "Lean, guys, lean!" commands Blanks, as he demonstrates the move from a stage emblazoned with the message GOD IS GOOD. He then adopts a fighter's stance, and on...

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