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Maybe more than you want, according to skeptics. Some fitness experts fault the tapes for inadequate warm-up time and instruction. "He's working at a speed that's very quick," says Linda Shelton, an editor at Shape magazine. "Too quick for most people to execute a safe kick or punch." The many repetitions, often without modifications, may risk overuse injuries to the shoulder and back. "This is a program for the fitness elite," says Petra Robinson, a vice president at the American Fitness Association. "It's too intense for beginners."
Don't tell that to Marsha Boysaw, 37, an attorney who works out to Tae-Bo four times a week. Her abs jut out below a damp sports bra as she discloses that she lost 38 lbs. in her first six months of Blanks' vigorous workouts. Jackie Gradinger, 30, a veteran of the treadmill and step aerobics, proclaims Tae-Bo "the hardest workout I've ever done." She too is impressed by its effect on her waistline, but she adds, "I do it mostly for my mind." Lynne Devlin, 37, a preschool teacher who ordered the tapes in January, finds the mind-body benefits in perfect balance. "My energy is through the roof," she exclaims after the hourlong workout. "Now I can go clean the house!" And while she does, Blanks is cleaning up.