I've been going to Bally for over 5 years. They have similar boot camp led by an instructor for an hour to 1.5 hour. Bally has fixed and straight schedule. And the class is usually full and crowed with 20-40 people.
Billy Blank's DVD let me do it whenever I can in my own room. I don't have to fight traffic after work to Bally anymore. The bonus is when I have to travel for work, I can bring it with me and play it on a laptop, too. Sweet!
The intensity is about the same as Bally. Billy Blank may be more focus on the Deltoid and Shoulder. He probably thinks when you see a better upper body of yourself, you will stick with the routine. So, the idea is good. Leg exercise is a bit lacking. Nevertheless, it is a very good start on cardiovascular workout. Damage on join is less then Steps or running. It is very close to swimming when you use resistance band.
Liked many other said, I don't like the bands come with it. It is worthwhile to get your own bell by a third party or get 2 dumpbells. 5-12 lb weight is about right, depending on your condition. Newbie might want to start light with 2 bottles of unopen V8. Each bottle is about 2 lb and the weight is free. After the work out, you can drink them. :) The key difference between belt and weight is that belt has progressive resistance for each motion. Weight has fixed resistance. I prefer belt and buying new belts every few months. Belt wears out; weight last very very long. Just checkout your grandpap's garage whom think he once was superman. :)
It has been now some years since I started training myself with Billy Blanks's DVDs. I appreciate these trainings of Boot Camp Elite because these are trainings which works all the body, ultra-effective and dynamic. With the elastic bands, we can cut a little more at the level of shoulders and arms. For those who want to push a little farther, I recommend you strongly the Ultimate Boot Camp, which pushes farther the limits of the mental and physical endurance and resistance, I did not find more extreme and effective, on today...
First off let me say that I love Billy and that he has done wonders for me! So anyway, after purchasing this set and receiving it with one of the bands broken I sent it back for a replacement. I received my replacement and was able to use the bands for not even a week when one of the bands broke. So here we go again another broke band! And it was broke in the same place, the little black part that is SUPPOSE to hold the 1 lb. weight in it! I love the idea of the weighted bands and I really enjoyed working out with them for the short amount of time that I was able to use them. I can say that I felt the workout alot more than with the resistance bands without the weights. However, the design needs to be improved. I have the other Billy Boot Camp and I think that overall I enjoyed that set more than this one. Some of the floor exercises on Mission 3 of this set were a little uncomfortable to me. I enjoyed Mission 2, because it was challenging! I would NOT advise anyone that is a beginner to purchase this set! So I'm giving it 3 stars because while I wasn't happy with the bands, I did think that the videos were worth 3 stars.
I first discovered Billy Blanks about four or five years ago. My mother ordered the Boot Camp Elite program from an infomercial for herself and never touched it. One day I got tired of it just sitting there and I started using it. I lost so much weight so fast. I ate what I would usually eat but had more self-control. When I got pregnant with my son I let my body go to crap. I gained just about one hundred pounds from about six months pre-pregnancy through the last month of being pregnant. I was 293 pounds just before giving birth. Afterwards I dropped down to about 275lbs. As soon as my body could handle it, I ordered this Billy Blanks program from Amazon (the old one had long been lost). I am now down to 245 and still dropping. It's taking longer this time but the results I'm getting are real and my self-esteem is slowly rising. My goal weight is 185 lbs. and I know I can do it by the end of this year! For all you skeptics, BUY THE DAMN WORKOUTS! They will change your life, seriously.
I started out as recommended, with Mission One, which is a primer to Mission Two- you mostly just get the basic moves down and start working with the 'Billy Bands'. The Billy Bands can be awkward, even though they do seem to intensify the workout by a lot. Mission Two is tough! I thought I was in great shape. I work out on a regular basis at the gym and at home, and I am having a hard time keeping up. I am going to keep trying this and I am following the training schedule suggested. The only problems with this program are: 1) Billy can be pretty corny, and he sort of tries to give really poorly rehearsed pep talks at the end of each DVD- I think he should add more cool down and stretches instead. 2) The Billy Bands can be tricky. I adjusted them to be shorter for Mission One but for Mission Two I had to let the tension back out again because there is absolutely no way you can do Mission Two with too much tension in the bands. Even Billy has technical difficulties on the DVD with his bands. 3) The workout is so hard that you can't realistically do all of the sets without losing good form and so I find that I am getting some strain in my neck and my back- two places that you really shouldn't feel your workout. I am going to keep at it though because I have seen a difference, mostly in my upper body and abs. I have done other Billy Blanks videos and I think he goes too fast to maintain form a lot of times, but I understand that he probably does that to increase your heart rate. 4) Mission Two really works your upper body and upper abs, but there isn't as much concentration on the lower body and lower abs. I have yet to attempt Mission Three which concentrates on the abs, so I am sure that I will get a lower ab workout there. I think I am going to purchase his leg workout to try to round out the whole experience. All in all it's not bad, but I think it's a little too advanced for people who are just starting an exercise program. I am not positive I would purchase this again.