February 28, 2025 • 32 mins
Can 20-minute workouts really build muscle and improve endurance, or are they just a way to make us feel productive without real progress?
In this episode, Britany tackles one of the biggest fitness debates—are short workouts actually effective, or are we just fooling ourselves? Whether you’re a busy mom squeezing in exercise during nap time or someone trying to stay consistent without spending hours in the gym, this episode breaks down exactly when 20 minutes is enough—and when it’s not.
Let's Chat About...
✔️ The minimum effective amount of strength training to see real progress
✔️ How short workouts can be structured for maximum efficiency
✔️ The biggest mistake people make with quick workouts (and how to fix it)
✔️ When 20-minute workouts AREN'T enough to achieve your goals
✔️ How perfectionism is holding you back from making real progress
If you’ve ever wondered, “Is a 20-minute workout even worth it?”—this episode has your answer.
👉 Grab your home gym equipment guide here for a 10% discount on the best gear for effective home workouts.
👉 Get a free trial to Britany's workout programs on the Sweat app here.
👉 Love this episode? Share it with a friend who’s stuck in the ‘I don’t have time’ trap!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:06):
Welcome to the Filter Free Friday podcast.
I'm your host, BrittanyWilliams, and this is the
podcast that reminds you thatthe distance between the life
that you want to live and thelife that you're currently
living isn't nearly as big asyou think.
How are you?
Happy Friday or whatever dayyou're listening to this.
I hope it's got Friday vibes,okay?
Because we be vibing up in here,okay?
Our Filter Free family.
(00:27):
I had an LOL moment this weekbecause someone asked me why I
no longer share my bookrecommendations.
And I wanted to be like, bitch,it's because I don't have time
to be reading anymore.
All right.
The girl who used to share herbook recommendations did not
have children.
Okay, that woman wasn't a mom.
(00:48):
But but but I am back to readingbooks.
I mean, you know, Blake's twoand I'm finally at the point
where I'm like, okay, I think Ican start reading again.
But I am reading books that likewill help me advance in work.
So it still kind of feels likeI'm being productive.
Because if you're anything likeme, if you're You aren't feeling
productive.
You feel like you're not doinganything with your life at all,
(01:09):
which is just the hour-longtherapy session I just had.
Literally just had it.
That's all we talked about wasmy sense of productivity kind of
seeps into my everyday life andI need to like nip that in the
bud.
You don't have to be productive100% of the time.
But I was spending way too muchtime on the TikToks, okay?
I was just spending hours uponhours just like at night after I
(01:31):
put Blake to sleep, just likeobsessed with social media and
it just was getting to my psychea little bit so I was like I
need to start reading again evenif it's work right which is like
sucks because you I wish I hadsomething that was truly um like
just a passion hobby and justfor fun but like that that's not
your girl's personality but Ineeded something to get me away
(01:54):
from spending hours and hours onTikTok at night Because I've
just been stuck in this likecomparison trap kind of
situation.
And tell me if this soundsfamiliar.
It's like you spend the entiremorning putting together a full
blown circus act, right?
Like you got to entertain yourkid, your husband.
You've got to wrestle your kidto nap time.
(02:16):
Like that's a Herculean feat.
Like we're doing all of thethings.
And like I get to nap time andI've got one and a half hours to
accomplish all of my life goals.
I have to work out.
I got to do the chores.
I have to somehow relax.
And like, first of all, relaxingisn't really even in my
vocabulary.
I'm 36, almost 37 years old, andI still am not sure if I'm
(02:39):
properly doing it right.
I just get to that one and ahalf free hours and I
immediately am spending 30minutes doom scrolling on
Instagram or TikTok.
And then I'm just met with theseannoying AF videos of 20
something influencers with theperfect body spending two plus
hours in the gym talking abouthow hard, how hard work gets you
(03:01):
to your dream body.
I'm going to be completelyfreaking honest and transparent
here.
Like I can't stand it.
And this is coming from someonewho is in this fitness
influencer space.
And I tread lightly because Icould be that influencer for
someone, right?
Like I, here I am at 36 lookingat the 20 something saying like,
oh, F off.
I don't care about your perfectget ready with me life.
(03:24):
I don't want to see it.
And there could be someone 20years older than me looking at
my life saying like oh I don'twant to see that back when you
know like you had it easy or Idon't think anyone thinks that
toddler moms have it easy butmaybe there's something that
you're jealous of in my life theway that I'm jealous of the 20
year old it still gets into mypsyche and if it gets into your
psyche I want you to know thatthat's okay all right So I feel
(03:47):
like I'm in nap time.
OK, let's set the scene.
It's nap time.
I got a timer is gone off.
I've got an hour and a half toget my life together before
Blake wakes up again.
And in an hour and a half, I gotto fit in a 30 minute workout.
And I just feel like I see.
these Instagram, I don't want tocall them models, but I'm going
(04:09):
to call them models, even thoughI know they're not models.
And I just feel shitty aboutmyself because they, to get that
life and even, even to film, tohave the time to film, to get
ready with me takes up so muchtime and time is something I
just do not have.
And I'm tired of like doomscrolling on TikTok and
Instagram, watching people whohave a lot of time.
(04:33):
Like And I know that the answeris like, well, you should wake
up earlier.
I refuse to wake up any earlierthan I have to because I truly
believe that sleep is the elixirto eternal health and youth and
is the answer to all first worldproblems, okay?
I'm convinced.
So I refuse to tell anyone, ifyou don't have the time, just
wake up earlier.
(04:54):
Like that's not always thesolve, okay?
For some people it is, but it'snot always the solve.
And sometimes you just findyourself Comparing yourself to
other people on the internet andthen you, and then I do that for
like 30 minutes, the first 30minutes of nap time.
And then I look at my dumbbellsand I'm like, well, shit, now I
feel bad about myself.
I need to work out.
But then I look at the timer andI only have 20 minutes to work
(05:14):
out because I've been doomscrolling for the other hour.
And then I get into my workoutand I'm like, is this 20 minute
workout even worth it?
Like, is it even effective?
If I'm sitting here jealous ofthe 20 year old on my screen,
then like let's freaking worklike we're 20 years old again.
But I don't have time to workthat hard.
I've got 20 minutes.
Like can I achieve my goal in 20minutes?
(05:37):
Like that is something that Istruggle with.
I know that you're strugglingwith.
And the good news for you isthat I've been there.
I've done that.
I've had those feelings.
I've done the horse and ponyshow.
Horse and pony show?
The dog and pony show.
And we're going to talk aboutit, okay?
Does 20 minutes really actuallydo anything?
(05:58):
Or are we blowing smoke up ourasses in an effort to feel like
we're healthy and active, okay?
And does health and activeactually have to take the two
hours that the 20-somethings aretaking at the gym to take their
selfies and to lift up theirshirts and show us their
six-pack abs?
Like, is that...
what success is or can we besuccessful in 20 minutes?
(06:20):
Well, pull up a chair, pop somepopcorn, because yes, 20-minute
workouts can be effective, buthow effective they are depends
on four key factors that we'regoing to get into today, okay?
First, what are your goals?
Are you trying to build strengthor are you trying to improve
endurance?
Are you just trying to stayactive?
Are you trying to lose fat?
(06:41):
Are you trying to do your firstpull up, your first push up on
your toes?
Okay.
Are you trying to run a sub fourhour marathon?
Because honey, if you're tryingto run your first sub four hour
marathon, 20 minutes a day ain'tgoing to cut it.
Okay.
Sorry to be the bearer of badnews on that one.
Okay.
But the answers to all of thesequestions are going to determine
if 20 minutes is right for you.
And I'm going to go depth inthat in a bit, but I need you to
(07:03):
start ideating in your head likewhat are you actually trying to
achieve because if you know whatyou're trying to achieve then i
can help answer the question is20 minutes a day enough right
what are you doing in those 20minutes a day those are the
second that's the second factorthere's a difference between
doing random thrown togetherworkouts uh with exercises that
you've liked on instagram versusa structured strength training
(07:26):
session there is a difference in20 minutes of easy running and
20 minutes of sprints andinterval work how you spend that
20 minutes is going to todetermine whether said 20
minutes is effective or not.
Factor number three, what's yourstarting point?
A beginner's needs are gonna bedifferent from someone's who's
been lifting for years.
And look, you're not an idiot.
You can probably guess that 20minutes is gonna be more
(07:46):
effective for someone who's abeginner or returning to fitness
than it is for someone who'sbeen consistently working out
for years and years and years.
I'm sorry to burst your bubble.
Again, I wanna be clear, thisdoes not mean that 20 minutes
will never be effective for agym veteran, but it does dictate
what you need to be doing inthat 20-minute workout for it to
be effective.
(08:07):
And the last factor that we talkabout a thousand and a half
times on this podcast is what'syour current phase of life?
What does your schedule allow?
Do you have kids?
Do you have a stressful job?
Like, look, I'm not going to behere and tell like a lawyer
who's in the middle of astressful case working 100 plus
hours a week that she needs towork out like an hour at the gym
every day because it's notrealistic, even though working
(08:30):
out at an hour at the gym everyday may be the fastest way to
reach her goals.
I'll be honest, that might bethe most efficient and effective
way or maybe not efficient, themost effective way to get her to
her goals.
But if an hour at the gym everyday is a plan that won't stick,
she's not going to get to hergoals anyways.
So 20 minutes a day is going tobe effective for a lawyer who's
working 100 plus hours a daybecause it's what keep her in
(08:53):
the game, right?
That keeps her moving.
And yes, she, in this example,she would sacrifice how quickly
she gets to her goals, howquickly she sees that muscle
definition, let's say.
But she's not going to get thereif she never works out.
So we got to find a way to gether progressing or and still
crushing it at her job and doingall the things like you know how
(09:15):
like we're trying to fire on allcylinders like that's the kind
of person where i'm like it'sokay if you don't work out an
hour a day because i still wantyou to be successful in your job
same goes for new mom like noway in hell am i telling a new
mom to a six week old that 20minutes isn't effective for her
at this phase of life a 20minute hot mess express workout
(09:36):
in her milk stain bra that she'sbeen wearing for like the past
11 days is the equivalent to aperfectly strong structured
three-hour workout for some 22year old gym bro who eats
nothing but steak and proteinshakes and has the worst
smelling farts because if youknow if you eat a lot of protein
your farts get a little stinkyokay and you know the type the
gym bro who's so obsessed withthe gym that he like can't land
(09:57):
a girlfriend like he's workingon the body to show off to said
girlfriend but he can't land agirlfriend because he's always
in the gym his three-hourworkout to me is the equivalent
of a new mom Like stretching for20 minutes.
A new mom laying on the groundsaying kumbaya.
Like that workout, they'reequally as effective.
(10:18):
They're equally as effective tome.
Like you can't tell me that 20minutes isn't effective for a
new mom of a six-week-old justbecause somebody else is
spending three hours in a gym.
You can't, like, no.
No, there's not one way to dothings around here.
Okay.
And look, there are going to besome fitness trainers who
(10:38):
disagree with me on everythingI'm about to say, but they can
suck it.
Studies show that short, higheffort sessions can stimulate
muscle growth.
There's just a right and a wrongway to stimulate said muscle
growth in a short period oftime.
Things like utilizing supersets,circuit training, and compound
lifts can all be effective waysto gain muscle and definition.
(11:01):
So I'll kind of give you anexample.
Let's say we're doing a fullbody strength day.
We've got, you could do it acouple different ways, right?
You could do three sets of eightto 10 hip thrusts with one
minute rest in between to targetyour glutes.
And then you take like a twominute rest, you know, set up,
get your new equipment.
And then you do three sets of 10bicep curls to target your
(11:22):
biceps with a one minute rest inbetween all those sets, right?
Like, so you imagine you'redoing a set of one exercise, you
rest, you complete that threetimes, and then you move to
another exercise and you do thatone exercise three times.
That's kind of a, I don't evenactually know what that's
called.
That's just, it's just sets ofexercises.
I don't have like a easy namefor that.
(11:43):
Or you could do a superset,which means you alternate
between two exercises.
So So your glutes are going torest.
You're going to do the hipthrust and the bicep curl back
to back.
So your glutes will rest whileyou're doing the bicep curl and
your biceps will rest whileyou're doing the hip thrust,
right?
This allows for less downtimeand a faster workout.
(12:04):
Same with circuit training,where let's say you do three
rounds of four exercises back toback to back.
If you program it the right wayand you are lifting heavy
enough, you can still stimulatemuscle growth.
The key there is that you'restill lifting lifting heavy
enough what happens sometimeswhen people do circuit training
I see this a lot in my ownworkout like people who do my
workouts they see me do acircuit of let's say three
(12:27):
rounds of five exercises andthey think that they should just
use one set of dumbbells forthose five exercises but that
will hold you back from successso if you're doing a 20 minute
workout with me and it's acircuit I still am expecting you
to lift as heavy as you possiblycan with your lower body and as
heavy as you possibly can withyour upper body and fun fact
(12:47):
your upper body is not nearly asstrong as your lower body so
like you should be usingmultiple dumbbells that's a
little caveat that's a littleside point but like you can
stimulate muscle growth withinshort workouts but you have to
be lifting heavy enoughintensity is still important
okay always studies also showthat as little as four sets per
(13:10):
muscle group for an untrainednovice can be enough to gain
strength so um now it'simportant to note that like more
than four sets per muscle groupis gonna get you potentially
more benefits like it's not likefour is the optimal number but
if we're talking what is thebare minimum that someone could
do to actually see change intheir body the number isn't as
(13:34):
high as you think if you're abeginner and that last piece is
is important uh these studieshave shown this in untrained
novices okay so let's talk aboutreturning to fitness let's talk
about coming back to fitnessafter pregnancy even if it's
just injury what have you uhthere are studies Studies that
support that four sets permuscle group per week is all you
(13:55):
need to start change.
Not the most efficient, but youcan see change.
Studies also show that intensitymatters more than duration.
And we've talked about this alittle bit when it comes to the
heavy weights, but if you'rejust picking daisies and hobby
jogging on the treadmill for 20minutes, like you're not going
to run that half marathon PR.
Like I hope, I hope, I hope youknow that.
(14:20):
OK, like you can't just do do dodo do do do on your run and
think that you're just going tosuddenly be breaking some
records.
OK, and look, this goes for bothstrength workouts and cardio
workouts.
Intensity is more important thanhow long your session is.
So, you know, this means likewhen you're short on time.
(14:41):
you may benefit from doing400-meter repeats or 20-second
sprints or hill repeats or evena dumbbell-based cardio workout.
It doesn't have to be running.
Then you would going for an easyrun for 20 minutes.
This is one of the reasons why Ilove my low-impact cardio
classes in the Sweat app becausesometimes we have a short period
of time and we want to get ourheart rate up.
(15:02):
My favorite form of cardio isrunning, but if I'm really short
on time– I know that my bodywill get the most bang for its
buck if I only have 20 minutesor 15 minutes, whatever it is,
if I do one of those low-impactcardio workouts than if I went
for an easy run for 20 minutes.
It's just going to get me to mygoals because it's going to be
more intense.
(15:22):
Quality over quantity whenyou're short on time, okay?
Think interval training, thinksprints, think resistance-based
cardio.
Those can all maximize yourefficiency in short workouts.
And look, I think I have to saythis out loud first From one
perfectionist speaking toanother, you have to remember
that consistency gets moreresults than perfection.
(15:43):
And I know you know this, butI'm going to say it 100,000
times over until you startacting like it.
Okay, I'm going to be that goodgirlfriend who's going to like
beat it into your brain untilyou remember.
Do not text your ex back.
It's that same vibe.
A solid 20 minute workout fivetimes a week is better for you
than the perfect one and a halfhour workout once a week.
(16:06):
I'm going to say it again.
A 20 minute workout five times aweek is better for you than the
perfect one and a half hourworkout once a week.
Consistency gets more resultsthan perfection.
And look, I know thatperfectionism, all right?
You're waiting for a magicalblock of time to appear in your
schedule.
You're waiting for that perfecttime to fit a workout in your
(16:29):
day, okay?
You're convinced that if I justfinish these few emails, if I
can just get to Thursday, thenmy schedule will open up.
And if I can just get to nextweek, if I can just get to next
month, things won't be so busy.
And then I'll be able tomagically slot in an hour into
my schedule.
I'm sorry to be the bearer ofbad news, but it ain't coming.
That one hour you're waiting forto just magically appear in your
(16:49):
schedule most likely isn't justgoing to appear.
We've been busy and we're gonnabe busy, okay?
You came to me and you said,Brittany, what's the perfect
ideal?
I would say, yeah, can we getthat hour?
Can we find that magical blockof hour?
(17:10):
But I also know we don't live inthat magical world.
We live in this world wherewe're waiting for the perfect
opportunity to start and theperfect opportunity doesn't
come.
So I'm sitting here and tellingyou, don't be in this all or
nothing spiral.
Instead of waiting for a freehour to pop up in your schedule,
you need to be asking yourself,what can I get done in 20
minutes?
(17:30):
What's the best use of the 20minutes I do have?
That is how we reframe successin 2025.
Okay, so let's put all of thisinto actionable advice.
When is 20 minutes enough?
Number one, if you're a beginneror returning to fitness after a
long break, 20 minutes is goingto build the habit of
consistency.
(17:51):
Showing up consistently is hardAF when you're a beginner.
Honestly, it's the hardest part.
You have to make it easy onyourself.
If you're not the kind of personwho's been consistently working
out, what makes you think you'resuddenly going to want to drive
20 minutes to the gym, work outfor an hour, and then drive 20
minutes back?
Like what makes you think you'resuddenly going to completely
(18:11):
change your schedule so that youhave two free hours to do
something that you don't enjoydoing.
You're not.
No one has the motivation tospend two hours a day doing
something they hate.
I mean, we do.
We do that at our work, butpeople pay us.
That's how we that's why we keepshowing up to work.
(18:32):
Even if you don't enjoy your jobis because someone pays you.
Unfortunately, ain't nobodypaying you to work out.
You got to make it easier onyourself, especially at the
beginning.
Go get some dumbbells, do 20minutes at home and start
building the habit.
In a month, two months, you'regoing to have a solid routine
that you can build on.
(18:53):
Number two, if your goal isgeneral health, movement,
feeling good, 20 minutes a dayis plenty.
It doesn't really matter whatyou do as long as you move if
this is your goal.
Honestly, this is a littlecontroversial, but I'm going to
include fat loss goals into thisbucket of people as well,
because I think 20 minutes a dayis totally fine if fat loss is
(19:13):
your goal and you're at thestart.
Because honestly, being in acaloric deficit sucks.
I don't know if you've evertried it, but being hungry on a
consistent basis is the worst,all right?
It's hard.
And if you're burning a shit tonof calories running a bunch of
miles, you're just going to getsuper hungry and your diet is
(19:34):
going to be even harder to stickto than it already is.
So if you're trying to lose fatand your diet is an absolute
mess, honestly, as a trainer, Iwould say do 20 minute workouts
so that you're active and thatyou're checking the box in terms
of exercise, but just reallyfocus on getting your nutrition
in check.
Because trying to get yournutrition in check and trying to
(19:56):
fit in an hour plus at the gymis really hard to combat both
and it's going to feel a littleoverwhelming so i always say if
fat loss is your goal start withnutrition once you feel like
you've maybe not masterednutrition but at least built a
good routine that's when you canlayer in longer strength
training sessions having moremuscle mass is going to help you
(20:19):
lose fat and is going to improveyour body composition but you've
got to get that diet down firstokay like that That's the first
unlock you need.
And the third time that 20minute workouts are enough is if
you're doing high effort,well-structured training.
If you're pairing workoutstogether in a way that optimizes
efficiency, that targets musclegroups a minimum amount of
(20:40):
times, if you're putting in higheffort, we're talking about high
intensity interval training orheavy lifting with supersets or
circuits like I've discussedalready.
If you are working hard enoughto take yourself to failure.
Now, this is going to requiresome effort to have a plan in
place.
You don't just get to do20-minute workouts that are
relatively chill and kumbaya,again, unless you're in a phase
(21:02):
of life like you just had ababy, okay?
You don't get to just have aneasy 20 minutes and think that
you're going to change your bodyand your mind and how you feel,
okay?
You're going to have to workgoddamn hard in those 20 minutes
with intention if you want tohave an effective 20 minutes,
all right?
And that's the hard part.
A lot of people cannot structurea workout or put things together
(21:25):
in a way that allows them to dothe hard work in 20 minutes
properly.
Now let's talk about when is itnot enough to just do 20
minutes.
First and foremost, if you wantsignificant muscle growth,
strength progression, and you'vebeen at it for a bit, okay, 20
minutes probably is not going tocut it.
And I know that's going to behard for some of you to hear.
(21:45):
It's just, it is going to cut itat the beginning of your
journey.
But after you've kind of builtthat routine, you've been
working out for years, if you'retrying to gain muscle, you
should be lifting some heavyweights around, okay?
You should be putting somestrain, putting some oomph in
that step, okay, as you liftthose weights.
And lifting that heavy is goingto require recovery.
(22:08):
And I'm not saying that you haveto lift your body weight.
I'm just saying you might be 60years old and just started
fitness this year and all youcan lift is 10 15 pounds of your
head heavy is a relative termokay it's relative to what we're
able to achieve i'm just sayingi need you to be huffing and
puffing because that weight's soheavy whatever that is for you
(22:32):
all right Lifting heavy weightslike this is going to require
recovery.
And we talked about this in thelast episode, how recovery is
quite possibly the mostimportant thing other than
protein that your muscles aregoing to need in order to
improve and build back better,okay?
So once you've been around theblock a few times, you need to
be lifting in a way in whichyour body is forcing you to
(22:54):
recover after every single setif your goal is muscle growth
and strength progression, allright?
And what does recovery take?
It takes time.
You should be resting for like aminute.
And that minute is going to suckbecause like they eat away into
(23:14):
that 20 minute workout thatyou're trying to achieve, okay?
And I think it's worth saying ifyou want to grow muscle, if you
want to gain strength, 20minutes is still valid every
once in a while.
I do four strength trainingsessions a week and I would say
at least one of them is 20 to 30minutes, okay?
I'm still seeing consistentchange in my body.
I'm still seeing improvement inhow my body looks and how it
(23:35):
feels.
Again, this is not an all ornothing.
I'm not saying that every singleworkout you have to do has to be
for an hour or longer than 20,30 minutes.
But I do think it's important toknow that you should be using 20
minutes as a tool.
If you're the kind of person whowants to gain muscle, if you
want to gain strength, use 20minute workouts as a tool, not
(23:58):
your everyday base.
Okay.
Okay.
Other populations that 20 minuteworkouts don't work with.
If you're training for anendurance event, you need longer
sessions.
I mean, this should come as a nobrainer.
I shouldn't even have to say it,but I'm going to say it.
If you're trying to run amarathon, a half marathon, a
10K, 20 minute workouts ain'tcutting it.
This is the perfect example Icould give of it depends on your
goals.
(24:19):
People are like, is 20 minuteworkouts effective, Brittany?
Well, shit, are you trying torun a half marathon or are you
just trying to be more active?
Because it depends on yourgoals.
And look, I'm going to hit youwith some tough love.
OK, are you ready?
Pull up, pull up your big girlpanties.
You ready?
If you are the kind of personwho only wants to put in light
effort, random workouts, 20minute workouts honestly aren't
(24:40):
for you.
You're not going to see majorchanges.
You cannot pick out randomexercises you saw on Instagram
and slide splice them togetherfor 20 minutes and hope it
works.
You are just waking up,scrolling Instagram, finding
something you like, doing it forthe day and hoping for the best.
I'm sorry that that ain'tcutting it, okay?
And frankly, that's why youhaven't seen or felt any
results.
(25:01):
You will only make 20 minuteswork if there is a plan to
progress over time.
If you are structuring theworkout in a way to hit the
necessary muscle groups for theright amount of time in a time
efficient way.
The key word here is having aplan.
a plan.
So instead of asking, is 20minutes enough?
We need to be asking what's themost efficient way to use my 20
(25:24):
minutes.
And the good news is this iswhen it all comes together.
And I say, girl, I got you.
I get it.
You don't have time to be goingto the gym for an hour a day.
You're tired of letting yourperfectionism get in the way.
You are a hot mess express mostof the time, myself included.
But you know that running aroundafter you're a six-year-old
doesn't count as a workout,unfortunately, okay?
If it did, we'd all be rippedand I'd be out of a job,
(25:45):
frankly.
On Monday, I'm excited to say Iam launching my newest program
on the Sweat app.
It's called the Daily 20.
I bet you can guess what it is,y'all.
I bet you can guess what it is.
It is a five-day-a-week,20-minute dumbbell-based
strength training program.
The goal of this program is tobuild the habit of consistency
and to build you a foundation sothat you can get fit, build
(26:07):
muscle, and feel good in yourbody.
Is this program for everyone?
No.
I'm gonna say that straight upout loud.
No.
No.
If you need an understandingwhy, please rewind and go back
and listen to this entireepisode again.
But the vast majority of us arefrustrated with our workouts,
not getting results from ourworkouts because we're waiting
for the day that we have thismagical one hour block in our
(26:30):
schedule, okay?
And we're running around withouta plan.
We're waiting for the day thatour kids are out of the house
and life gets easy again.
Listen, life is too short to sitaround and wait.
So I built you a program thatmeets you where you are.
I want you to see this programas the end Entrance ramp onto
the highway that is your fitnessjourney, okay?
This is not the road that youtake for forever.
(26:51):
This is not a get out of jailfree card.
Well, I can just do this 20minute program over and over and
over again and I'll get to mygoals.
No, no.
This is the road you take to getyou to where you are trying to
go.
Think of an entrance ramp, okay?
An entrance ramp onto thehighway.
It gets you onto the highway.
The highway is consistent,longer, goal-based workout
(27:14):
programs.
That's where I want you to go.
But I recognize that a lot of usdon't have the time, the energy
or the plan to be on thathighway right now.
Our car needs a little bit ofwork before it can up to highway
speeds.
OK, that's what this program isfor.
It's to help bridge that gapbetween doing nothing and doing
something.
(27:35):
And and I think it's importantto say, too, like even if you're
doing some other workoutprograms, like let's say you're
doing Ignite Strength.
And the workouts in IgniteStrength tend to be closer to
like 45 minutes.
Leg day, it tends to be thelongest day and that one can be
closer to an hour.
Look, let's say you don't havean hour for leg day and you're
doing Ignite Strength.
(27:55):
You absolutely have mypermission to swap in the 20
minute leg day from Daily 20.
You can go into the on-demandsection of the Sweat app, click
Brittany Williams, click Daily20, and then you can take those
workouts from that and plug theminto your schedule when you need
it.
If you're right now sitting herelistening to this podcast and
(28:16):
you're like, my takeaway is thatI can't be doing 20 minute
workouts.
I need to level up.
I need to find that hour in myschedule because I got big ass
goals.
I don't want you to think thatthe daily 20 is not for you.
I want you to just keep it inyour back pocket.
It's going to be your secretweapon to staying consistent
when you're traveling, when youcan't get to the gym, when
you're unmotivated, when youjust need to be consistent.
(28:36):
Okay?
The daily 20 is for me when I'mabout to start my period any day
now and the idea of lifting aweight over my head is like
absolutely not for me.
nah I just want to cozy in bedthose are the days that I show
up for daily 20 even though I'mdoing I'm not doing the daily 20
as my everyday program right nowI'm working out for 45 minutes
to an hour every day but like Isaid at least once a week I'm
(28:56):
pulling up my 20 minute workoutsso that I can get it done so
that I can stay consistent andstay motivated I will include
the link to the seven day freetrial to the sweat app in the
show notes you can try daily 20you can try any of my workout
programs like I said daily 20doesn't come out until Monday
you know fingers crossedassuming that there are no IT
problems.
So if you're looking at it rightfor it right now on Friday, it's
(29:17):
not there yet, but on Monday itwill be.
I'm also going to drop a quickresource guide in the show notes
for my favorite at homeequipment for fitness.
Home workouts are superachievable.
They're efficient, but you'vegot to have the right equipment.
Like I said, you cannot be doingthose 20 minute workouts with
your little five pound dumbbellsthat you've had since COVID, you
(29:38):
know, and expect better results.
So if you're excited, if you'rejazz after this episode, get
yourself some new fitnessequipment, okay?
And I will link that in the shownotes, like I said.
That's gonna make all thedifference in the world.
I want you to love the way thatyour body looks and feels.
I think that you are worth it.
(29:58):
And I think that you sometimeshave to make a little bit of an
investment, whether that be indumbbells, whether that be in
resistance band, whether that bein a subscription to the Sweat
app.
Make the investment because youare worth it, okay?
I don't want us to get on our,you know, one and a half hour
naps that our kid does.
(30:19):
You may not even get a one and ahalf hour nap, honey.
I get that some of us are inthat phase of life where you've
got 30 minutes to take a shit,to eat lunch, and to get a
workout in while your kidsleeps, okay?
I just don't want you to doomscroll like I do.
It's not even doom scrolling,but like comparison trap scroll.
And look at people who feel likethey have hours upon hours to
(30:43):
spend in the gym in their homefitness myself included right
like i don't want you to look atpeople in the fitness industry
and say shit, I have to dropeverything.
I have to cancel on my, youknow, night out with Susie
because I need to fit a workoutin because it has to be an hour
long.
Like I want this lifestyle thatyou want this healthy living
(31:06):
lifestyle to be achievable.
And I don't want you to compareyour 24 hours to somebody else's
24 hours.
I want you to know that these 20minute workouts can be your way
to get there.
And again, it's full of toughlove.
Like I said, It's not forforever.
But if these 20 minute workoutscan be that first handshake you
(31:28):
take with fitness, with thatlifestyle that you've been
dreaming about of being activeand being healthy again, like
girl, let's do it.
Let's do this together.
Okay.
And look at this episoderesonated with you.
Share it with a friend who needsto hear it.
Because look, I know that lifeis a grind.
And the idea of working out for40 minutes is so daunting.
(31:48):
Like Eve, I say this as afitness trainer who has a gym
set up in my garage at myfingertips.
I'm literally right Thank you somuch.
(32:20):
Girl, let's get you motivatedagain, okay?
Let's get you going.
Let's get you vibing.
Like I said, Friday vibes, allright?
Every single day of the week.
I love you.
Thank you so much for listening.
Don't forget to rate, review,subscribe to the podcast, and
have a wonderful Filter-FreeFriday.
Welcome to the Filter Free Friday podcast.
I'm your host, BrittanyWilliams, and this is the
podcast that reminds you thatthe distance between the life
that you want to live and thelife that you're currently
living isn't nearly as big asyou think.
How are you?
Happy Friday or whatever dayyou're listening to this.
I hope it's got Friday vibes,okay?
Because we be vibing up in here,okay?
Our Filter Free family.
(00:27):
I had an LOL moment this weekbecause someone asked me why I
no longer share my bookrecommendations.
And I wanted to be like, bitch,it's because I don't have time
to be reading anymore.
All right.
The girl who used to share herbook recommendations did not
have children.
Okay, that woman wasn't a mom.
(00:48):
But but but I am back to readingbooks.
I mean, you know, Blake's twoand I'm finally at the point
where I'm like, okay, I think Ican start reading again.
But I am reading books that likewill help me advance in work.
So it still kind of feels likeI'm being productive.
Because if you're anything likeme, if you're You aren't feeling
productive.
You feel like you're not doinganything with your life at all,
(01:09):
which is just the hour-longtherapy session I just had.
Literally just had it.
That's all we talked about wasmy sense of productivity kind of
seeps into my everyday life andI need to like nip that in the
bud.
You don't have to be productive100% of the time.
But I was spending way too muchtime on the TikToks, okay?
I was just spending hours uponhours just like at night after I
(01:31):
put Blake to sleep, just likeobsessed with social media and
it just was getting to my psychea little bit so I was like I
need to start reading again evenif it's work right which is like
sucks because you I wish I hadsomething that was truly um like
just a passion hobby and justfor fun but like that that's not
your girl's personality but Ineeded something to get me away
(01:54):
from spending hours and hours onTikTok at night Because I've
just been stuck in this likecomparison trap kind of
situation.
And tell me if this soundsfamiliar.
It's like you spend the entiremorning putting together a full
blown circus act, right?
Like you got to entertain yourkid, your husband.
You've got to wrestle your kidto nap time.
(02:16):
Like that's a Herculean feat.
Like we're doing all of thethings.
And like I get to nap time andI've got one and a half hours to
accomplish all of my life goals.
I have to work out.
I got to do the chores.
I have to somehow relax.
And like, first of all, relaxingisn't really even in my
vocabulary.
I'm 36, almost 37 years old, andI still am not sure if I'm
(02:39):
properly doing it right.
I just get to that one and ahalf free hours and I
immediately am spending 30minutes doom scrolling on
Instagram or TikTok.
And then I'm just met with theseannoying AF videos of 20
something influencers with theperfect body spending two plus
hours in the gym talking abouthow hard, how hard work gets you
(03:01):
to your dream body.
I'm going to be completelyfreaking honest and transparent
here.
Like I can't stand it.
And this is coming from someonewho is in this fitness
influencer space.
And I tread lightly because Icould be that influencer for
someone, right?
Like I, here I am at 36 lookingat the 20 something saying like,
oh, F off.
I don't care about your perfectget ready with me life.
(03:24):
I don't want to see it.
And there could be someone 20years older than me looking at
my life saying like oh I don'twant to see that back when you
know like you had it easy or Idon't think anyone thinks that
toddler moms have it easy butmaybe there's something that
you're jealous of in my life theway that I'm jealous of the 20
year old it still gets into mypsyche and if it gets into your
psyche I want you to know thatthat's okay all right So I feel
(03:47):
like I'm in nap time.
OK, let's set the scene.
It's nap time.
I got a timer is gone off.
I've got an hour and a half toget my life together before
Blake wakes up again.
And in an hour and a half, I gotto fit in a 30 minute workout.
And I just feel like I see.
these Instagram, I don't want tocall them models, but I'm going
(04:09):
to call them models, even thoughI know they're not models.
And I just feel shitty aboutmyself because they, to get that
life and even, even to film, tohave the time to film, to get
ready with me takes up so muchtime and time is something I
just do not have.
And I'm tired of like doomscrolling on TikTok and
Instagram, watching people whohave a lot of time.
(04:33):
Like And I know that the answeris like, well, you should wake
up earlier.
I refuse to wake up any earlierthan I have to because I truly
believe that sleep is the elixirto eternal health and youth and
is the answer to all first worldproblems, okay?
I'm convinced.
So I refuse to tell anyone, ifyou don't have the time, just
wake up earlier.
(04:54):
Like that's not always thesolve, okay?
For some people it is, but it'snot always the solve.
And sometimes you just findyourself Comparing yourself to
other people on the internet andthen you, and then I do that for
like 30 minutes, the first 30minutes of nap time.
And then I look at my dumbbellsand I'm like, well, shit, now I
feel bad about myself.
I need to work out.
But then I look at the timer andI only have 20 minutes to work
(05:14):
out because I've been doomscrolling for the other hour.
And then I get into my workoutand I'm like, is this 20 minute
workout even worth it?
Like, is it even effective?
If I'm sitting here jealous ofthe 20 year old on my screen,
then like let's freaking worklike we're 20 years old again.
But I don't have time to workthat hard.
I've got 20 minutes.
Like can I achieve my goal in 20minutes?
(05:37):
Like that is something that Istruggle with.
I know that you're strugglingwith.
And the good news for you isthat I've been there.
I've done that.
I've had those feelings.
I've done the horse and ponyshow.
Horse and pony show?
The dog and pony show.
And we're going to talk aboutit, okay?
Does 20 minutes really actuallydo anything?
(05:58):
Or are we blowing smoke up ourasses in an effort to feel like
we're healthy and active, okay?
And does health and activeactually have to take the two
hours that the 20-somethings aretaking at the gym to take their
selfies and to lift up theirshirts and show us their
six-pack abs?
Like, is that...
what success is or can we besuccessful in 20 minutes?
(06:20):
Well, pull up a chair, pop somepopcorn, because yes, 20-minute
workouts can be effective, buthow effective they are depends
on four key factors that we'regoing to get into today, okay?
First, what are your goals?
Are you trying to build strengthor are you trying to improve
endurance?
Are you just trying to stayactive?
Are you trying to lose fat?
(06:41):
Are you trying to do your firstpull up, your first push up on
your toes?
Okay.
Are you trying to run a sub fourhour marathon?
Because honey, if you're tryingto run your first sub four hour
marathon, 20 minutes a day ain'tgoing to cut it.
Okay.
Sorry to be the bearer of badnews on that one.
Okay.
But the answers to all of thesequestions are going to determine
if 20 minutes is right for you.
And I'm going to go depth inthat in a bit, but I need you to
(07:03):
start ideating in your head likewhat are you actually trying to
achieve because if you know whatyou're trying to achieve then i
can help answer the question is20 minutes a day enough right
what are you doing in those 20minutes a day those are the
second that's the second factorthere's a difference between
doing random thrown togetherworkouts uh with exercises that
you've liked on instagram versusa structured strength training
(07:26):
session there is a difference in20 minutes of easy running and
20 minutes of sprints andinterval work how you spend that
20 minutes is going to todetermine whether said 20
minutes is effective or not.
Factor number three, what's yourstarting point?
A beginner's needs are gonna bedifferent from someone's who's
been lifting for years.
And look, you're not an idiot.
You can probably guess that 20minutes is gonna be more
(07:46):
effective for someone who's abeginner or returning to fitness
than it is for someone who'sbeen consistently working out
for years and years and years.
I'm sorry to burst your bubble.
Again, I wanna be clear, thisdoes not mean that 20 minutes
will never be effective for agym veteran, but it does dictate
what you need to be doing inthat 20-minute workout for it to
be effective.
(08:07):
And the last factor that we talkabout a thousand and a half
times on this podcast is what'syour current phase of life?
What does your schedule allow?
Do you have kids?
Do you have a stressful job?
Like, look, I'm not going to behere and tell like a lawyer
who's in the middle of astressful case working 100 plus
hours a week that she needs towork out like an hour at the gym
every day because it's notrealistic, even though working
(08:30):
out at an hour at the gym everyday may be the fastest way to
reach her goals.
I'll be honest, that might bethe most efficient and effective
way or maybe not efficient, themost effective way to get her to
her goals.
But if an hour at the gym everyday is a plan that won't stick,
she's not going to get to hergoals anyways.
So 20 minutes a day is going tobe effective for a lawyer who's
working 100 plus hours a daybecause it's what keep her in
(08:53):
the game, right?
That keeps her moving.
And yes, she, in this example,she would sacrifice how quickly
she gets to her goals, howquickly she sees that muscle
definition, let's say.
But she's not going to get thereif she never works out.
So we got to find a way to gether progressing or and still
crushing it at her job and doingall the things like you know how
(09:15):
like we're trying to fire on allcylinders like that's the kind
of person where i'm like it'sokay if you don't work out an
hour a day because i still wantyou to be successful in your job
same goes for new mom like noway in hell am i telling a new
mom to a six week old that 20minutes isn't effective for her
at this phase of life a 20minute hot mess express workout
(09:36):
in her milk stain bra that she'sbeen wearing for like the past
11 days is the equivalent to aperfectly strong structured
three-hour workout for some 22year old gym bro who eats
nothing but steak and proteinshakes and has the worst
smelling farts because if youknow if you eat a lot of protein
your farts get a little stinkyokay and you know the type the
gym bro who's so obsessed withthe gym that he like can't land
(09:57):
a girlfriend like he's workingon the body to show off to said
girlfriend but he can't land agirlfriend because he's always
in the gym his three-hourworkout to me is the equivalent
of a new mom Like stretching for20 minutes.
A new mom laying on the groundsaying kumbaya.
Like that workout, they'reequally as effective.
(10:18):
They're equally as effective tome.
Like you can't tell me that 20minutes isn't effective for a
new mom of a six-week-old justbecause somebody else is
spending three hours in a gym.
You can't, like, no.
No, there's not one way to dothings around here.
Okay.
And look, there are going to besome fitness trainers who
(10:38):
disagree with me on everythingI'm about to say, but they can
suck it.
Studies show that short, higheffort sessions can stimulate
muscle growth.
There's just a right and a wrongway to stimulate said muscle
growth in a short period oftime.
Things like utilizing supersets,circuit training, and compound
lifts can all be effective waysto gain muscle and definition.
(11:01):
So I'll kind of give you anexample.
Let's say we're doing a fullbody strength day.
We've got, you could do it acouple different ways, right?
You could do three sets of eightto 10 hip thrusts with one
minute rest in between to targetyour glutes.
And then you take like a twominute rest, you know, set up,
get your new equipment.
And then you do three sets of 10bicep curls to target your
(11:22):
biceps with a one minute rest inbetween all those sets, right?
Like, so you imagine you'redoing a set of one exercise, you
rest, you complete that threetimes, and then you move to
another exercise and you do thatone exercise three times.
That's kind of a, I don't evenactually know what that's
called.
That's just, it's just sets ofexercises.
I don't have like a easy namefor that.
(11:43):
Or you could do a superset,which means you alternate
between two exercises.
So So your glutes are going torest.
You're going to do the hipthrust and the bicep curl back
to back.
So your glutes will rest whileyou're doing the bicep curl and
your biceps will rest whileyou're doing the hip thrust,
right?
This allows for less downtimeand a faster workout.
(12:04):
Same with circuit training,where let's say you do three
rounds of four exercises back toback to back.
If you program it the right wayand you are lifting heavy
enough, you can still stimulatemuscle growth.
The key there is that you'restill lifting lifting heavy
enough what happens sometimeswhen people do circuit training
I see this a lot in my ownworkout like people who do my
workouts they see me do acircuit of let's say three
(12:27):
rounds of five exercises andthey think that they should just
use one set of dumbbells forthose five exercises but that
will hold you back from successso if you're doing a 20 minute
workout with me and it's acircuit I still am expecting you
to lift as heavy as you possiblycan with your lower body and as
heavy as you possibly can withyour upper body and fun fact
(12:47):
your upper body is not nearly asstrong as your lower body so
like you should be usingmultiple dumbbells that's a
little caveat that's a littleside point but like you can
stimulate muscle growth withinshort workouts but you have to
be lifting heavy enoughintensity is still important
okay always studies also showthat as little as four sets per
(13:10):
muscle group for an untrainednovice can be enough to gain
strength so um now it'simportant to note that like more
than four sets per muscle groupis gonna get you potentially
more benefits like it's not likefour is the optimal number but
if we're talking what is thebare minimum that someone could
do to actually see change intheir body the number isn't as
(13:34):
high as you think if you're abeginner and that last piece is
is important uh these studieshave shown this in untrained
novices okay so let's talk aboutreturning to fitness let's talk
about coming back to fitnessafter pregnancy even if it's
just injury what have you uhthere are studies Studies that
support that four sets permuscle group per week is all you
(13:55):
need to start change.
Not the most efficient, but youcan see change.
Studies also show that intensitymatters more than duration.
And we've talked about this alittle bit when it comes to the
heavy weights, but if you'rejust picking daisies and hobby
jogging on the treadmill for 20minutes, like you're not going
to run that half marathon PR.
Like I hope, I hope, I hope youknow that.
(14:20):
OK, like you can't just do do dodo do do do on your run and
think that you're just going tosuddenly be breaking some
records.
OK, and look, this goes for bothstrength workouts and cardio
workouts.
Intensity is more important thanhow long your session is.
So, you know, this means likewhen you're short on time.
(14:41):
you may benefit from doing400-meter repeats or 20-second
sprints or hill repeats or evena dumbbell-based cardio workout.
It doesn't have to be running.
Then you would going for an easyrun for 20 minutes.
This is one of the reasons why Ilove my low-impact cardio
classes in the Sweat app becausesometimes we have a short period
of time and we want to get ourheart rate up.
(15:02):
My favorite form of cardio isrunning, but if I'm really short
on time– I know that my bodywill get the most bang for its
buck if I only have 20 minutesor 15 minutes, whatever it is,
if I do one of those low-impactcardio workouts than if I went
for an easy run for 20 minutes.
It's just going to get me to mygoals because it's going to be
more intense.
(15:22):
Quality over quantity whenyou're short on time, okay?
Think interval training, thinksprints, think resistance-based
cardio.
Those can all maximize yourefficiency in short workouts.
And look, I think I have to saythis out loud first From one
perfectionist speaking toanother, you have to remember
that consistency gets moreresults than perfection.
(15:43):
And I know you know this, butI'm going to say it 100,000
times over until you startacting like it.
Okay, I'm going to be that goodgirlfriend who's going to like
beat it into your brain untilyou remember.
Do not text your ex back.
It's that same vibe.
A solid 20 minute workout fivetimes a week is better for you
than the perfect one and a halfhour workout once a week.
(16:06):
I'm going to say it again.
A 20 minute workout five times aweek is better for you than the
perfect one and a half hourworkout once a week.
Consistency gets more resultsthan perfection.
And look, I know thatperfectionism, all right?
You're waiting for a magicalblock of time to appear in your
schedule.
You're waiting for that perfecttime to fit a workout in your
(16:29):
day, okay?
You're convinced that if I justfinish these few emails, if I
can just get to Thursday, thenmy schedule will open up.
And if I can just get to nextweek, if I can just get to next
month, things won't be so busy.
And then I'll be able tomagically slot in an hour into
my schedule.
I'm sorry to be the bearer ofbad news, but it ain't coming.
That one hour you're waiting forto just magically appear in your
(16:49):
schedule most likely isn't justgoing to appear.
We've been busy and we're gonnabe busy, okay?
You came to me and you said,Brittany, what's the perfect
ideal?
I would say, yeah, can we getthat hour?
Can we find that magical blockof hour?
(17:10):
But I also know we don't live inthat magical world.
We live in this world wherewe're waiting for the perfect
opportunity to start and theperfect opportunity doesn't
come.
So I'm sitting here and tellingyou, don't be in this all or
nothing spiral.
Instead of waiting for a freehour to pop up in your schedule,
you need to be asking yourself,what can I get done in 20
minutes?
(17:30):
What's the best use of the 20minutes I do have?
That is how we reframe successin 2025.
Okay, so let's put all of thisinto actionable advice.
When is 20 minutes enough?
Number one, if you're a beginneror returning to fitness after a
long break, 20 minutes is goingto build the habit of
consistency.
(17:51):
Showing up consistently is hardAF when you're a beginner.
Honestly, it's the hardest part.
You have to make it easy onyourself.
If you're not the kind of personwho's been consistently working
out, what makes you think you'resuddenly going to want to drive
20 minutes to the gym, work outfor an hour, and then drive 20
minutes back?
Like what makes you think you'resuddenly going to completely
(18:11):
change your schedule so that youhave two free hours to do
something that you don't enjoydoing.
You're not.
No one has the motivation tospend two hours a day doing
something they hate.
I mean, we do.
We do that at our work, butpeople pay us.
That's how we that's why we keepshowing up to work.
(18:32):
Even if you don't enjoy your jobis because someone pays you.
Unfortunately, ain't nobodypaying you to work out.
You got to make it easier onyourself, especially at the
beginning.
Go get some dumbbells, do 20minutes at home and start
building the habit.
In a month, two months, you'regoing to have a solid routine
that you can build on.
(18:53):
Number two, if your goal isgeneral health, movement,
feeling good, 20 minutes a dayis plenty.
It doesn't really matter whatyou do as long as you move if
this is your goal.
Honestly, this is a littlecontroversial, but I'm going to
include fat loss goals into thisbucket of people as well,
because I think 20 minutes a dayis totally fine if fat loss is
(19:13):
your goal and you're at thestart.
Because honestly, being in acaloric deficit sucks.
I don't know if you've evertried it, but being hungry on a
consistent basis is the worst,all right?
It's hard.
And if you're burning a shit tonof calories running a bunch of
miles, you're just going to getsuper hungry and your diet is
(19:34):
going to be even harder to stickto than it already is.
So if you're trying to lose fatand your diet is an absolute
mess, honestly, as a trainer, Iwould say do 20 minute workouts
so that you're active and thatyou're checking the box in terms
of exercise, but just reallyfocus on getting your nutrition
in check.
Because trying to get yournutrition in check and trying to
(19:56):
fit in an hour plus at the gymis really hard to combat both
and it's going to feel a littleoverwhelming so i always say if
fat loss is your goal start withnutrition once you feel like
you've maybe not masterednutrition but at least built a
good routine that's when you canlayer in longer strength
training sessions having moremuscle mass is going to help you
(20:19):
lose fat and is going to improveyour body composition but you've
got to get that diet down firstokay like that That's the first
unlock you need.
And the third time that 20minute workouts are enough is if
you're doing high effort,well-structured training.
If you're pairing workoutstogether in a way that optimizes
efficiency, that targets musclegroups a minimum amount of
(20:40):
times, if you're putting in higheffort, we're talking about high
intensity interval training orheavy lifting with supersets or
circuits like I've discussedalready.
If you are working hard enoughto take yourself to failure.
Now, this is going to requiresome effort to have a plan in
place.
You don't just get to do20-minute workouts that are
relatively chill and kumbaya,again, unless you're in a phase
(21:02):
of life like you just had ababy, okay?
You don't get to just have aneasy 20 minutes and think that
you're going to change your bodyand your mind and how you feel,
okay?
You're going to have to workgoddamn hard in those 20 minutes
with intention if you want tohave an effective 20 minutes,
all right?
And that's the hard part.
A lot of people cannot structurea workout or put things together
(21:25):
in a way that allows them to dothe hard work in 20 minutes
properly.
Now let's talk about when is itnot enough to just do 20
minutes.
First and foremost, if you wantsignificant muscle growth,
strength progression, and you'vebeen at it for a bit, okay, 20
minutes probably is not going tocut it.
And I know that's going to behard for some of you to hear.
(21:45):
It's just, it is going to cut itat the beginning of your
journey.
But after you've kind of builtthat routine, you've been
working out for years, if you'retrying to gain muscle, you
should be lifting some heavyweights around, okay?
You should be putting somestrain, putting some oomph in
that step, okay, as you liftthose weights.
And lifting that heavy is goingto require recovery.
(22:08):
And I'm not saying that you haveto lift your body weight.
I'm just saying you might be 60years old and just started
fitness this year and all youcan lift is 10 15 pounds of your
head heavy is a relative termokay it's relative to what we're
able to achieve i'm just sayingi need you to be huffing and
puffing because that weight's soheavy whatever that is for you
(22:32):
all right Lifting heavy weightslike this is going to require
recovery.
And we talked about this in thelast episode, how recovery is
quite possibly the mostimportant thing other than
protein that your muscles aregoing to need in order to
improve and build back better,okay?
So once you've been around theblock a few times, you need to
be lifting in a way in whichyour body is forcing you to
(22:54):
recover after every single setif your goal is muscle growth
and strength progression, allright?
And what does recovery take?
It takes time.
You should be resting for like aminute.
And that minute is going to suckbecause like they eat away into
(23:14):
that 20 minute workout thatyou're trying to achieve, okay?
And I think it's worth saying ifyou want to grow muscle, if you
want to gain strength, 20minutes is still valid every
once in a while.
I do four strength trainingsessions a week and I would say
at least one of them is 20 to 30minutes, okay?
I'm still seeing consistentchange in my body.
I'm still seeing improvement inhow my body looks and how it
(23:35):
feels.
Again, this is not an all ornothing.
I'm not saying that every singleworkout you have to do has to be
for an hour or longer than 20,30 minutes.
But I do think it's important toknow that you should be using 20
minutes as a tool.
If you're the kind of person whowants to gain muscle, if you
want to gain strength, use 20minute workouts as a tool, not
(23:58):
your everyday base.
Okay.
Okay.
Other populations that 20 minuteworkouts don't work with.
If you're training for anendurance event, you need longer
sessions.
I mean, this should come as a nobrainer.
I shouldn't even have to say it,but I'm going to say it.
If you're trying to run amarathon, a half marathon, a
10K, 20 minute workouts ain'tcutting it.
This is the perfect example Icould give of it depends on your
goals.
(24:19):
People are like, is 20 minuteworkouts effective, Brittany?
Well, shit, are you trying torun a half marathon or are you
just trying to be more active?
Because it depends on yourgoals.
And look, I'm going to hit youwith some tough love.
OK, are you ready?
Pull up, pull up your big girlpanties.
You ready?
If you are the kind of personwho only wants to put in light
effort, random workouts, 20minute workouts honestly aren't
(24:40):
for you.
You're not going to see majorchanges.
You cannot pick out randomexercises you saw on Instagram
and slide splice them togetherfor 20 minutes and hope it
works.
You are just waking up,scrolling Instagram, finding
something you like, doing it forthe day and hoping for the best.
I'm sorry that that ain'tcutting it, okay?
And frankly, that's why youhaven't seen or felt any
results.
(25:01):
You will only make 20 minuteswork if there is a plan to
progress over time.
If you are structuring theworkout in a way to hit the
necessary muscle groups for theright amount of time in a time
efficient way.
The key word here is having aplan.
a plan.
So instead of asking, is 20minutes enough?
We need to be asking what's themost efficient way to use my 20
(25:24):
minutes.
And the good news is this iswhen it all comes together.
And I say, girl, I got you.
I get it.
You don't have time to be goingto the gym for an hour a day.
You're tired of letting yourperfectionism get in the way.
You are a hot mess express mostof the time, myself included.
But you know that running aroundafter you're a six-year-old
doesn't count as a workout,unfortunately, okay?
If it did, we'd all be rippedand I'd be out of a job,
(25:45):
frankly.
On Monday, I'm excited to say Iam launching my newest program
on the Sweat app.
It's called the Daily 20.
I bet you can guess what it is,y'all.
I bet you can guess what it is.
It is a five-day-a-week,20-minute dumbbell-based
strength training program.
The goal of this program is tobuild the habit of consistency
and to build you a foundation sothat you can get fit, build
(26:07):
muscle, and feel good in yourbody.
Is this program for everyone?
No.
I'm gonna say that straight upout loud.
No.
No.
If you need an understandingwhy, please rewind and go back
and listen to this entireepisode again.
But the vast majority of us arefrustrated with our workouts,
not getting results from ourworkouts because we're waiting
for the day that we have thismagical one hour block in our
(26:30):
schedule, okay?
And we're running around withouta plan.
We're waiting for the day thatour kids are out of the house
and life gets easy again.
Listen, life is too short to sitaround and wait.
So I built you a program thatmeets you where you are.
I want you to see this programas the end Entrance ramp onto
the highway that is your fitnessjourney, okay?
This is not the road that youtake for forever.
(26:51):
This is not a get out of jailfree card.
Well, I can just do this 20minute program over and over and
over again and I'll get to mygoals.
No, no.
This is the road you take to getyou to where you are trying to
go.
Think of an entrance ramp, okay?
An entrance ramp onto thehighway.
It gets you onto the highway.
The highway is consistent,longer, goal-based workout
(27:14):
programs.
That's where I want you to go.
But I recognize that a lot of usdon't have the time, the energy
or the plan to be on thathighway right now.
Our car needs a little bit ofwork before it can up to highway
speeds.
OK, that's what this program isfor.
It's to help bridge that gapbetween doing nothing and doing
something.
(27:35):
And and I think it's importantto say, too, like even if you're
doing some other workoutprograms, like let's say you're
doing Ignite Strength.
And the workouts in IgniteStrength tend to be closer to
like 45 minutes.
Leg day, it tends to be thelongest day and that one can be
closer to an hour.
Look, let's say you don't havean hour for leg day and you're
doing Ignite Strength.
(27:55):
You absolutely have mypermission to swap in the 20
minute leg day from Daily 20.
You can go into the on-demandsection of the Sweat app, click
Brittany Williams, click Daily20, and then you can take those
workouts from that and plug theminto your schedule when you need
it.
If you're right now sitting herelistening to this podcast and
(28:16):
you're like, my takeaway is thatI can't be doing 20 minute
workouts.
I need to level up.
I need to find that hour in myschedule because I got big ass
goals.
I don't want you to think thatthe daily 20 is not for you.
I want you to just keep it inyour back pocket.
It's going to be your secretweapon to staying consistent
when you're traveling, when youcan't get to the gym, when
you're unmotivated, when youjust need to be consistent.
(28:36):
Okay?
The daily 20 is for me when I'mabout to start my period any day
now and the idea of lifting aweight over my head is like
absolutely not for me.
nah I just want to cozy in bedthose are the days that I show
up for daily 20 even though I'mdoing I'm not doing the daily 20
as my everyday program right nowI'm working out for 45 minutes
to an hour every day but like Isaid at least once a week I'm
(28:56):
pulling up my 20 minute workoutsso that I can get it done so
that I can stay consistent andstay motivated I will include
the link to the seven day freetrial to the sweat app in the
show notes you can try daily 20you can try any of my workout
programs like I said daily 20doesn't come out until Monday
you know fingers crossedassuming that there are no IT
problems.
So if you're looking at it rightfor it right now on Friday, it's
(29:17):
not there yet, but on Monday itwill be.
I'm also going to drop a quickresource guide in the show notes
for my favorite at homeequipment for fitness.
Home workouts are superachievable.
They're efficient, but you'vegot to have the right equipment.
Like I said, you cannot be doingthose 20 minute workouts with
your little five pound dumbbellsthat you've had since COVID, you
(29:38):
know, and expect better results.
So if you're excited, if you'rejazz after this episode, get
yourself some new fitnessequipment, okay?
And I will link that in the shownotes, like I said.
That's gonna make all thedifference in the world.
I want you to love the way thatyour body looks and feels.
I think that you are worth it.
(29:58):
And I think that you sometimeshave to make a little bit of an
investment, whether that be indumbbells, whether that be in
resistance band, whether that bein a subscription to the Sweat
app.
Make the investment because youare worth it, okay?
I don't want us to get on our,you know, one and a half hour
naps that our kid does.
(30:19):
You may not even get a one and ahalf hour nap, honey.
I get that some of us are inthat phase of life where you've
got 30 minutes to take a shit,to eat lunch, and to get a
workout in while your kidsleeps, okay?
I just don't want you to doomscroll like I do.
It's not even doom scrolling,but like comparison trap scroll.
And look at people who feel likethey have hours upon hours to
(30:43):
spend in the gym in their homefitness myself included right
like i don't want you to look atpeople in the fitness industry
and say shit, I have to dropeverything.
I have to cancel on my, youknow, night out with Susie
because I need to fit a workoutin because it has to be an hour
long.
Like I want this lifestyle thatyou want this healthy living
(31:06):
lifestyle to be achievable.
And I don't want you to compareyour 24 hours to somebody else's
24 hours.
I want you to know that these 20minute workouts can be your way
to get there.
And again, it's full of toughlove.
Like I said, It's not forforever.
But if these 20 minute workoutscan be that first handshake you
(31:28):
take with fitness, with thatlifestyle that you've been
dreaming about of being activeand being healthy again, like
girl, let's do it.
Let's do this together.
Okay.
And look at this episoderesonated with you.
Share it with a friend who needsto hear it.
Because look, I know that lifeis a grind.
And the idea of working out for40 minutes is so daunting.
(31:48):
Like Eve, I say this as afitness trainer who has a gym
set up in my garage at myfingertips.
I'm literally right Thank you somuch.
(32:20):
Girl, let's get you motivatedagain, okay?
Let's get you going.
Let's get you vibing.
Like I said, Friday vibes, allright?
Every single day of the week.
I love you.
Thank you so much for listening.
Don't forget to rate, review,subscribe to the podcast, and
have a wonderful Filter-FreeFriday.
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