What Doctors Say

On one thing, the medical community agrees: muscle is the body’s master switch and gatekeeper for long-term health. Doctors now believe that, next to quitting smoking, the single most important thing an adult can do to live a longer, healthier, pain-free life is building strength.

After age 30, we lose eight to ten pounds of muscle per decade unless we do something to reverse that trend. The speed of muscle loss roars into high gear after age 50. Once muscles go, it sets off a domino effect of travails from bone thinning to loss of mobility to heart and vascular diseases. Loss of muscle also causes a decline in our body’s metabolic rate, which leads to weight gain and erosion of the immune system.

“We used to discourage older adults from lifting heavy weights,” said Wojtek Chodzko-Zajko, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Illinois in “Fight Age With Muscle,” an article that appeared in BestLife Magazine. “Now we’re telling them they can’t maintain overall health without it. After age 50, you can’t get by just doing aerobic exercise.”

But Does 20 Minutes To Fitness Work?

The question is, does 20 Minutes to Fitness deliver the strength-building benefits the medical community says are so important?

You might ask the dozens of doctors and medical researchers that work out at 20 Minutes to Fitness – many of whom have trained with us for years.

Or you might ask Dr. Fulton C. Kornack, an orthopedic surgeon and professor at Harvard Medical School, who wrote the forward to a book written on the workout regimen used by 20 Minutes. Dr. Kornack writes, “When I was first asked to evaluate [this workout], I was doubtful about what seemed to be far too simple a plan. As a doctor and a scientist, I am not interested in becoming a passionate disciple of the latest fad, but a user and recommender of a philosophy of life that will help my patients and myself to achieve the conditioning and overall health goals we all want.” The workout prescribed at 20 Minutes, he determined, is just that.

“After a diagnosis of breast cancer, maintaining most of my weekly workout sessions while juggling surgery, chemo, and radiation was an important part of my recovery, helping to keep me strong and moving forward. The love and support I received from the 20 Minutes to Fitness staff was as helpful as the training itself. I’m pleased to report that today, at 5’4” and 120 lbs., I’m feeling strong and healthy – and the muscle definition in my arms is better than ever.”
Jan Girard Sarasota

“After I had back surgery, my three-month rehab turned into three years. Training at 20 Minutes to Fitness has decreased my pain, increased my strength and helped me return to professional golf.”
Jay Delsing Pro Golfer St. Louis

Want More Proof?

University of Florida Medical School researchers reported in 1982 that extremely slow weight-lifting on specially designed equipment improves strength, bone density and overall functionality.
A later study reported in The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness concluded that slow cadence resulted in a 50 percent greater strength gain than conventional weight lifting.