The "20 Minute Workout" has to be the best & most entertaining exercise shows to ever air on TV. It was state of the art at the time it was released. What made it so different was the filming technique, and the turntable that the exercise hosts would do their aerobics on. There wasn't anything like it on TV before. Sure, there were exercise shows, but nothing compared to the "20 Minute Workout". It aired mostly on City TV here in Toronto through the '80s, and latenight/early mornings through the early '90s, then just disappeared. It not only offered exercising, but there a was a large "T'N'A" factor to this show too. Whether you exercised or just watched this show, it was one of the most entertaining exercise shows to hit the airwaves in the '80s. There hasn't been anything that has come close to it before or after it's run on TV.
10 Reviews
The 20 Min Workout
freddythebreeze14 May 2006
Aah yes the workout show was a great. Not only did many women get in shape, but many teenage boys got a great workout as well. I am not saying that the show was in any way not appropriate for family viewing, but if you check the other works from the shows producer, you will find more adult themes in his works, which are also excellent. Many of the viewers looked forward to the show, men and women alike all gained good information and a wonderful release,from the workouts. The girls were perfect, and Beautiful, the show is a classic and should do well in syndication. The show should still be on, as there are never enough choices to view when it comes to health and beauty.
the 20 minute workout
reneemoorefield29 December 2006
after my daughter was born in 1983, i needed to lose weight. i tried the 20 minute workout and i was hooked. i lost about 50 lbs. it was the most weight i ever lost in my life. i can't believe this show is forgotten. it would be a blessing if you started a cable channel strictly for exercise and included the 20 minute workout. i think this was the best workout video ever made. i wish i could purchase it somehow and somewhere. the routine was easy to learn and you did work up quite a sweat. the workouts they have today are too complicated and too hard to learn. please do your best to get this video back in circulation. i pray it will be a blessing to all who see and use it.
20 minute workout where have you been?
rkbprobus28 April 2007
I just want to say that I was thrilled to find these comments about the show. I have tried online searches for info about the show in the past with no luck. I LOVED the show. I have a hard time getting motivated to exercise but this show made it fun. As another comment mentioned that it wasn't so complicated as the routines nowadays. It was an ideal workout that got the job done! I would give anything to be able to buy a copy of just one workout. I remember many of the moves but not nearly all of it. Somebody please try to get it back on the air and also make it available on DVD. It is so great to know I wasn't the only one that loved that show! Thanks for making my day!
The best workout program ever!
Suzilou664 November 2013
When this program was on I had it video taped. I would do the workout 2-5 times every day and I was in the best shape of my life. I had it memorized for the longest time in case I was out of town I could turn some music on and do it myself. The three trainers with the white background made it easy to see how you were supposed to move. The time spent on each stretch was just right and the music was easy to workout to. I liked Bess the best but never failed to workout with them no matter who was the lead trainer. My husband liked to watch it because of how great they looked and the camera man always had good angles. When I divorced my husband I think he kept the video tapes I recorded. I have looked in libraries and online for the show on VHS and DVD. If I could find one for sale, I would definitely purchase it! That would be my motivation to get in shape again. I would still do it every day!
20 minute again
cbfx26 January 2013
Just this morning - getting back into shape (again) I ran the DVD I made from my old VHS tapes. Bess and Holly are my favorites. I have six episodes recorded - I cut out the intros and ads So i go from the jogging right to the finish - WHEW! couldn't make it all the way through this time but it is the best and I watched it and did the routines at 6AM back in the eighties. Why the format is not done today by some enterprising producer is strange.It would be a hit I'm sure. The right people for the shows was critical. Not only did they get my heart pumping, the ladies were so great to watch because of their looks and abilities to do the work. I admired the great shape (and Shapes) they were in.
The Best Exercise Show of All Time! THE 20 MINUTE WORKOUT!!
Are-Jay21 December 2001
The 20 Minute Workout is the best exercise show to ever hit television as it came out in the early 80's. Reruns are impossible to find on the air now since the show is considered quite obsolete, especially the 80's nostalgia in the show such as the disco pop music, the leg warmers, etc. The instructors on the show show lots of enthusiam to keep you going as the workouts really are quite intense. Even just watching will give you cramps, but it is lots of fun. The music is great, especially if you love the 80's like many do. The one thing about the show that really makes it unique is the white background on the set, as all you see are 3 girls doing the aerobics, and everything else is white. They do the aerobics on a turntable that continuously rotates, so the viewer gets to see the exercises at all angles. All in all, it may be outdated, but it is considered by many to be the best exercise show of all time as it paved the way for many others.
the best
SBKnaack30 October 2002
i agree. this is the best workout show of all time. in the 80's, when i did the workouts twice a day, i was at my lowest weight ever, had great muscle tone, and felt healthier than i ever have. i miss this show--too bad some enterprising person involved with the show can't get them to video or dvd for us.
A "workout" for all senses....
lambiepie-224 October 2005
Warning: Spoilers
When I think of the incredible consumer appeal "exercising" had on the market in the early/mid 80's, there was nothing that compared to the the 20 Minute Workout.
This was an exercise program that began as a "filler" program on the Showtime channel, which is where I first discovered it as a teen.
And as a teen I was as limber and athletic as they came, so this really appealed to me after years of television exercises my parents watched such as with "Jack LaLane". Believe you me, there is nothing wrong with Jack LaLane, but the 80's brought this -- something new and exciting for my generation to put a new face on exercise that made teens and young adults want to include into a 3 day a week routine.
But then there was something -- else with this program.
On the Showtime where this began, there was something more than exercise. These people demonstrating the exercises were...pretty. Very pretty...and thin. Pretty, thin ... and colorful. This was the 80's. they were selling more than exercise. They were selling work out gear you HAD to have. And they were indeed selling "something else". These folks were placed on a 360 degree rotating platform performing exercises and the camera was placed where you could see angles you would NEVER see on your mom or grand-dad's old exercise programs. Yes, this was on the sexual - and later I found out why.
Let me say this first: these little exercise breaks on the Showtime channel blossomed into a syndicated program that was a bit more "athletic" with the best instructor/actress in the world Bess Motta. Plus a few others, but it was Bess who made you WANT to do this, and do with with a smile. And I think that is where most folks were exposed to this program. That and the fact you could buy VHS's by that time.... But I was one of the teen that got hooked before that.
The sexuality of the exercise personnel on the Showtime fillers was on purpose. For those who remember, you are not mistaken if you're thinking: "Hey, is that camera where I think it is?" It was. Strategically was.
And that was due to the cameraman/producer/brainchild of this series. I hope they go back into the vault and show this program again...not starting at the syndicated program, but the Showtime fillers is where you will see a bunch of folks who because awfully familiar throughout the 80's - Male Chippendale hosts/dancers, mainstream actresses, gymnasts, etc. And the cameraman went on to film...you guessed it...more (ahem) adult oriented fare. Looking at this, you'd be a fool to think he wouldn't have progressed in that manner.
There WAS the exercise - which was the thing - and that was more focused through the syndicated programming. Even though you still had lovelies in great make up that sweat through the most treacherous exercises, the exercises were carefully designed to raise your heart rate and cool you down all in 20 Minutes. Bess Motta also taught classes in West Los Angeles in the 80's and she seemed very into this craft. But like everything else, when Jane Fonda got hold of the "exercise" craze, and your parents started to buy into this, the interest died.
I still say I would like to see the re-runs of this program now. I find it bad that the 80's was also when a great deal of school systems dropped P.E., Art and Music..some 20 years later we're looking back at that decision and saw it was a horrible one. Maybe introducing the Syndicated version of the 20 Minute work out into PE programs would get tweens/teen interested in exercise again. Especially when these folks make exercise seem so beautiful.
The Showtime versions... well... let's leave those for the adults to exercise with.
This was an exercise program that began as a "filler" program on the Showtime channel, which is where I first discovered it as a teen.
And as a teen I was as limber and athletic as they came, so this really appealed to me after years of television exercises my parents watched such as with "Jack LaLane". Believe you me, there is nothing wrong with Jack LaLane, but the 80's brought this -- something new and exciting for my generation to put a new face on exercise that made teens and young adults want to include into a 3 day a week routine.
But then there was something -- else with this program.
On the Showtime where this began, there was something more than exercise. These people demonstrating the exercises were...pretty. Very pretty...and thin. Pretty, thin ... and colorful. This was the 80's. they were selling more than exercise. They were selling work out gear you HAD to have. And they were indeed selling "something else". These folks were placed on a 360 degree rotating platform performing exercises and the camera was placed where you could see angles you would NEVER see on your mom or grand-dad's old exercise programs. Yes, this was on the sexual - and later I found out why.
Let me say this first: these little exercise breaks on the Showtime channel blossomed into a syndicated program that was a bit more "athletic" with the best instructor/actress in the world Bess Motta. Plus a few others, but it was Bess who made you WANT to do this, and do with with a smile. And I think that is where most folks were exposed to this program. That and the fact you could buy VHS's by that time.... But I was one of the teen that got hooked before that.
The sexuality of the exercise personnel on the Showtime fillers was on purpose. For those who remember, you are not mistaken if you're thinking: "Hey, is that camera where I think it is?" It was. Strategically was.
And that was due to the cameraman/producer/brainchild of this series. I hope they go back into the vault and show this program again...not starting at the syndicated program, but the Showtime fillers is where you will see a bunch of folks who because awfully familiar throughout the 80's - Male Chippendale hosts/dancers, mainstream actresses, gymnasts, etc. And the cameraman went on to film...you guessed it...more (ahem) adult oriented fare. Looking at this, you'd be a fool to think he wouldn't have progressed in that manner.
There WAS the exercise - which was the thing - and that was more focused through the syndicated programming. Even though you still had lovelies in great make up that sweat through the most treacherous exercises, the exercises were carefully designed to raise your heart rate and cool you down all in 20 Minutes. Bess Motta also taught classes in West Los Angeles in the 80's and she seemed very into this craft. But like everything else, when Jane Fonda got hold of the "exercise" craze, and your parents started to buy into this, the interest died.
I still say I would like to see the re-runs of this program now. I find it bad that the 80's was also when a great deal of school systems dropped P.E., Art and Music..some 20 years later we're looking back at that decision and saw it was a horrible one. Maybe introducing the Syndicated version of the 20 Minute work out into PE programs would get tweens/teen interested in exercise again. Especially when these folks make exercise seem so beautiful.
The Showtime versions... well... let's leave those for the adults to exercise with.
dated, very 80's, but great!
life_sux0419 January 2003
When this first came out, I wasn't around yet. But by the time I was born, my parents had vidoetaped different episodes of it on two different tapes. Then, when I was about three, my father was trying to lose weight so he would pop in one of the videos. My sister and I were drawn in by the three girls jumping, sweating and smiling at the camera. We actually used to try to do the workout with my dad (although we never got past the jogging)! I thought that it was the coolest, even though I didn't understand the point to it.
Now, hardly anyone remembers the show. I still have the tapes, and even though it's kind of primitive, the workout is a fun and quick way to burn off some calories. It's kind of weird now to be using an 80's show to get in shape, but a good workout, no mater how dated it looks, will always be a good workout.
Now, hardly anyone remembers the show. I still have the tapes, and even though it's kind of primitive, the workout is a fun and quick way to burn off some calories. It's kind of weird now to be using an 80's show to get in shape, but a good workout, no mater how dated it looks, will always be a good workout.
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