Brett Hoebel's 20 Minute Body - Review

The 20 Minute Body is the home workout program created by fitness and nutrition expert Brett Hoebel, trainer to the stars but perhaps best known for his appearance as trainer on The Biggest Loser season 11.

Is it just another fitness fad or does this program actually do what its creator promises? Learn everything you need to know in this 20 Minute Body review.

What is the 20 Minute Body?

The program combines short, challenging and efficient 20 minute workouts with healthy, nutritious and time saving meals.

The 20 Minute Body is a 60 day program. It’s divided into three phases, each one lasting three weeks.

Each week consists of 3 consecutive workout days, then 1 rest day, followed by 2 more workout days and one more rest day. The rest days come with an optional (but highly recommended) stretch and recovery program.

The three programs

Program I (Yellow)

This is the first 20 days of your 20 Minute Body workout. It focuses on building a solid fitness foundation. It works on your form, your technique, your strength, and your stamina, preparing you for the workouts to come.

Workouts in the yellow program:

4X4 Fat Loss
Primal Movements
HIIT MAX
BONUS: Cardio-Capoeira

(we take a more in-depth look at what these workouts are further on)

Program II (Orange)

This program is all about progression. It takes the fitness foundation from the previous program and increases the intensity… and the results.

Workouts in the orange program:

The HIITMAN
4X4 Fat Loss
HIIT MAX

Program III (Blue)

This program is all about maximum fat loss and getting the body you want. Building on all the lessons from the first two programs, the blue program takes it up a notch.

Workouts in the blue program:

Power Pyramid
The HIITMAN
HIIT MAX
BONUS: Abs & Booty, Abs & Chest, Stretch & Recovery

As you may have noticed by now, this program is not for the fainthearted or the unmotivated. It will take a fair amount of dedication to see the program through to the end.

That being said, Brett does a great job of getting you fired up. He brings a lot of energy into these workouts. This really helps keep you motivated.

Of course, if you want lasting results you shouldn’t just stop working out after those 60 days. Lasting results depend on lasting lifestyle changes.

Although you might not want to work out 5 times a week after finishing the program, I would definitely recommend aiming for 3 workouts per week to maintain your hard earned results (depending on your fitness goals).

The workouts

The workouts in the 20 Minute Body are based on HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) which is proven to be the most effective and time efficient way to lose fat.

According to Brett Hoebel, HIIT unleashes a host of fat burning hormonal changes from the inside out that allow you to cut your training time in half.

Best Upper Body Bodyweight Exercises

The moves you will be doing in these workouts consist of bodyweight exercises, explosive cardio movements and moves from different martial arts like kickboxing and Capoeira.

Some of the workouts can be made more demanding by using resistance bands or dumbbells. It’s your choice though.

In the workout videos where extra weights are optional, you will see one person using dumbbells, another using resistance bands and another doing the exercises without extra weights. It’s your choice who you want to follow along with.

We thought this was a pretty neat feature. It allows you to increase or decrease the intensity of the workouts according to your level of fitness.

Here are the different workouts you will encounter in the 20 Minute Body program:

The 4×4 workout

The 4×4 workout This 20 minute interval-based workout focuses on 4 exercises, performed for 4 rounds. It was designed for rapid fat loss and uses mainly bodyweight exercises.

The 4×4 workout combines strength training with endurance. It’s pretty challenging, but the different variations you get for every exercise allows you to make the workout more or less demanding. This means anyone can follow along with the workout regardless of their current fitness level.

Primal Movements

This workout combines 7 primal movements (squatting, lunging, pushing, pulling, bending, twisting, and walking) into a full-body conditioning and core-strengthening training.

These movements pretty much form the foundation of functional movement, making this a great workout for improving and maintaining mobility.

HIIT MAX (30HI/30LO)

This is an equipment free metabolic conditioning and fat burning workout. You perform every exercise at a high intensity for 30 seconds, then take a 30 second low intensity active rest.

The exercises int the HIIT Max workout are divided into specialized categories like Explosive Cardio, Capoeira, Kickboxing, Explosive Upper body and Integrated Core.

THE HIITMAN

This workout is a real fat burner. This is because of the “After-Burn” effect it creates, so your metabolism continues to burn calories even for hours after you stop working out.

The HIITMAN consists of three 6-minute rounds and combines resistance exercise for lower body, upper body and core with intense cardio.

The Power Pyramid

A “stacking” workout consisting of 6 rounds, where each round a new exercise is stacked on top of the other. The first round starts with with one exercise… the last round ends with six.

Cardio-Capoeira

This is one of the bonus workouts. It takes basic moves from the Brazilian martial art Capoeira and turns them into a fun and effective fat burning, toning workout.

Abs & Booty, Abs & Chest, Stretch & Recovery

This is the second bonus. Abs & Booty/Abs & Chest are body part specific workouts, aimed at tightening and toning your abs and butt.

Stretch & Recovery is a great program to do on rest days to maintain flexible muscles and help prepare your body for the workouts to come.

The complete 20 Minute Body home fitness program consists of:

13 fat burning HIIT workouts
Cardio-Capoeira (bonus workout)
Downloadable nutrition guide
Downloadable Workout Calendar

You can choose either get the workouts in the form of 13 DVDs or you can download them in digital format.

The digital download option will save you $10. The digital version costs $49.85 and the physical version costs $59.85.

Another advantage of choosing the digital version is that you can download the program and start doing the workouts instantly after your order has been processed.

Extra bonuses

At the moment you also get these bonuses if you order via the official website:

Booty by Brett Video Series

This 6 part video series teaches you how to sculpt your booty using workouts and techniques Brett’s developed while helping some of the most demanding professionals in the world.

Willpower E-Book

Where is what helps you stick with the program until you get results… even when times are tough. This e-book teaches you how to master it.

Food Replacement Guide

You’ve probably heard it before… ‘Abs are made in the kitchen’! No matter how intense the workouts, they won’t out-exercise a bad diet. The Food replacement guide goes hand in hand with the nutrition guide that comes with 20 Minute Body. It includes easy to read lists and food swaps that you can start using today.

About Brett Hoebel, the creator of 20 Minute Body

brett-hoebel Brett Hoebel is a 15-year veteran in the nutrition and fitness industry. He has a pre-med neuroscience Bachelor degree, as well as being certified with many organizations including CrossFit, Yoga Alliance, NASM and the C.H.E.K. (Institute for Corrective Holistic Exercise Kinesiology) and Nutrition & Lifestyle Coaching.

Besides his appearance on The Biggest Loser he has also trained celebrities like Michelle Obama and Jillian Michaels as well as numerous A-list actors and Victoria Secret supermodels.

Brett went from an over-weight teenager to being one of the country’s most sought-after fitness experts. In other words, this is not just another guru with a pretty face who was blessed with superior genetics. The guy knows what he is talking about when it comes to getting in shape.

Pros:

Comprehensive program which covers both the exercise and the nutrition aspects of getting in shape.
Fun and diverse workouts with a large variety of exercises and movements. This really helps keep your training interesting.
Work out from home (or anywhere else) with just your own body weight and (if you choose) minimal equipment.
The recipes are easy to prepare and actually taste really good.
The program comes with a generous 60 day money back guarantee (if you purchase it from the official website). This gives you ample time to decide whether or not it is the right fit for you.

Cons:

Some people say this program can be pretty rough on the knees. So, if you have week knees this might not be the best program for you.
This is a pretty intense program. Some call it the ‘next P90X’ and it will require a fair amount of dedication to see it through to the end. That being said, if you want rapid results, this program is a good choice.

20 Minute Body reviews by actual users

One of the best ways to gauge the effectiveness of any program is to see what results people are getting with it.

Here are some success stories from people who actually followed the program and got some great results with it.

20 Minute Body Review: Michael - Lost 25 lbs and 48 inches

Hi my name is Michael Vacarro. I’m doing Brent Hoebel’s program and this is actually my first video blog.

Okay, so I’m gonna be honest right and it is incredibly difficult. About five years ago I was married and my partner died. There was a long period of time where I didn’t really care.

Finally, at one point, I had I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and I had gained quite a lot of weight. I looked at myself and I thought ‘this is not me.

As of today i have lost 25 pounds six percent body fat and a total of forty-eight inches all over my body. Seven inches off of my waist.

I have a big birthday coming up this year. I’m gonna say it out loud. I’m going to be 50 years old. When I started the program I was 167 pounds. On my birthday I want to wear a tiny little speedo and I want to take a picture of myself as gonna say this is what 50 looks like. And I’m going to be ripped!

I was big and almost all of my weight was basically in my stomach. I wanted to get back to that feeling of feeling active and feeling happy.

I didn’t take care of my body and take care of my spirit and take care of my career. You know, when you don’t have somebody there to look good for then it’s easy to say… well I don’t care.

So when you get into that place it quickly spirals and I think it’s really hard to get out of that place.

This program is aimed to get you in the best shape in the shortest amount of time. Brett is super great! He gets me into that zone and he keeps me there. He has the ability to help me keep myself focused and to keep me moving forward when all I want to do is quit.

Oh, I’ve done some other programs and I’ve worked with other trainers and stuff like that, but there are things that Brett says that really connect me to something bigger than myself.

I seriously seriously never thought that I could achieve this body in just 20 minutes a day but I seriously did!

A lot of times I actually feel like crying because I’m I’m so happy about it and so impressed with myself.

I feel like a warrior. Like I could do anything now. I CAN do anything! That’s the truth!

20 Minute Body Success Story: Barbara

I had started a weight-loss journey about a year before I heard about Brett’s 20-minute body challenge.

I had reached a four-month stagnant period of my transformation where I was not losing any weight. Nothing that I was doing, from changing my diet to adding an extra mile to my run or walk, was doing anything to change my body type.

I was getting very discouraged. I was trying to convince myself that I had lost all that I was ever going to lose and I was going to remain at the weight that I had currently been for the last four months… although it was not where I had originally seen myself a year ago.

I heard from a friend about this challenge and I went ahead and signed up for it. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I had no idea that was going to change my life forever.

That first morning when we received our diet plan and I realized that he was going to take ninety-five percent of my daily intake out of my diet was very difficult for me. And then when we started to exercise and I was seeing things that I had never seen before and I didn’t think that I could even do them.

But Brett’s encouraging words throughout these tapes just kept me pushing. I didn’t have to be perfect, I just had to keep moving!

By day three I literally woke up that morning with tears dripping down my face. I didn’t know how I was going to get through another day. I could barely walk as it was I was feeling my muscles hurting in places I didn’t even know I had tham.

My sugar withdrawal was so intense I just didn’t know how I was going to do it. I went on to the challenge loop to see how the other challengers were doing.

I had posted three times the prior day and through the night Brett had responded to all three of my posts. I was amazed that he was watching me. He was taking an interest in my struggles and my desires to become a fitter me, and it kept me going. It took me through the end of the week.

At the end of the week I had lost seven and a half pounds and seven and three-quarters inches. I was sold on Brett Hoebel’s 20-Minute Body program and I was able to push through those next two weeks of that challenge.

I am still amazed That 21 short days of a 20 minute workout can absolutely transforme somebody’s body so quickly. I was sold and I wanted to tell the world I was very excited to start the next challenge. It couldn’t come quick enough for me. And through that challenge I worked and I worked and I was able to pull more people in and say you know you’ve got to try this guy out.

I ended up I ended up winning that challenge and I’m so grateful because, again, I didn’t do this to win I did this to make a better me for myself. I did this to transform not only my physical self but the way that I viewed myself… my mental outlook on myself.

I knew I could be better. I just didn’t have the tools to do it. I had four Skype sessions, that was what I won with him, and I’m telling you I did my best trying to capture every word he was saying. I didn’t want to miss one thing that he was going to tell me about healthy eating and digestion and just everything you could think of. He just overwhelmed me with facts and physically how my body was doing and I just appreciated it so much!

I was so so very encouraged and then came challenge 3, which we just finished and… amazing! I’m just so excited to be able to purchase this program. I believe in it so much!

The workouts, I think one of the things that kept me going throughout the workouts is he almost knew when you were getting tired. He almost knew when you were saying oh I don’t know if I can get through this. And that was when he would just throw out one of his beautiful inspirational quotes and it would push you through to the end.

My advice to those who are starting this journey… number one is believe in yourself! You can achieve what you believe, despite what people may think! Number two, surround yourself with people who are going to believe in you because when you start to think that you’re going to fail it’s going to be those people who are going to push you even farther.

I almost gave up I almost gave up on myself and have this program and Brett Hoebel to thank for this. So thank you Brett. Thanks to your entire team. I wish you well in all your successes and I wish every one of you out there the same physical transformation that I received. You can do this!

Brett Hoebel’s 20 Minute Body – Review