Meet the personal trainer transforming lives in Leeds as 20 minute fitness empire grows across city

Kieran Igwe, 39, opened his first fit20 franchise studio in 2018 in Farsley.

He opened the studio after trying the training himself and being impressed by the results that increases functional strength, endurance, energy and supports the immune system in just 20 minutes a week.

Kieran, who has been a Personal Trainer since 2005, has seen a huge increase in members to his studio since the end of lockdown.

Due to the surge, Kieran has now opened a second studio in Moortown and is set to cross the 100 members mark by the end of 2021 - making his the fastest growing studio in the fit20's short history.

In fit20, the machines are set at high resistance, but you move at a slow speed.

The slow movement speed in combination with a cooled training studio (17˚C) means your body does not get the “sweat stimulus”.

This means participants do not need to change or shower and often train in 'everyday clothes'.

Kieran said: "fit20 is incredibly different from anything else out there that I know of.

"At first I was sceptical too but decided to give it a go.

"I gave up my normal strength training of three times a week and replaced it with the 20 minutes a week fit20 training.

"After two months I was feeling as fit and as lean as I had been but with the big difference of having more time to do the other things that I love and enjoy doing.”

Kieran told the YEP he gets a "buzz" out of helping people with their fitness.

He said: "When I heard about fit20, I realised this was a concept that would be really easy to scale.

"The typical fitness proposition is not very appealing for a lot of people, whereas fit20, I could see, could help so many people who don’t want to or can't commit to spending hours in the gym.

"I saw the opportunity to be part of a movement that’s changing how we look after ourselves and our health."

Richard Jobson is a member of the studio in Leeds.

He said Kieran had helped to transform his life.

Richard added: "I’d hit my mid forties and my fitness and particularly my strength felt like they were draining away and I was struggling with motivation in going to and staying at a gym.

"fit20 was recommended to me by a friend and I must say I was extremely sceptical but gave it a go and I’ve not looked back since.

"At only 20 minutes once a week no matter how tired you feel, you always feel like you have time for your session.

"I’ve stuck it out for 2 years, which is unheard of for me and have watched my fitness, strength and more importantly my confidence improve session by session.

"It sounds like madness 20 minutes once a week but it really works and I highly recommend Kieran and his team."

Kieran is now looking forward to continuing to grow his business.

He said: "My numbers have grown so fast as I’m offering something that people actually want.

"If you can help someone change their life for the better with only 20 minutes of focused exercise per week the only problem you’ll have is finding space for everyone who wants your help!"

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