The First 20 Minutes

Surprising Science Reveals How We Can Exercise Better, Train Smarter, Live Longer

By: Gretchen Reynolds

Narrated by: Karen Saltus

Every Wednesday, Gretchen Reynolds singlehandedly influences how millions of Americans work out. In her Phys Ed column for The New York Times, she debunks myths, spurs conversation, and creates arguments among her readers by questioning widely held beliefs about exercise.

Expanding upon her popular columns, Reynolds tackles the questions we all have and (sometimes) ask about exercise. Consulting experts in physiology, biology, psychology, neurology, and sports, she uncovers how often we should exercise, how long workouts should be, how to avoid injury, and how to find the right form, routine, and equipment for our goals.

She also reveals some surprising answers, like:

20 minutes of cardio at a time is enough to obtain maximum health benefits. (And in some cases, just six minutes is all you need.)*

Stretching before a workout is counterproductive. (It's better to just start easy, i.e., walk before you run.)

Core strength is nice but not necessary. (A six-pack looks great but actually has little bearing on performance.)

Walking improves your memory; housecleaning improves your mood. (The brain is like a muscle - it likes to exercise.)

Chocolate milk is better than Gatorade for recovery. (Providing the best sports nutrition is often the simplest.)

Drawing on scientific expertise as well as her own athletic experiences, Gretchen Reynolds will help you find the right workout for your body, age, fitness and goals. Whether your desire is to be fit for the rest of your life, to look great in a smaller dress size, or to run your third marathon in Boston, The First 20 Minutes will make your workouts work for you.

©2012 Gretchen Reynolds (P)2012 Gildan Media, LLC

Critic reviews

"[This audiobook] delivers answers to many perennial training questions [and] does a great job of myth-busting some well-established beliefs. It's a great guide for the mindful athlete who wants to gain all the benefits of physical training while minimizing downtime from injury or over-training." (Danny Dreyer, Founder of Chi Running and co-author of Chi Running, Chi Walking, and Chi Marathon)

"There has never been a better time in history to grow stronger, faster, and smarter; there has never been a more helpful book than Gretchen Reynolds's The First 20 Minutes. Smart, clear, and beautifully useful, this is the new fitness Bible for the modern age." (Dan Coyle, author of The Talent Code and Lance Armstrong's War)

" The First 20 Minutes is packed with interesting tips and insights. Pickle juice for cramps, who would have ever thought! Gretchen Reynolds once again delivers a winner." (Dean Karnazes, uber athlete and New York Times best-selling author of UltraMarathon Man)

I Have Now Become a Life-long Mover!

Even partway through this book, I was totally convinced! Every cell and function in my body is enhanced by being a person who stands and moves much more than I sit. I have now become a life-long mover.

A great read, but a little too carb centric.

Any additional comments?

Okay I learnt a LOT from this book and would definitely recommend it. Gretchen squeezes a lot of the most recent findings related to exercise and nutrition into a concise and informative narrative.

This book has changed the way I think and do my exercise and have already incorporated HIIT style running sessions in my training with great results. There are many other gems of information but I won't spoil it. If you are remotely interested in fitness or just turning back the biological clock this is a must read.

Notes from a low-carb perspective...
Unlike other books the author does not unnecessarily demonise fat, but seems not ready to make the leap to saying fat can be healthy, and Gretchen still conveys a carbohydrate centric view of diet which was a mild but not unexpected disappointment.

In the end her only concession was saying high fat diets are fine if you exercise, I might argue similarly for carb based diet, but thats still not mainstream opinion. Even if you are keto / paleo there is still plenty to learn from this book. enjoy.

Would have liked but for cruel animal experiments

The cruel animal experiments were disturbing. Well performed and interesting. Last chapter was eye opening.

Amazing New Research Well Written in Lay Terms

If you could sum up The First 20 Minutes in three words, what would they be?

The research on exercise physiology has never been summarized so well before. Gretchen Reynolds does an outstanding job of presenting the research in an especially helpful manner. I am a medical doctor & runner who finds her writing enlightening & refreshing, as well as inspiring.

What did you like best about this story?

She is comprehensive, yet summarizes exercise physiology research in an extremely helpful manner.

What does Karen Saltus bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She reads beautifully with appropriate emphasis in her voice.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

It would need to be a documentary. "Even very little exercise preserves the brain, as well as the entire body."

Any additional comments?

I would recommend this book to everyone.

Great info, strange "acting"

While the info was great the random accents were unnecessary. Will listen again.... probably.

good info

This was good information. However, my emphasis in fitness is on powerlifting and it is tilted toward those who are into aerobic fitness, and especially running. This meant that, except for advice on HIIT/tabata for weight loss, it wasn't as much worth to me as it might be for some others.

like listening to a children's book

I enjoyed listening to this while working out, as the research presented was inspiring and got me to exercise differently - like having a coach that knew physiological research whispering in my ear.

The "whispering" part, though, is the problem. The narrator's style was far too folksy and cutesy - like listening to my son's first grade teacher trying to get the kids ready for story time. She went so far as to "act" in different characters when she quoted science journals - to the point of (borderline offensively) putting on accents when quoting research from researchers with Chinese and Japanese names...

I do recommend this book to folks who need to be coaxed off the couch or who (like me) are a bit in a rut with workouts. And I'm sure the reader does a fine job with YA fiction and romance, but this book didn't match her skills.

Narrator too robotic

The content of the book was really interesting, and the writing was funny at times, but the narrator was so robotic that I couldn't finish the book. It took so much extra effort to not completely tune her voice out. I just couldn't get myself to focus on the content. Her voice was so robotic and absent of personality, it was just like the voice you hear when you call a massive company's customer service line.

Plenty of Healthy Useful Facts

Would you consider the audio edition of The First 20 Minutes to be better than the print version?

I think so. The audiobook didn't mentioned data from charts, at least I don't recall such, so I think this is the ideal case when audiobook can replace prints.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No

Any additional comments?

The best to way to describe the book is it's a list of facts & myth-busting supported by various researches with no bias from the author.

Good info.

Any additional comments?

Not sure if I agree with everything she says, but it was a good book