By Brent Gallagher, AFS Community Expert

Think back to the year 2010: How busy were you? How much free time did you used to have?

Now today: How much busier are you than in 2010? Should I even ask about free time?

Think about it: All the work demands, travel commitments, mindless checking of emails and texts, managing clients, worrying about the future of your business, Facebook updates and Likes, endless Instagram scrolling, driving kids all around town, selfies every 10 minutes, and still, trying to have a normal life in the process - life shows no signs of slowing down.

As we begin to realize that ‘busyness is the new status symbol’ we can start to wrestle with this unique question:

Does more time = better health?

Is there something magic about 60 minutes? Does the community we serve even have 60 minutes to workout anymore? What if we only get 59 minutes? 45? 30?

Can we actually train for just 30 minutes and still achieve the same results as a 60 minute session? Could we - as leaders in the fitness industry - create high quality and high engagement in just 30 minutes? Do we feel our clients would even invest in less time if they could still get better results?

WATCH MORE: See how Brent Designs his Training Program


Basically, I’m challenging you with this: Is it possible to go against the grain in this industry and still be successful?

I hear the chatter in your head already shooting this 30 minute concept down: That’s it? How’s that enough? How do you fit it all in?

Meet your clients where they are.

If we know our clients are stressed out trying to cram everything into their daily to-do list (just like we are), why wouldn’t we explore a more time efficient way to help them achieve their results?

As we breakdown the meaning of “time”, we begin to see it as a teacher, regulator, liar, tempter and a stressor. We have the inclination to add more in and never take anything out, thus limiting our time. We can see this at play when we’re at work thinking about being home or when we’re at home thinking about work stuff.

As your time goes, so does your life. Or to put it another way, as your schedule goes, so goes your life.

Challenging the status quo

What’s the biggest cost for our clients to train with us? Money? Sweat? Discipline? It’s their time.

It’s 60 minutes out of their already crazy, stressed, jammed packed to-do list, busy day.

Clients don’t want more workout time. What they want is access to your leadership. And we all know what makes a leader great - one who delivers results in a more efficient manner, while deeply caring about those they lead.

As we strive to become better leaders, we begin to see that we can actually deliver results in 30 minutes because we’ve refocused back on the basics of living fit: Sleep more. Eat better. Train less.

Less time to work = Less time to waste. Get back to the basics.


Brent Gallagher is the owner of Avenu Fitness & Lifestyle, a brand measuring the quality of life one can live, not just their biceps and waistlines. Over the last 10 years Brent has grown from zero clients and zero teammates in 1,200 sq. ft. to an all-star 14 person team generating over seven figures annually, serving 465+ clients in 4,500 sq. ft. He has created a one-of-a-kind, unorthodox, 30 minute approach to training, nutrition and life that’s an unsuspecting experience from the typical workout.

Brent invests time coaching high performing leaders and challenging fitness businesses to come to blows with the status quo by redefining what's possible for the communities they serve. www.BrentGallagher.com 

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