The :20 Minute Workout
Encyclopedia
20 Minute Workout is a Canadian-produced aerobics
-based television program that ran from 1983 to 1984, in which "a bevy of beautiful girls" demonstrated exercise on a rotating platform.
in 1983, produced by Tantra Entertainment in association with the Canadian animation company Nelvana
, and broadcast locally on Citytv
. In the United States, it was syndicated
by Orion Pictures
. Two seasons of the program were produced, although reruns continued to appear for many years afterwards. The first season featured a different instructor for each day of the week, Monday through Friday. Bess Motta, Arlaine Wright, Holly Butler, Nicole Nardini, and Anne Schumacher all had speaking roles. The second season featured only Bess and Arlaine as instructors. One selling point of the show was the young attractive girls exercising in leotards, notwithstanding the fine aerobics. The exercise routines were demanding, high-impact aerobics, followed by a stretching
section. Pulsating music from synthesizers played in the background. For the first season, music was performed by the group Shiva, while the second season featured music by the trio Jermyn/King/Ouillet.
There are numerous websites hosted by fans that detail about the dancers, and include so-called screen-captures from the show. The :20 Minute Workout is a spin-off
from Aerobicise, a series of home videos that were first released in 1981, which had varying subtitles of "The Beginners Workout", "The Ultimate Workout", and "The Beautiful Workout". In 1982, a series of segments aired in the U.S. on Showtime as unscheduled filler in between features, and lasting no longer than 5 minutes. Both the videos and the filler featured a different cast (none of which wore shoes), and unlike the show they later spawned, exercise instruction was either kept minimal, or not featured at all, and any that was present was given by an off-screen "narrator".
"Aerobicise" is also the name of the original 1982 pilot episode of 20 Minute Workout.
Aerobics
Aerobics is a form of physical exercise that combines rhythmic aerobic exercise with stretching and strength training routines with the goal of improving all elements of fitness...
-based television program that ran from 1983 to 1984, in which "a bevy of beautiful girls" demonstrated exercise on a rotating platform.
Series background
20 Minute Workout was created by Ron HarrisRon Harris (photographer)
Ron Harris is an American erotic photographer and television director.Ron Harris was a fashion photographer in New York for over 40 years, working with fashion magazines Elle, Vogue and Cosmopolitan and others. Harris has over 25,000 published photographs and over 450 Art Director Awards and 13...
in 1983, produced by Tantra Entertainment in association with the Canadian animation company Nelvana
Nelvana
Nelvana Limited is a Canadian entertainment company founded in 1971 known for its work in children's animation. It was named by founders Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith after a Canadian comic book superheroine created by Adrian Dingle in the 1940s...
, and broadcast locally on Citytv
Citytv
Citytv is a Canadian English language television system owned and operated by Rogers Communications under its Rogers Broadcasting Ltd. division...
. In the United States, it was syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
by Orion Pictures
Orion Pictures
Orion Pictures Corporation was an American independent production company that produced movies from 1978 until 1998. It was formed in 1978 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and three former top-level executives of United Artists. Although it was never a large motion picture producer, Orion...
. Two seasons of the program were produced, although reruns continued to appear for many years afterwards. The first season featured a different instructor for each day of the week, Monday through Friday. Bess Motta, Arlaine Wright, Holly Butler, Nicole Nardini, and Anne Schumacher all had speaking roles. The second season featured only Bess and Arlaine as instructors. One selling point of the show was the young attractive girls exercising in leotards, notwithstanding the fine aerobics. The exercise routines were demanding, high-impact aerobics, followed by a stretching
Stretching
Stretching is a form of physical exercise in which a specific skeletal muscle is deliberately elongated, often by abduction from the torso, in order to improve the muscle's felt elasticity and reaffirm comfortable muscle tone. The result is a feeling of increased muscle control, flexibility and...
section. Pulsating music from synthesizers played in the background. For the first season, music was performed by the group Shiva, while the second season featured music by the trio Jermyn/King/Ouillet.
There are numerous websites hosted by fans that detail about the dancers, and include so-called screen-captures from the show. The :20 Minute Workout is a spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
from Aerobicise, a series of home videos that were first released in 1981, which had varying subtitles of "The Beginners Workout", "The Ultimate Workout", and "The Beautiful Workout". In 1982, a series of segments aired in the U.S. on Showtime as unscheduled filler in between features, and lasting no longer than 5 minutes. Both the videos and the filler featured a different cast (none of which wore shoes), and unlike the show they later spawned, exercise instruction was either kept minimal, or not featured at all, and any that was present was given by an off-screen "narrator".
"Aerobicise" is also the name of the original 1982 pilot episode of 20 Minute Workout.
First season
- Sharon Bisset
- Laurie Briscoe
- Holly ButlerHolly ButlerHolly Butler born October 19, 1957, is an American actress, singer/songwriter, dancer and former aerobics instructor who appeared in the :20 Minute Workout Television Show's first season . The :20 Minute Workout became the longest running syndicated exercise show, airing in 57 countries...
- Sue Carter
- Bess MottaBess MottaBess Motta is an American actress, singer, choreographer, and exercise demonstrator who appeared in the Canadian produced television series, The :20 Minute Workout which aired for two seasons in 1983 and 1984....
- Nicole Nardini
- Anne Schumacher
- Leslie Smith
- Arlaine Wright
Second season
- Michelle Brimacombe
- Ella Collins
- Sharon Hasfal
- Alison Hope
- Nerise Houghton
- Bess Motta
- Anne Schumacher
- Leslie Smith
- Arlaine Wright
- Joe Huband