Strength changes what life makes possible.
fit20 was built around a simple belief: people deserve an effective, sustainable way to become stronger at every age and stage of life. Our method combines personalized strength training, expert coaching, measurable progression and intentional recovery in one focused 20-minute session once per week.
fit20 began in the Netherlands and has grown around the world. In the U.S., we are committed continuing to build fit20 around the needs, lives and goals of the people we serve.
fit20 began in the Netherlands and has grown around the world. In the U.S., we are committed continuing to build fit20 around the needs, lives and goals of the people we serve.
rapid global expansion
160+ Studios
12 countries
5 continents
Dr. Ben Litalien | Owner & CEO and Rebecca Church | COO
Strength training is what we do. people are why we do it.
fit20 USA is led by people who know the business from inside the studio. Our U.S. leadership experience spans franchising, operations, trainer development, member experience and years of working directly with the people who walk through our doors every week.
That matters because decisions about fit20 USA are not made from a distance. We know what a first session feels like for someone who is nervous about strength training. We know what consistency looks like after hundreds of weekly appointments. We know the pride of watching a member accomplish something they once thought was out of reach. And we know that the relationship between a member and their trainer can be every bit as important to long-term consistency as the equipment itself.
From one studio to a global method.
2009
Founded
Walter Vendel and Bram Kroeske launch the fit20 concept, with the first studio opening in Zwolle, Netherlands.2015
Global expansion
The first Belgian studio opens in Kraainem. By that point, fit20 had already grown to 51 studios in the Netherlands.2017
Traverse City, MI
fit20 opens its first U.S. studio, fit20 Traverse City. It is the 114th fit20 studio worldwide, with the concept already operating across five countries.2018
fredericksburg, va
fit20 expands into Virginia with fit20 Cosner's Corner.2019
Stafford, VA
The peer-reviewed research analyzes 14,690 participants and reports substantial fit20 Aquia Park joins the growing U.S. network in Northern Virginia.2020
Jacksonville Beach, FL
fit20 reaches Florida with the opening of fit20 JAX Beach.2020
St. George, UT
fit20 Dixie Commons opens, bringing the method to Southern Utah.2020
USA Flagship location
fit20 Liberty Place officially opens in downtown Fredericksburg as the U.S. flagship studio and National Franchise Training Center. At the time, fit20 reported more than 150 studios across nine countries.2021
research
Researchers release a longitudinal analysis using anonymized training records from nearly 15,000 fit20 members who had trained for periods extending up to almost seven years.2022
fit20 study
The peer-reviewed research analyzes 14,690 participants and reports substantial strength gains, including approximately 30–50% during the first year, across participants of different ages, sexes and starting fitness levels.2022
franchise well
Franchise Well assumes responsibility for fit20 USA operations, bringing hands-on franchise, operational and studio leadership to the U.S. system.2025
New era
fit20 USA enters a new era under Franchise Well Fitness ownership, with renewed focus on the member experience, studio performance, trainer development, franchise support and sustainable U.S. expansion.today
international icon
fit20's global organization currently reports 160+ studios in 12 countries across five continents, all built around the same core principles of personal training, progressive resistance and recovery.coming soon
miller place, ny
fit20 Miller Place is coming to Long Island, marking the next chapter of fit20 USA expansion and bringing the method to New York for the first time.
what fit20 believes
Strength should serve your life. Your reason for becoming stronger might be performance, prevention, recovery, confidence, independence, energy, longevity, or simply wanting to know that you are doing something meaningful for your future self. What matters is that your training starts with you. That philosophy shapes everything about fit20.
Personal
Your body, abilities, history and goals are individual. Your resistance, settings and progression should be too.
Purposeful
Everything we do serves a purpose. Ultimately, your optimal potential is our primary goal.
progressive
Your training should adapt with your body. We track performance so progress is intentional.
results driven
Training is only part of becoming stronger. Your body needs time to recover, respond and produce results.
sustainable
The best training program is not the one you survive for six weeks. It is one you can consistently make part of your life.
human
You are not a number on a machine. You have a trainer who knows you, expects you and is invested in your progress.
how fit20 works
Strength training is simple, but doing it precisely is not. Your muscles adapt when they are challenged appropriately and given enough time to respond. That is the foundation of the fit20 method. During your 20-minute session, resistance is individualized to you. Exercises are performed slowly and under control so momentum does not take over the movement. Your trainer guides your position, range of motion and effort while monitoring how you perform. As you become stronger, your resistance and training progress with you. Then you recover. The 5–7 days between sessions give your body time to recover from the training stimulus and adapt before you challenge it again.
20 minutes of focused training. 5–7 days to recover and adapt. Then we do it again.
1. train
20 minutes of slow, controlled strength training creates a focused muscular challenge. Your trainer guides every movement so your muscles, not momentum, are doing the work.
2. recover
Over the next 5–7 days, your body recovers from the training stimulus. This recovery period is when your body begins repairing, rebuilding and preparing for the next challenge.
3. adapt
As your body responds to the training, your muscles become better equipped to handle the same demand. That adaptation is how greater strength develops over time.
4. progress
Your trainer tracks your performance and adjusts resistance, settings and progression as you become stronger, so your training continues to challenge you at the right level.
why this method
Fitness culture has spent decades teaching people to measure exercise by volume. We measure something different: Did the training create the stimulus your body needed?
fit20 is intentionally focused because unnecessary volume does not make a session more valuable. We use the resistance, movement, effort and progression required to create a meaningful strength-training challenge. Then we respect the recovery process enough to let your body respond before doing it again.
fit20 is intentionally focused because unnecessary volume does not make a session more valuable. We use the resistance, movement, effort and progression required to create a meaningful strength-training challenge. Then we respect the recovery process enough to let your body respond before doing it again.