u/Head_Copy_4738

Quick question for the more experienced folks in here.

I’ve always believed you need longer sessions (45-90 minutes) to make decent gains. But lately I’ve been experimenting with short, focused 20-minute workouts every day instead, basically hitting the big compound lifts hard with good form and tight rest periods.

Surprisingly, I’ve been way more consistent, my strength is still moving up, and I’m actually seeing visible changes without feeling burned out.

So I wanted to ask you guys who’ve been training for a while:

Do you think 20 minutes a day can be enough for solid long-term progress?

Have any of you tried shorter daily sessions and seen good results?

Or do you still believe longer sessions are necessary?

Would love to hear your honest takes, especially from people who have tried both approaches. I'm just curious what’s worked for you.

Hey everyone,

I’m 17 and just got into the gym a couple months ago. I’m running a basic PPL routine and it’s been going okay, but back day is always a struggle for me.

Whenever it’s time for vertical pulls, I end up defaulting to lat pulldowns or assisted pull-ups… and they just feel super uncomfortable and awkward. My form feels off, I don’t really feel it in my back, and it kinda kills my motivation for the whole session.

So I wanted to ask the more experienced folks here:

What’s your favorite back exercise (or two) for actually building a thicker/wider back that isn’t lat pulldowns or pull-up variations?

I’m especially looking for stuff that feels more natural and where I can actually feel the muscle working. Any tips on form or alternatives that worked for you when you were starting out would be awesome too.