Between work, family commitments and a social life, finding time to exercise can feel like one of the biggest barriers to getting in shape.

Skye Mackintosh set out to prove that you don’t need hours in the gym to transform your physique. Instead, he committed to just 20 minutes of exercise every day, documenting his progress over almost a year.

After 340 days, his transformation has attracted thousands of followers. Throughout the challenge, Mackintosh relied on simple home workouts using little more than his bodyweight, a kettlebell and a handful of basic equipment. More recently, he added a weighted vest to keep challenging himself.

Mackintosh’s motivation came after years of feeling unhappy with his physique.

‘As a teenager I was naturally skinny,’ he wrote on Instagram. ‘Then, as an adult, my age, eating habits, and lack of consistent exercise caught up to me. For 10 years I was “skinny fat”.’

Before beginning the challenge, he focused on improving his diet. After cutting out added sugar for a year, he lost almost 10kg. But the weight loss alone wasn’t enough to make him feel the way he wanted, prompting him to start strength training at home.

‘I cut out added sugar for a year and lost 18lbs,’ he shared. ‘I felt better but not great. I knew that I needed to change and that accountability would help. So I started working out in my bedroom and posting it online. I was humbled and blown away that thousands rallied to support and keep me going. I put on about 8 pounds [3.6kg] and made it to day 100.’

Another 100 days later, he’d gained roughly 18 pounds (8.2kg) in total. While he felt stronger, he admitted: ‘I felt strong but didn’t feel confident with how I was looking. The extra weight had me feeling a bit sluggish.’

Mackintosh’s next goal was to reduce his body fat while holding on to the muscle he’d built. By Day 300, he weighed 3 pounds (1.4kg) less than he had on Day 1, but looked considerably leaner and more muscular.

‘I feel strong, athletic, and most importantly: happy. I learned to trust myself and the process,’ said Mackintosh.

Mackintosh’s transformation is a reminder that you don’t need marathon gym sessions to make meaningful progress. Twenty minutes of strength training performed consistently can add up over time, particularly when paired with progressive overload and a supportive diet.

As his results show, the best training plan isn’t necessarily the most complicated – it’s the one you can stick to for the long term.

If there’s one thing Kori Sampson knows, it’s how to optimise your body composition for performance. To tap into his knowledge as an elite athlete and coach, we asked him to create a 4-week plan to help you move faster, recover quicker and keep pushing when the fatigue sets in – all while improving your muscle-to-fat ratio.

Ready to build muscle, burn fat and come out the other side looking, feeling and performing better? Click here to get 14 days of free access to the plan via the Men’s Health app.