Can You Really Get Fit In One Minute?

A new book by the guru of HIIT workouts, Martin Gibala, claims so. We take a look at the theory – and what his speedy sessions involve.

- Hannah Ebelthite

Whatever type of fitness you’re into, you’ll be familiar with the term HIIT, or high-intensity interval training – you’ve probably even tried this type of go-hard, go-easy approach. Here at H&F we’re big fans of HIIT workouts for fast fitness gains. So when the latest book from US Professor Martin Gibala – a pioneer of HIIT since 2005 – landed on our desks, we were keen to learn what was new – especially when we clocked the title.

In The One Minute Workout (Vermilion, £14.99), Gibala talks you through the history of HIIT. It’s been the most popular fitness phenomenon of the past decade and acknowledged since the mid-1990s as an efficient way to boost not just cardio fitness, but strength and overall health and longevity, too. And, as the book explains, HIIT has been used in various forms by elite athletes since as far back as the 1920s.