Martin Gibala - The One-Minute Workout: Science Shows a Way to Get Fit That’s Smarter, Faster, Shorter

Feel like you dont have time to exercise? Looking for a way to get in shapefast? Of course you are. Regular physical activity makes you look and feel better. Youll also fight the aging process, go through your days in happier spirits, and reduce your chance of developing ailments like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and even cancer.

I think exercise is one of the best things around. Most of us are under the impression, however, that exercise has to be time-intensive. We have this notion that it takes at least an hour to get in a good workoutmore if you factor in the time required to get to and from the gym.

My studies show that idea is nonsense. The past decade has seen an explosion of research into the science of high-intensity interval training, better known by its acronym, HIIT, pronounced hit. Were learning that HIIT can provide serious benefits that increase a workouts time-efficiency. Sprint interval training, or SIT, which is the most extreme version of the technique and is characterized by a few brief bursts of all-out exercise, is especially potent. Were not just talking running here. HIIT techniques can be applied to virtually any mode of traditional cardio-type exercises, such as cycling, swimming, or rowing. Thanks to the new science of ultralow-dose exercise, those who read this book will learn strategies to get fit in the time required to grab a coffee, update a Facebook status, or check a Twitter feed.

Think for a moment about the traditional concept of what it takes to get fit. Most of us will envision an activity that requires hours and hours of hard work. Lots of miles pedaling in the bike saddle. Entire afternoons navigating running trails. Lap after lap at the local pool. Consequently, many people are too intimidated to even try to get fit. Many of us feel like there simply isnt enough time to fit in a workout.

But you know what? Thats wrong. Thats what my years of study have taught me. Ive discovered that fitness is possible without spending countless hours in the gym. I dont want to say that all the people who do that are wasting their time. But the fact is, a method exists that enables you to reap the benefits of hours of exercise in just minutes per day. Strategies can be incorporated to transform you from out of shape to fit in the least amount of time possible. Among my biggest discoveries is a workout that provides the benefits of nearly an hour of steady aerobic exercise with just a single minute of hard exercising.

Pretty remarkable, right?

This book is for the people who believe they dont have time to exercise. In these pages, I describe techniques pulled from the latest scientific studieshow they work and how you can use them. I also provide tips on how to best manage your weight. And provide some easy methods to design muscle-building workouts that can be conducted anywhere from hotel rooms to your local park, with little or no need for special equipment.

I know, I knowmany personal trainers and workout celebrities promise such benefits. But they dont have the deep scientific knowledge that comes from being a leading researcher in the field. The groundbreaking studies that have come out of my lab have been covered by the New York Times, Time magazine, and NBC Nightly News, to name just a few media outlets. In 2015, a review article that I wrote on the topic of time-efficient exercise was the most accessed paper in the Journal of Physiology, the worlds most cited physiology journal. In fact, the top two titles on the Journals annual ranking of most-accessed papers were from my laboratory, and we had three in the top fifteen. Thats quite a feat, considering all the amazing human physiology research that is conducted worldwide.

I am also fortunate to work with a lot of great people. As the chair of the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, I interact on a daily basis with people whose assembly of brainpower ranks among the best on the planet. McMaster is one of the centers of the universe when it comes to exercise, observes Carl Foster, a physiologist at the University of WisconsinLa Crosse and a past president of the American College of Sports Medicine. In fact, McMaster is a world-leading center of excellence in the study of how physical activity changes human physiology and health.