A FITNESS fanatic from Cirencester is attempting to turn the tables on a dangerous internet phenomenon by encouraging people to take part in short bursts of intense exercise.

Kickboxer Martin Rhodes has started a Facebook page to rival that of Neknominations, a potentially lethal game that involves participants filming themselves drinking a pint of alcohol in one swift chug and then nominating a friend to do the same.

HITnominations invites users to record themselves taking part in 60 seconds of high intensity training before asking others to follow suit.

“I was nominated by the person who actually started the whole thing. I decided to set up the Facebook page for it and within 24 hours more than 400 people had joined,” he said.

“We’ve now had more than 2,000 people get involved with HITnominations. The whole thing has just spread like wildfire.”

The 36-year-old has been HITnominated twice already and for one of his minute long workouts, he ran through a field of thick mud.

“That was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I even lost my shoes. The point, though, is to just give up one minute of your time and give it your all. It doesn’t have to be something as extreme as running in mud,” he said.

Neknominations are believed to be responsible for the deaths of up to five people in the UK with many calling on young people to take a stand against the new craze.

Martin said: “That whole thing has had a lot of bad press, quite rightly too. I know a lot more people would rather do something that is healthy.

“It just isn’t that much of a joke anymore. People are looking down at those who are still taking part in it.”

For more information, log on to www.facebook.com and search for HITnominations.