Carlos Elysee HIIT Interview

Carlos Elysee HIIT Interview

According to fitness industry expert and founder of the 30 Minute Blitz, Carlos Elysee, there is a misconception that high intensity interval training (HIIT) requires a lot of pressure or force on the body in order to create the intense workouts that are designed to make you sweat and fatigue in a short space of time. Carlos is adamant that this is not the case at all. In fact, Carlos believes high intensity training is more effective when it is undertaken in a low impact way.

"The majority of my fitness clients want to do exercise that is good for their body and lots of fun. Many range in fitness and want to ensure they can cope with the level of activity involved with high intensity exercise," Carlos said today.

"The key with any type of exercise is to do what is manageable on the body and doesn't cause unwanted stress or injury. Exercise has to be sustainable. Exercise is not enjoyable or effective if you keep injuring yourself or feel dejected because you can't keep up with the level of physical intensity involved.

"HIIT training scares a lot of people away because they think it is high impact and requires a lot of robust movement. Some HIIT regimes may, but my programs don't.

"I have developed several programs which incorporate high intensity low impact (HILI) exercises that are ideal for people who prefer mainly body weight exercises, are getting back into fitness or don't want to push too hard for fear of injuring themselves or not being able to keep up.

"Low impact training is all about working the body using body weight as the key force. It can also be undertaken anywhere and doesn't require equipment or gym membership.

"I have observed so much need for high intensity training over the years, that I have developed two programs to help people to train in a shorter period of time while experiencing results faster. - the Ten Minute Turnaround program which can be undertaken every day, and the 30 Minute Blitz, which can be undertaken three times per week or more.

"My 10 Minute program is designed to introduce people to exercise on a daily basis assisting them to graduate to more intensive programs like the 30 Minute Blitz, as they get fitter. My low impact regime can be done in the lounge room and include movements and exercises such as:

1 minute shadow punches (10 left right combinations then a squat/duck for 1 minute)
1 minute plank
1 minute burpees (without the jump and step out into the push up position)
1 minute tricep dips (on the edge of a sturdy coffee table)
1 minute butterfly squats (from squat position up onto the toes with arms up high and out wide)
1 minute standing knee raises (standing position alternate knees to the chest)
1 minute push ups
1 minute cycle (lying on your back and rotate the legs in a cycle motion)
1 minute calf raises (simply stand with arms folded across the chest, up onto the toes and down rapidly for the minute, after 30 seconds you'll know what I mean)
1 minute shoulder press (hold a 1 litre drink bottle in each hand, military press for the minute)
1 minute wall sit (lean against a wall, in a 90 degree angle seated position)
1 minute crunches (raising solely shoulders off the ground)

1 minute lateral shuffle (keeping body low shuffle 5 steps side to side)
1 minute V ups (lying on the back, raise legs and upper body into V shape, touch the toes)
1 minute bicep curls (use anything with some weight, from drink bottles to vases)

If you want to do 30 minutes of exercise, simply repeat in this order with a short 15 second break in between each minute's exercise. 30 minutes of high intensity low impact (HILI) exercises like these every few days will get you fit fast.

"Even though these exercises are low impact, they are high intensity and you'll find that your heart rate rises, muscles burn, sweat pours and the fat runs away, without any high impact on the body.

"If you do like using equipment, throw in accessories like a swissball, kettlebells, TRX, and you can add some variations that will still provide the high intensity workouts with low impact on the body.

"High intensity exercise gets the metabolism burning faster and it keeps burning at an increased rate even after you stop exercising. This is one of the main reasons why high intensity training is so good for the body, it gets the metabolism burning at a higher rate during and after exercise."

You can find many high intensity low impact (HILI) exercises using body weight @carloselysee on Instagram or carloselyseePT on Facebook, or simply go to www.30easy.com and enrol to learn the 30 Minute Blitz program for yourself.

Interview with Carlos Elysee

Question: What is 30 Minute Blitz?

Carlos Elysee: The 30 Minute Blitz is a high intensity interval training flexible program which involves undertaking a series of 1 minute exercises with short breaks in between to get the heart rate up. The program includes a range of varied exercises including low impact and high impact and the exercises can be undertaken in any combination anywhere anytime. People who prefer low impact exercises, ie, people recovering from injuries, or those that prefer body weight, can undertake the Blitz and get the heart rate up while still being kind to the joints. Those who prefer high impact can do (high impact) exercises which involve a lot more robust movements. The program doesn't need gym membership or equipment, but accessories including kettlebells, battle ropes, etc can be included.


Question: Can you share with us some of the results of 30 Minute Blitz?

Carlos Elysee: The 30 Minute Blitz will reduce fat fast and increase fitness fast. Many of my clients have noticed weight loss and improved tone in less than a week undertaking the Blitz program every day. The program is ideal for anyone starting out as well as it can be undertaken up to 3 times a week as well. It is also ideal for those that require a higher level of activity, as the exercises can be changed around to increase intensity levels.


Question: What inspired you to create 30 Minute Blitz?

Carlos Elysee: I used to play high level sport, but I injured my back. After this, I found it difficult to participate in exercise. I started developing my own home based regime to help me to recover through exercise that increased my fitness without straining my back. Over a period of time, my fitness improved, my back pain reduced and I was able to live normally again. I realised that exercise doesn't require a gym or have to involve high impact activities in order to maximise results. I have now developed the 10 Minute Turnaround Program and the 30 Minute Blitz - and both are ideal for anyone wanting to maximise results.


Question: Why should we be focusing our time on high intensity interval training (HIIT)?

Carlos Elysee: High intensity interval training increases the metabolism faster and keeps it burning at a high level for longer, even after we stop exercising. If you think of our metabolism as a flame, high intensity training is like throwing gasoline on to the flame. It burns higher and faster and burns for longer. Regular intensity exercise doesn't achieve the same results.


Question: What is high intensity interval training (HIIT)?

Carlos Elysee: High intensity interval training involves undertaking an activity as hard as you can for a short period of time and then resting briefly and then repeating the pattern again. It is a fast and efficient way to exercise that achieves better results in a shorter period of time than traditional exercise. For example, if someone runs at mid-level on a treadmill for 50 minutes, they will gradually increase their metabolic rate. If someone runs at high intensity for short bursts on a treadmill for 30 minutes, they will burn more calories.


Question: How can we undertake high intensity interval training (HIIT) in a low impact way?

Carlos Elysee: Low impact high intensity (HILI) exercise involves using body weight. I have listed a few below.

1 minute shadow punches (10 left right combinations then a squat/duck for 1 minute) 1 minute plank
1 minute burpees (without the jump and step out into the push up position)
1 minute tricep dips (on the edge of a sturdy coffee table)
1 minute butterfly squats (from squat position up onto the toes with arms up high and out wide)
1 minute standing knee raises (standing position alternate knees to the chest)
1 minute push ups
1 minute cycle (lying on your back and rotate the legs in a cycle motion)
1 minute calf raises (simply stand with arms folded across the chest, up onto the toes and down rapidly for the minute, after 30 seconds you'll know what I mean)
1 minute shoulder press (hold a 1 litre drink bottle in each hand, military press for the minute)
1 minute wall sit (lean against a wall, in a 90 degree angle seated position)
1 minute crunches (raising solely shoulders off the ground)
1 minute lateral shuffle (keeping body low shuffle 5 steps side to side)
1 minute V ups (lying on the back, raise legs and upper body into V shape, touch the toes)
1 minute bicep curls (use anything with some weight, from drink bottles to vases)


Question: Can high intensity interval training (HIIT) be increased by introducing weights?

Carlos Elysee: Yes, the 10 Minute Turnaround and the 30 Minute Blitz are very flexible programs that enable weights to be used, but at a lighter weight with intensity and by the end of each minute the muscles with be fatigued and create better tone and conditioning.

 

Question:   Are you able to share an example of the 30 Minute Blitz?

 

Carlos Elysee: 1 minute kettlebell swing

1 minute powerbag squats

1 minute bicep curls

1 minute plank

1 minute dumbbell shoulder press

1 minute box jumps

1 minute tricep dips

1 minute army crawl

1 minute slamball

1 minute dumbbell lunges

1 minute pushups

1 minute Russian twists

1 minute burpees

With a 20 second break in between (the rest point is as important as the exercise), repeat once for about 30 minutes.

Interview by Brooke Hunter