#29: EMOM Training, For Dummies
EMOM (Every Minute On the Minute) workouts are the next best thing you should be adding to your weekly routine.
Why? Because for just as little as 20 minutes, you can pack on as much muscle mass and endurance as you would in a longer moderate-intensity workout.
An EMOM is a routine (a series of physical movements) that repeats itself every 60 seconds for a set amount of time. If you complete the workout before your minute is up, you can fit in some rest time. But that’s not the point. Rather, you should pace yourself.
Like HIIT, exercises are challenging enough to get your heart rate at up to 85% of your maximum, without dropping below 60% in the rest period.
As we will see below, the EMOM can be a standalone workout or a finisher to a traditional workout.
Why should you be using EMOM
Putting the body through repeated movements against the clock is a neat way of overloading the muscle.
Moreover, this high-volume training style can be done in a relatively short timeframe. You can hit the same time time under tension in 10 - 20 minutes as you would otherwise in around 30 - 45 minutes of a traditional workout.
The very nature of the activity can also improve your endurance while working on your fat loss since, you know, EMOMs can burn lots of calories depending on the structure of the workout.
The adaptable workout structure is another plus, because each workout can be molded to target specific muscle groups.
Their adaptability can even extend to sport-specific activities. Take martial arts, for instance. Through EMOM, you can perform a series of strikes under constraint of time. This, ultimately, not only improves technique, but even coordination.
If you want to build strength you can focus on heavy low-rep work, whereas if you want to improve your cardio, you can focus on several other exercises ranging from burpees to rowing. And hey, you can even add the two together!
EMOM for beginners
Go for a workout duration of 10 to 20 minutes (this is just a general guideline).
You can use a single exercise (for example: push ups) or multiple exercises (for example: push ups, burpees, air squats and jumping jacks). But if you choose just one exercise, it would be wise to keep the workout short.
For fat loss - choose exercises that are going to keep your heart rate high (70% - 85%). Select movements which are as dynamic as possible (burpees and sprints are great examples).
For muscle strength/size - choose compound exercise and keep the rep range low.
When choosing exercises, make sure to be as realistic as possible when it comes to the prospect of completing each exercise at the designated time. If you choose pull ups, but after minute 3 you can’t perform a single rep, it would defeat the purpose of the entire workout.
So that’s really all there is to it. EMOMs are interval-style workouts that challenge your overall fitness and it would be quite advantageous to incorporate them in your routine.
You may not even need any equipment to see each workout through - an added plus to those wishing to workout at home.
You can get a feel for one EMOM workout by trying one of my very own. To check it out, click here.
