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Table of Contents
What are EMOM Workouts
EMOM Meaning
The acronym for “EMOM” stands for “every minute on the minute”. This workout will challenge you to perform an exercise for a specific number of reps in less than 60 seconds. The remaining time within that minute will serve as your recovery time.
The EMOM workout is a High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) style workout where you do short bursts of intense exercise with a shorter recovery period. It is an effective way to burn fat, build muscle and boost metabolism in a short period of time. This type of exercise allows you to get creative with your workouts and easily raise the difficulty as your fitness level improves.
Note that recovery time is important so you should work up to 40 seconds and allow up to 20 (a ratio of 2:1) seconds of rest. As you get stronger, you would gradually increase the work time, and reduce the rest time. It is critical that you don’t skip rest time as this could sacrifice the form for the next exercise. Always prioritize quality over quantity!
According to research, HIIT workouts have proven to considerably reduce subcutaneous fat, especially the abdominal fat, along with total body mass, and to enhance V02 max (an indicator of physical fitness).
What Level is EMOM Workout
The great thing about EMOM workouts is that you can tailor and personalize them to suit your current fitness level and fitness goals. If your goal is to have a lean stomach, build muscle on your upper body, lower body, or target any specific muscle group, EMOM will enable you to do so! Therefore, whatever fitness level you are currently at, you can have an awesome workout by utilizing this workout style.
EMOM Workouts Bodyweight
Most EMOM workouts are usually short and would typically last in between 10-20 minutes, and the beauty of this is that it doesn’t require a lot of time to have a good sweat session because will be performed at a high intensity.
The choice is up to you because you can choose to have a full-body workout, target specific muscle groups, or have strength-based, or cardio-based workouts by altering the work-to-rest ratio or changing exercises. The great thing is that all this can be done at the convenience of your own home.
EMOM Full-Body Workouts
An example of the beginner’s 10 minutes full-body workout would be shorter working periods, and longer rest time. It could look a little something like this:
Minute 1: 8-10 bodyweight squats
Minute 2: 8-10 push-ups
Minute 3: 10 lying leg raises
Minute 4: 8-10 lunges
Minute 5: 8-10 diamond push-ups
Minute 6: 10 reverse crunches
Minute 7: 8-10 jump squats
Minute 8: 8-10 incline push-ups
Minute 9: 10 flutter kicks
Minute 10: 8-10 Bulgarian split squats
To increase the difficulty of this sequence, you can do the following:
- Increase the number of reps and decrease the number of rest time
- Increase the number of minutes in the sequence (for example, extend from 10 minutes to 12 minutes)
- Add weights into your workout (this doesn’t have to be a dumbbell), it can literally be any heavy object!
EMOM Core Workouts
The core is very important as it is the center of every movement, and should not be neglected. A strong core promotes good posture, increases power, and creates more balance and stability.
It will make everyday life easier, such as bending down to tie your laces or doing household chores where you have to twist and change the angles of your torso. Therefore, your functional fitness will progress and your every act will be simpler. An example of abs EMOM workout ould be:
Sequence 1 – 2 Rounds
Minute 1: 14 russian twists
Minute 2: 20 seconds plank
Minute 3: 10 V-Ups
Minute 4: 8 side leg raises
Sequence 2 – 2 Rounds
Minute 1: 20 seconds mountain climber
Minute 2: 20 seconds flutter kicks
Minute 3: 10 lying leg raises
Minute 4: 8 side leg raises
The above example EMOM workouts are great for you to try as you can take this as an inspiration and create your own sequences around this. It could be more specific, such as targeting the lower abs only, or being obliques focused. The choices are limitless!
EMOM Crossfit
CrossFit is series of functional movements performed at a high intensity, this means getting out of breath and feeling fatigued when performing exercises. The movement consists of actions that are done on a day-to-day basis such as pulling, pushing, and squatting, etc. An example of would be:
Minute 1: 6-10 pull ups
Minute 2: 6-10 flying push-ups (can be found in a section in this article)
Minute 3: 8-10 jump squats
Minute 4: 10 hanging leg raises
Depending on your fitness level and the type of workout you’re after, you can do this for 4 rounds to complete a 20 minutes EMOM workout. Moreover, you can do fewer rounds if you are just starting out, and that’s the beauty of EMOMs as you will have control over your workouts.
EMOM Benefits
Fat Burning
The EMOM workout is a form of HIIT training, which is a compelling way to decrease your body fat percentage, get leaner whilst building your strength. According to research, HIIT burns more calories and boosts post-exercise fat oxidation energy expenditure more than steady-state exercise. Moreover, this will reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in both males and females.
Time Efficient
During our workouts, sometimes… We often distract ourselves during rest as we scroll through our phones on social media or replying to messages to friends and family. This will not only waste time but decreases your focus. However, EMOM workouts are quick and efficient as you will have to be ready for the next round. The work-to-rest ratio is designed to keep you focused and avoid losing time in between sets.
Adaptable and Variety
You can personalize the sequence of an EMOM workout that is tailored to your current fitness level and fitness goals. You have the freedom to add new exercises or swap out existing ones to suit your needs. For example, a core-focused EMOM, a CrossFit focused EMOM, upper body, or lower body EMOM circuits. Thus, they are adaptable for almost any type of exercises
Track Your Progress
EMOM workouts allow you to track how much you have progressed as over time you will notice that deeper into the circuit, your muscles will fatigue less, and being able to sustain a higher level of effort for longer. From week to week, try completing the same workout and see if you have more rest time than usual – if you do, this means you’ve gotten stronger!
All Other Workouts
I’m Pat Chadwick, a qualified Level 2 and Level 3 calisthenics coach and certified personal trainer from London, England. I have over six years of experience training students specifically in the art of calisthenics. I’ve competed in various UK competitions, including the Kalos Stenos Championships, where I achieved third place in the lightweight category. My passion is highlighting the beauty of calisthenics as an authentic and pure form of body expression. I believe that everyone has the potential to become a champion of their body and mind, and that calisthenics opens the door to personal empowerment.