EMOM training will ramp up the intensity of your workouts.
High-intensity training is a practical approach to elevate your fitness levels. This method keeps muscles under constant tension, significantly increasing muscle mass and strength (1). EMOM training, a high-intensity workout, involves executing short, intense bursts of exercises followed by brief rest periods. EMOM, an acronym for “Every Minute On the Minute,” challenges athletes to complete a specific number of reps of an exercise within one minute, using any remaining time for rest.
This article delves into the EMOM training methodology, exploring its advantages for athletes’ training regimes. Additionally, it offers a selection of effective EMOM workouts to incorporate into your fitness plan.
What Is EMOM Training?
EMOM training is a form of high-intensity workout interval favored by athletes. It involves completing a specific number of repetitions of exercises within a 60-second timeframe. Then, you rest the remainder of the time before doing the next set. For example, if it takes 45 seconds to complete the prescribed number of reps, you would rest 15 seconds before the subsequent set. The essence of this workout strategy is completing your repetitions swiftly, affording you maximum rest within that minute.
This training can be performed with your bodyweight or gym equipment, such as barbells, dumbbells, resistance bands, and other machines. EMOM workouts also offer the convenience of being done anywhere at home. You can also quickly do a session while taking a quick break at work.
EMOM training is usually more effective when performed with a group of people. It gives a sense of urgency and can keep your fellow training partners on their toes. Remember, recovery is as important as exercising. Allow your body ample time to rest before switching to another exercise with the EMOM protocol.
Benefits of EMOM Training
This high-intensity workout adopts a high-intensity approach, which benefits athletes looking to take their workouts to the next level. EMOM training can be used to achieve weight loss, muscle increase, and strength improvement goals. Below is a list of benefits of EMOM training.
Burns Calories & Increases Metabolism
Incorporating the EMOM training style into your workouts keeps your muscles constantly working with low rest time. These muscles use oxygen, increasing calorie burn and metabolism. The more EMOM training you do, the more lean muscle tissue you get while burning excess fat. This is great for weight loss. A study shows how interval exercises like EMOMs effectively reduce body fat (2).
Saves Time
Performing this type of training helps athletes who can’t afford to spend all day at the gym because of busy schedules. EMOM training allows you to quickly incorporate many reps, sets, and exercises, giving maximum gains. It’s an effective way to maximize your gym time.
Increases Muscle Strength, Muscle Mass, & Endurance
Constant workouts in a short period with little rest keep these target muscles or muscle groups under tension. This induces muscle hypertrophy, leading to more gains. The ability of the muscles to contract against resistance increases endurance and muscle mass.
Versatile
Depending on your bodybuilding goals, you can integrate EMOM into any training method, whether for explosive power, speed, bodybuilding, strength, technique, aerobic, or anaerobic. You can also incorporate almost any type of exercise with this training.
How Does EMOM Training Increase Muscle & Strength Gains?
EMOM training tweaks your regular workouts by adding intensity with relatively brief rest and recovery periods. This makes it easy to incorporate EMOM training into your regular workouts. You can then use it to build muscle and increase your strength.
There are two types of muscle fibers for muscle increases: the type I (slow-twitch muscles) and the type II (fast-twitch muscles). EMOM mainly targets the type II muscles responsible for quick bursts of movements like sprinting, jumping, running, and lifting. Type II muscle fibers also have a greater growth potential, leading to muscle increases.
Over time, incorporating EMOM training into your exercises also increases your strength gains by constantly putting the target muscles under tension. The ability of these muscles to contract under a limited time against resistance increases muscle strength, leading to gains. Research shows how high-intensity training like EMOMs stimulates significant improvements in strength and muscle hypertrophy in athletes (3).
EMOM Training Plans
Depending on your body goals, you can integrate EMOM into almost any exercise to achieve increased gains. Here’s a list of exercises you can try for a week.
Lower Body: Squats
- EMOM 1: 20 squats every minute for 4-5 sets
- EMOM 2: 25 squats every minute for 4-5 sets
- Rest Time: 15-20 seconds/remainder of the minute
Upper Body: Bench Press
- EMOM 1: 10 bench presses every minute for 4-5 sets
- EMOM 2: 15 bench presses every minute for 4-5 sets
- Rest Time: 15-20 seconds/remainder of the minute
Core: Russian Twists
- EMOM 1: 20 Russian twists every minute for 4-5 sets
- EMOM 1: 25 Russian twists every minute for 4-5 sets
- Rest Time: 15-20 seconds/remainder of the minute
Conclusion
EMOM training is an excellent method for enhancing the intensity of your workouts, yielding more significant gains. For bodybuilders or fitness enthusiasts aiming to elevate their training intensity, EMOMs present the perfect solution. This approach adds versatility to any workout regimen and significantly boosts muscle and strength development. By challenging your limits, EMOM training ensures rapid achievement of your fitness goals.
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References
- Atakan, M. M., Li, Y., Koşar, Ş. N., Turnagöl, H. H., & Yan, X. (2021). Evidence-Based Effects of High-Intensity Interval Training on Exercise Capacity and Health: A Review with Historical Perspective. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(13), 7201. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18137201
- Jung, W. S., Hwang, H., Kim, J., Park, H. Y., & Lim, K. (2019). Effect of interval exercise versus continuous exercise on excess post-exercise oxygen consumption during energy-homogenized exercise on a cycle ergometer. Journal of exercise nutrition & biochemistry, 23(2), 45–50. https://doi.org/10.20463/jenb.2019.0016
- Mangine, G. T., Hoffman, J. R., Gonzalez, A. M., Townsend, J. R., Wells, A. J., Jajtner, A. R., Beyer, K. S., Boone, C. H., Miramonti, A. A., Wang, R., LaMonica, M. B., Fukuda, D. H., Ratamess, N. A., & Stout, J. R. (2015). The effect of training volume and intensity on improvements in muscular strength and size in resistance-trained men. Physiological reports, 3(8), e12472. https://doi.org/10.14814/phy2.12472
