EMOM Workouts: A High-Intensity Interval Training Option

EMOM, an acronym for "Every Minute On The Minute," is a unique and effective workout strategy that falls under the umbrella of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). This fitness approach involves performing a specific exercise or series of exercises for a set number of repetitions or a predetermined time within a minute. The remaining time within that minute is your rest period before the cycle repeats.

EMOM workouts are highly customizable, allowing you to adjust the intensity and duration based on your fitness level and goals. This vigorous workout method builds strength and endurance and promotes cardiovascular health, making it a versatile addition to any workout routine. EMOM workouts can also be adapted to your abilities so you can challenge and improve no matter your fitness level.

How EMOM Workouts Work

EMOM workouts are often part of certain types of training, mainly CrossFit. In CrossFit, exercises are categorized into three main types: weightlifting (like deadlifts and snatches), gymnastics (like pull-ups and handstands), and monostructural metabolic conditioning (endurance exercises such as running or rowing). These exercises are mixed and matched to create workouts of the day (WODs), which are designed to improve strength, agility, and endurance.

WODs typically have three structures, including EMOMs, AMRAPs, and "For Time." EMOM offers structured pacing with work and rest, AMRAP pushes for continuous effort, and For Time is focused on speed using a set time. Depending on your goals, each has its place in CrossFit.

The Structure of EMOM Workouts

EMOM workouts are structured around performing a specific exercise or series of exercises for a set number of repetitions or a predetermined time within a minute. The remaining time within that minute is your rest period before the cycle repeats.

"Every minute on the minute is a form of interval training that allows individuals to balance between faster repetitions (more intensity) and longer rest periods," explains Alexander Rothstein, coordinator and instructor for the Exercise Science program at the New York Institute of Technology. This structure provides flexibility, allowing you to customize the intensity and duration of your workouts based on your fitness level and goals.

Rothstein adds, "EMOM essentially allows people to pace themselves within their given exercise prescription; however, they feel it is most efficient for them to perform. It also keeps the workout and rest intervals within sufficient limits to provide a high-intensity workout." In other words, EMOMs are structured so you can adjust them to your abilities while providing a challenging cardio session in a short timeframe.

Benefits of EMOM Workouts

EMOM workouts offer a range of potential health benefits through improvements in cardiovascular, strength, and metabolic rate, along with helping to build skills that boost athletic abilities.

According to Rothstein, EMOM provides benefits similar to most HIIT training, which effectively improves cardiovascular and metabolic health. "Because of the high-intensity nature of HIIT training, much of the research focuses on the fact that you can achieve fitness adaptations with shorter-duration workouts," he says.

• Highly Adaptable: EMOM is associated with lower heart rates compared to AMRAP and For Time, likely due to the built-in rest intervals. This means you can maintain a similar effort for all repetitions, which helps manage fatigue better. This potentially makes it less taxing while still providing high-intensity training.
• Improves Cardiovascular Endurance: "The heart rate will remain elevated throughout the workout, even during rest breaks," says Christine Mara, PT, DPT, LAT, ATC, a Board-Certified Sports Clinical Specialist. "This helps to improve cardiovascular endurance, increase heart efficiency, and enhance overall aerobic capacity over time," she further explains.
• Improves Muscular Strength, Endurance, and Power: EMOM provides a framework for incorporating resistance training into HIIT workouts. By using resistance exercise sets and reps instead of only time-based activities like running or cycling, you can gain muscular strength, endurance, and power, according to Rothstein. EMOMs provide constant stimulus to the muscles and will, in time, increase strength and muscle (so long as you incorporate progressive overload). "The intervals of an EMOM allow partial muscle recovery during the rest, which increases muscle endurance, which, over time, will allow more reps to be performed before failure or lifting heavier weights," explains Mara. 
• May Improve Metabolic Rate: With high-intensity exercises, calorie burn may be immediately increased. Multiple muscle groups are being worked on simultaneously, increasing energy expenditure. "The interval/rest breaks of the workout promote a post-exercise afterburn effect, which will continue to burn calories after the workout to restore normal oxygen levels," says Mara. This may increase the metabolic rate; however, the calorie burn or post-exercise energy consumption (EPOC) effect can vary, potentially contributing only about an extra 15 to 20 calories in total. The actual impact may depend on factors such as the duration and intensity of the workout intensity. 
• Boosts Athleticism: Adding EMOM workouts to your sports training can boost your abilities and skills. "I encourage my athletes, triathletes, and runners to add EMOMs to their training programs," says Jen Rulon, M.S. Kinesiology, triathlete, and fitness coach. She points to a study published in the Journal of Physical Education and Sport, which concluded that EMOM and AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) temporarily improved runners' strength, endurance, cardiovascular fitness, and speed.

Sample EMOM Workouts

Here are some sample EMOM workouts that you can try, each designed by fitness experts. Remember, these workouts can be modified to suit your fitness level and goals.

Workout 1: Beginner Full-Body EMOM

Duration: 10 minutes

Exercises:

• Minute 1: 10 squats
• Minute 2: 10 push-ups (modify with knee push-ups if needed)

Repeat this cycle for the duration of the workout.

Workout 2: Intermediate Cardio and Strength EMOM

Duration: 15 minutes

Exercises:

• Minute 1: 15 kettlebell swings
• Minute 2: 12 burpees
• Minute 3: 10 lunges (each leg)

Repeat this cycle for the duration of the workout.

Workout 3: Advanced Muscle Gain EMOM

Duration: 12 minutes

Exercises:

• Minute 1: 6 weighted lunges
• Minute 2: 12 heavy kettlebell swings

Repeat this cycle for the duration of the workout.

Workout 4: Full Body Cardio

Duration: 10 minutes

Exercises:

• 5 - 7 Burpees
• 10 - 12 Mountain Climbers
  

Repeat this cycle for the duration of the workout.

Tips for Performing EMOM Workouts

One of the most valuable aspects of EMOM workouts is that they can be customized any way you feel they need. You can adjust the target reps per set each minute, modify the exercise selection, add extended breaks to full recovery every certain number of sets, and adjust the same set by changing the weight or target reps as fatigue builds. The options are relatively endless. "The biggest consideration is that they keep the intensity high and maintain the minute timeframe to take advantage of the structure of EMOM," says Rothstein. Here are tips for performing EMOMs safely and optimally.

Warm-up and Cool-down

Before diving into an EMOM workout, it's important to prepare your body with a proper warm-up. Rulon recommends a 10 to 12-minute warm-up that includes some cardio, such as cycling, walking, running, or rowing, and any movements similar to your EMOM workout. Gradually building up intensity during your warm-up not only prepares your muscles but also helps prevent injuries. You can also perform a less intense EMOM workout as a warm-up.

After your workout, remember to cool down. This could involve an active cool-down until your heart rate lowers to within 20-30 beats of what it was when you started your workout. Wearing a heart rate monitor can facilitate the tracking process. "Try not to fall to the floor, as we want to keep the body moving and not stand still to bring the heart rate down," advises Rulon. This helps maintain blood flow throughout the body and assists with recovery.

Rulon often tells her clients to have a walk and chat after a workout session. You might also consider using a foam roller or performing static stretching on large muscles used during the workout to aid in your long-term recovery.

Choose Appropriate Exercises and Modifications

When selecting exercises for your EMOM workout, choose ones that match your fitness level and target your desired muscle groups. Remember, the complexity of an exercise could make it harder to complete as the workout progresses. Rothstein says it's more valuable to do simple exercises involving multiple joints and muscle groups to do highly complex exercises with numerous steps or movements.

According to Mara, there are many ways to modify an EMOM workout, including decreasing the number of reps performed in 60 seconds, reducing the weight/resistance used during the exercise, and "scaling" the exercise to a less complex movement (for example, a push-up on knees instead of a full push-up). "If you are consistently unable to complete the number of reps during the time or the quality of the form is declining, this is a time to modify," says Mara. 

Progression of EMOM Workouts

As you get stronger, you can gradually increase the difficulty of your EMOM workouts. This could involve increasing the work time, adding more reps, or increasing the weight. However, be cautious not to increase the intensity on a whim because the first round or two feel easy. The volume will catch up to you on its own. If it turns out that the workout really was too easy, enjoy crushing it and scale it up next time.

"So many people jump into it way too fast and never want to do it again," says Rulon. That said, starting to increase the difficulty of EMOM workouts will be based on your comfortability with learning how to "get comfortable at getting uncomfortable," according to Rulon. You can always try to add more reps within that minute or add weights to the mix. "One mistake is that people will add more reps and weights simultaneously. Pick one for now. Then, add the other after four weeks of trying weights or more reps," says Rulon.

Bottom Line

EMOM, or "Every Minute On The Minute," workouts are a versatile, adaptable, and effective form of High-Intensity Interval Training. These workouts involve performing a specific exercise or series of exercises for a set number of repetitions or a predetermined time within a minute, with any time left serving as recovery.

EMOM workouts are highly customizable, allowing you to adjust the intensity and duration based on your fitness level and goals. Adding these short, intense training sessions to your routine can have several benefits, such as improving cardiovascular health and endurance, muscular strength, and power while boosting metabolic rate and calorie burning and providing time-efficient exercise options.