Are you getting bored of performing the same workouts over and over again, and seeing little in the way of results? Have you ever tried EMOM workouts? Because, if you haven’t, this 25-minute workout from Juan Leija, Director of Fitness Programming at Onnit (the company endorsed by Joe Rogan that produces brain-boosting nootropic pills) is one you seriously need to try.
EMOM stands for ‘Every Minute on the Minute’ and these workouts are commonly utilised by fitness professionals and athletes to help build muscle, strength and aerobic fitness – whilst also burning a decent chunk of calories at the same.
During EMOM workouts, you perform a movement for the required number of reps, or seconds, and use the remaining time of the minute to rest. For example, you may need to perform 10 lunges in a minute. If you complete them in 20 seconds, then you have 40 seconds left to rest before performing the next exercise.
Juan’s 25-minute workout comprises five movements, some of which you’ll need to enlist the use of a kettlebell to perform.
Check out Juan Leija’s 25-minute EMOM workout in the video below.
The five movements include:
- Kettlebell swings x 20 reps: Hold the kettlebell with both hands using an overhand grip. Hinge at the hips and bend the knees slightly, and drive your hips forward to swing the kettlebell up and out in front of you to shoulder height. Make sure you’re not using your arms too much to swing the kettlebell up, as the exerting force should come from your lower body and core.
- Shuffle x 30 seconds: A bodyweight exercise, keep your upperbody upright and facing forwards, whilst jumping twisting your hips in an alternating fashion. Swing your arms to help generate momentum.
- Snatch x 5L/5R: Grab the kettlebell with one hand using an overhand grip. In a similar vein to the kettlebell swings, hinge at your hips and drive them forward to swing the kettlebell up, and then use your upper body to continue lifting the kettlebell up above your head. You should aim to get your arm straight with the kettlebell above you. Slowly bring the kettlebell back down to the starting position. Perform five snatches on each side.
- Lateral Jumps x 20 reps: Jump from side to side, using just one leg to push yourself over to the other side. Make sure to just land on the single opposite leg, hold for a moment, and launch yourself back to the other side.
- Clean & Press x 5L/5R: This move is similar to the snatch, but instead of lifting the kettlebell straight above your head, you want to first swing it to your shoulder, before pressing it above your head.
You need to allocate one minute of time to each movement, with the only rest periods coming if you complete the reps before that minute is up. Juan says you should “pick a kettlebell weight that you can effectively execute the reps with good form.”
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Essentially, leave your ego out of it. You’re going to get fatigued, and quickly, so you’re unlikely to be able to complete the full 25-minute workout using a 24kg kettlebell, for example.
What makes EMOM workouts so effective? As BarBend relates, they are “one of the most efficient ways to add quality training volume into a session, as the work and rest periods are systematically programmed to force lifters to stay moving and not lose time in-between sets.”
Once you’ve completed this 25-minute EMOM workout once through, you can come back to it a few days, or a week later, and see if you can improve on the time it takes you to complete the reps.