Running and Strength Training-- Make Every Minute Count

 

An EMOM workout is a structure of workout that involves starting your set “every minute on the minute.” EMOM workouts are a fast-paced and fun way to improve your strength and fitness at the same time. “CrossFit EMOM,” workouts are popular in CrossFit programs. A CrossFit EMOM is just an EMOM workout that uses CrossFit exercises. 

As we get older, strength training workouts become vital to conditioning. The goal is not to build a bulky muscle mass, but to keep a soft and lean muscle tissue that is flexible and durable. EMOM bodyweight training works the muscle to fatigue without placing strain on the joints. 

EMOM bodyweight strength training is also a safe strength training program for younger runners. High school runners are training more on a year-round basis now and with the increased training, there has been a rise in injuries. EMOM bodyweight training increases strength that helps support the growth plates in the body and helps to prevent the most common injuries among young runners—stress fractures and hip injuries.  

EMOM workout is an efficient and engaging way to build strength and improve cardiovascular fitness simultaneously, as EMOM workouts are fast-paced and involve very little rest. Therefore, your heart rate stays elevated the whole time, which increases the metabolic demand of an EMOM workout vs. traditional weightlifting with longer rest periods.

How does it work?

You will have a prescribed number of reps for each set of each exercise, and you will begin the reps at the start of every minute. As soon as you are done with the designated number of reps, you will rest for the remainder of the minute. Once the next minute begins, you are right back at it with your next exercise.

For example, imagine you have a CrossFit EMOM that involves continuous rounds of 12 burpees, 25 bodyweight squats, and 15 pushups.

You will start the 12 burpees when the timer begins. If this takes you 35 seconds, you will rest for 25 seconds. When you hit the one-minute mark, you begin your 25 bodyweight squats. If you blast through those in 30 seconds, you have 30 seconds to get ready before you start your kipping pull-ups. Every minute on the minute you begin your next set.

The best exercises for EMOM workouts and the duration of an EMOM workout will largely depend on your fitness level, training goals, and the rest of your fitness With that said, most of the best EMOM workouts involve performing just a handful of different exercises cycled through numerous times rather than a long list of different moves for the workout. This makes it easier to remember your next move when you have very little rest, and you won’t have to keep setting up different equipment or checking your workout plan to know what comes next.

Bodyweight EMOM Workout

Evidence suggests that it is possible to build muscle with bodyweight exercises even if you are an experienced, fit weightlifter as long as you perform your sets to failure. With this bodyweight EMOM workout, your sets won’t necessarily be to failure, but you can do several rounds to really build muscular fatigue.

Here is one of the best bodyweight EMOM workouts for muscular endurance and strength:

Minute 1: 25 Bodyweight Squats

Minute 2: 25 Push-Ups (on knees for beginners)

Minute 3: 20 V-Ups with toe touches (Lie down with legs extended and arms straight overhead. Use your core to bring your straightened arms and legs all the way up, folding your body in a V, as you reach up and touch your toes)

Minute 4: 30 Up-Down Planks (leading with each hand for 15 reps)

Minute 5: 20 Curtsy Lunges right leg

Minute 6: 20 Curtsy Lunges left leg

It will take 6 minutes per round. Complete 3-6 rounds, depending on your fitness level.