MAXIM Gains Guru ALEXA TOWERSEY shares her tips on how to get fit and fine AF in 30 minutes or less a day…
If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone complain that just when they decide to set up some serious goals, life throws them a curveball and gets in the way of all those potential new gains, I’d be rich AF and off gallivanting the world.Here’s the cold, hard truth – life never gets less busy. Your schedule will not get freer. New people will enter your life every day. Responsibilities will accumulate every week. Random events will pop up every month. There is no “right time” to start getting your shit together, there is only time and what you choose to do with it.So, pep talk over, the best philosophy when it comes to training “busy” people is to maximise every minute of a training session. Enter the EMOM.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
EMOM very simply means “every minute on the minute.” Essentially, you are committing to completing a set number of reps at the start of every minute, with the rest of the minute left dedicated to resting. So if you only have 20 minutes to spare, that means you are doing something every minute to get better. Everyone completes a certain number of reps at a different speed based on fitness level, body proportions and training experience.
EMOM allows you to do quality work at your own pace while establishing clear and concise training parameters to work within. The best thing about this strategy is that depending on your specific objective – strength, size, fat loss or getting fit AF – you can apply it to all of the above just by playing around with 2 major training variables – reps and load. Below is an outline of the best ways to implement EMOM protocols into your training.
STRENGTH
Use a weight that you could lift for 3-5 reps, but perform just 1-3 reps every minute on the minute. The aim should be to move the weight fast and with perfect form. Funnily enough, as the sets pile up, many lifters find that the reps become slightly easier as the workout goes on. This is due to the nervous system “waking up” and you finding your groove in the workout. Strength EMOMs work best with your big compound movements like the squat, bench press, deadlift, pullup and overhead press. You could choose one movement for a 10 min EMOM, or 2-3 movements for a 20 minute workout. Squats and pullups pair nicely as do deadlifts and bench.
Top Tip
Progressive overload is when you gradually increase the weight, frequency or number of repetitions in your strength training routine. This challenges your body and allows your musculoskeletal system to get stronger. To apply this principle to your strength EMOM training, try to add a few kilograms to the load you’re using each week.
SIZE
To build muscle, the classic bodybuilder style recommendation is sets of 8-12. To EMOM-ify this, use a load that represents YOUR 8RM – 12RM and do straight sets of 4-6 reps. To progress this, you can keep the same load each week, while trying to add more reps. Machine weights can be a great tool here, given that you’ll be able to do more work with more load without compromising joint integrity or loss of body positioning due to muscular fatigue. Think Lat Pull Down, Seated Row, Leg Press, Leg Extension. In 10 minutes you can work 1-2 body parts. In 20 minutes, you can hit 2-4.
Top Tip:
Short on time and want more rest between sets, then pair two exercises that work different parts of the body. Do the first exercise every odd minute, and the second exercise every even minute. This could be an upper-lower split, an upper body push-pull or unilateral pairings.
FAT LOSS
EMOM workouts are often considered to be unmatched when it comes to rapid fat-loss training, especially if you’re running on lower energy and calories. Pick exercises that work the whole body and choose a different one with a different rep target for each minute – kettlebell swings, battleropes, burpees, deadball slams, thrusters, carries – the list is endless making this a really fun way to fry fat without getting bored. The quicker you complete each exercise the longer you have to rest, but NEVER sacrifice form for weight or time.
CONDITIONING
Like any interval scheme, EMOM workouts have periods of intensity and periods of recovery, making them a good choice to spark that post-exercise calorie burn everyone loves. My go-to for this would be something like the prowler, since there are very few pieces of equipment that offer the ability to train power, strength, hypertrophy, speed and endurance without paying the price of muscle or joint soreness. It’s also easy to use with no detailed technique. The assault bike would be a close second. 15-20 rounds of 30 seconds on/30 seconds off is more than enough to put you on your arse.
Top Tip
If you take good notes, basically any EMOM can show you how you’re improving on the specific goal you have. If you do a 10-minute EMOM of 8 squats at 60% 1RM. At first, it takes you 45 seconds to complete each effort, leaving you 15 seconds to catch your breath. You do this workout once a week, and soon you’ll see that you finish it faster, or you could add more weight for a similar effort level to that first session. This will show you how your squats are improving in a structured way.
THE WORKOUTS
| Strength | Size | Fat Loss | Conditioning |
| UPPER BODY: 10 min EMOM 3 x Bench Press OR Pull Up. LOWER BODY: 10 min EMOM 3 x Squat OR Deadlift. FULL BODY: 21 min EMOM. Min 1: 3 x Front Squat Min 2: 3 x Bench Press. Min 3: 3 x Pull Up | Set 1: 10 min EMOM Mins 1 – 5: 6 x Lat Pull Down Mins 6-10: 6 x Seated Row Set 2: 10 min EMOM Mins 1-5: 6 x Leg Press Mins 6-10: 6 x Leg Extension. | 25 min EMOM: Min 1: 20 x KB Swings Min 2: 15 x Thruster Min 3: 15 x Deadball Slams Min 4: 15 x Burpees Min 5: 50m x Farmer Carry Repeat for 5 rounds or 25 mins total unbroken. | 10 min EMOM Min 1: 30 secs Assault Bike Sprint Min 2: 50m Prowler/Sled Push OR 15 min EMOM 15 cals Max Effort Assault Bike. |
For the full article grab the October 2021 issue of MAXIM Australia from newsagents and convenience locations. Subscribe here.
