EMOM Training: The High-Intensity Workout Where Your Worst Enemy Is the Clock

EMOM (Every Minute On the Minute) is a high-intensity training methodology that involves performing a fixed number of reps at the start of every minute: the time remaining before the minute is up becomes your rest.

• EMOM is an acronym for “Every Minute On the Minute,” a form of HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) popularized by CrossFit.
• The rule is simple: at the top of every minute, you perform your exercise. The faster you are, the more time you have to rest. The slower you are, the less rest you get.
• This format forces you to work efficiently and manage fatigue, because a pace that’s too slow is “punished” with zero rest.
• It’s an incredibly honest test of your endurance and your ability to maintain a consistent performance under pressure.
• The key to a good EMOM is choosing a number of reps that takes you about 40-45 seconds, leaving you with 15-20 seconds of rest.

Want a Workout That Forces You to Give Your All? Try an EMOM.

Sometimes we need a challenge. Not a relaxed circuit to be completed at your own pace, but a workout that puts our backs against the wall and asks, “What can you really do?” A workout where you can’t cheat, you can’t slow down too much, you can’t take that extra break. A workout where your only, ruthless opponent is the clock.

If this idea both scares and fascinates you, then you have to try an EMOM.

An acronym for Every Minute On the Minute, the EMOM isn’t just a training format; it’s a philosophy. It’s a brutal and honest dialogue with fatigue, a way to push your physical and mental limits in an incredibly short and efficient amount of time.

Every Minute On the Minute: The Guide to the Workout Against the Clock

Unlike an AMRAP, where the goal is to do as much work as possible in a fixed time, in an EMOM, the work is fixed, and the variable is you. The rule is as simple as it is sadistic:

1. You set a timer for a total duration (e.g., 10, 12, 20 minutes).
2. At the beginning of every minute (at 00:00, 01:00, 02:00, etc.), you perform a set number of reps of an exercise.
3. Once you’ve finished the reps, the time remaining before the next minute starts is your rest.
4. When the next minute strikes, you go again.

You immediately grasp the logic: the faster and more efficient you are, the more time you’ll have to breathe. If you slow down, fatigue accumulates and your rest time shrinks, eventually disappearing, turning the workout into a metabolic inferno. It forces you to find a sustainable but intense pace—a crucial lesson for any athlete.

Your 10-Minute EMOM Workout

This is a classic “couplet,” a workout based on two alternating exercises that hit the whole body and push the cardiovascular system to its limits. All you need is a kettlebell (or a dumbbell) and a timer.

Even Minutes: 15 Kettlebell Swings

• At 00:00, 02:00, 04:00, 06:00, 08:00…
• Exercise: Perform 15 Kettlebell Swings. Remember, the movement is a hip explosion, not an arm lift. Drive your hips forcefully to make the weight “fly” to chest height.

Odd Minutes: 10 Burpees

• At 01:00, 03:00, 05:00, 07:00, 09:00…
• Exercise: Perform 10 Burpees. Drop to the floor, touch your chest, get back up with a jump, and clap your hands overhead. Find a steady rhythm without pausing.

Your goal is to complete the full 10 minutes, performing 5 rounds of Swings and 5 rounds of Burpees.

The Key Is Choosing the Right Number of Reps (So You Don’t Die in the Third Minute)

This is the most important part to avoid turning an effective workout into a frustrating failure. If you choose too many reps, you’ll take 55 seconds to complete them, leaving you with 5 seconds of rest. By the third minute, you’ll have melted like an ice cream cone in the August sun. If you choose too few, you’ll finish in 20 seconds and spend more time resting than working.

The golden rule: Choose a number of reps (or a weight) that allows you to complete the work in about 40-45 seconds.

This will guarantee you 15-20 seconds of rest: a short enough time to keep the intensity high, but long enough to catch your breath and start the next minute with quality. Before you begin your EMOM, do a trial minute: how many reps can you do in 40 seconds with perfect form? Use that number as your starting point and adjust if necessary.

Why the EMOM Is an Incredible Test of Your Endurance (Physical and Mental)

The EMOM is more than just a workout; it’s a mirror. It tells you the truth about your condition. You can’t hide. If your pacing is off, if your efficiency drops, the clock will throw it in your face.

But it’s also a school for resilience. The timer’s beep every 60 seconds becomes an external pacemaker that forces you to start again, even when you just want to stop. It teaches you to recover quickly, to manage fatigue, and to find the strength to do “just one more round.”

It’s a workout that doesn’t let you settle. It asks you to be strong, efficient, and, above all, honest with yourself. Minute after minute after minute. So, what do you say? Shall we start the clock?