EMOM or E.M.O.M. workouts stand for Every Minute On The Minute

Women’s Online Fitness Coach, Julie Lohre, demonstrates how to do the toe tap exercise.

EMOM or also E.M.O.M., is an acronym for “every minute on the minute” and is a method of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) that has you slamming out the reps to an exercise at the start of each minute. So if, or when, you finish the required reps in 40 seconds, those 20 remaining precious seconds are all yours to catch a breath and take a rest.

How does an EMOM work?

With EMOM style workouts, the work and rest times are both fit inside the minute, so the faster you work to get your reps, the more rest you’ll have before the next minute begins.

EMOMs are performed in either a class environment or alone in order to push your body hard with limited recovery time. EMOM workouts are also ideal for those who are pressed for time but want to reach higher heart rates and a more intense training zone. EMOM workouts allow you to reap the benefits after the workout when your body is recovering.

When can you use EMOM technique?

EMOM workouts are often used to build cardio, strength, mobility, or a combination of all three aspects of fitness. EMOMs are typically used in a high-intensity style where the goal is to work as hard as you can to complete the prescribed repetitions of a movement before resting for the remainder of the minute.

What is the difference between an EMOM and AMRAP?

EMOM workouts often include multiple exercises (but not always) and focus on how many reps of an exercise you are prescribed in a minute time. Often there is enough time left after the repetitions that you can rest. In an AMRAP workout, you perform a single specific move as many times as possible within a designated amount of time without resting.

Examples of EMOM workouts:

Bodyweight EMOM – 10 minutes
(Perform five reps of each exercise within a minute, then start over again when the next minute begins.)

5 Air Squats
5 Push Ups
5 Sit Ups

Want to make it harder? Wear a weight vest or increase the repetitions.
Need to make it easier? Perform the push ups on your knees or use an elevated surface for pushups like a chair or table.

Travel Bodyweight EMOM – 20 minutes

Perform each exercise within the minute and at the minute mark move onto the next one.

Minute 1: Run for Distance
Minute 2: Air Squats
Minute 3: Double-Unders (substitute burpees if you don’t have a rope)
Minute 4: Rest

Gym EMOM – 20 minutes