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If you’re looking for a selection of sweat sessions to burn fat, build muscle and tone up, these four EMOM workouts are for you. The workouts will help you sculpt a lean, defined physique while improving fitness conditioning.
The full body EMOM workouts are able to deliver this bundle of benefits because they feature a broad range of training methods. For example, the first workout, which can be completed at home, involves a series of bodyweight and cardio exercises. This simple EMOM can enhance your muscle endurance and aerobic fitness – without even having to leave your living room!
Our other workouts have been designed to develop functional strength, explosive power, and aerobic capacity. And the great thing about the workouts is that they are all fully customisable. Meaning you can modify them to suit your personal fitness goals and training facility.
Full body EMOM workouts fitness benefits
Below I have listed a range of fitness benefits of the workouts. However, it goes without saying that the benefits are only up for grabs if you a) integrate the workouts into your general training routine and b) cycle through the four workouts on a consistent basis.
Improve full body fitness conditioning
Enhance muscle endurance
Burn fat and reshape body composition
Build functional strength
Stimulate the cardiovascular system
Full body EMOM workouts #1: Callisthenics and cardio
This pared-down ultra-minimalistic full body EMOM workout is perfect for home training. In fact, because all that’s needed is a slice of ground, a short stretch of turf, and your body weight you could cram this workout into a lunch break or take it on your holidays.
Also, the design of the EMOM makes it mega-modifiable. The callisthenic exercises can be chopped and changed and so can the cardio bouts.
The workout is as simple to do as it is minimal. First, you have three difficulty levels to choose from – level 1: light to moderate; level 2: moderate; and level 3 moderate to high. The levels are determined by the duration of the EMOMs, cardio distance, and the number of repetitions assigned to each minute (or round).
Difficulty levels
L1: 5 x 1 min Rd + 800m run
L2: 10 x 1 min Rd + 1200m run
L1: 15 x 1 min Rd + 1600m run
After completing the suggested warm-up, you will be ready to start the workout. Once you’ve completed the first callisthenics EMOM, there is a short run distance to contend with. Repeat this process – callisthenics/cardio – until you progressed through the plan.
EMOM #1 key points
Warm-up well before starting the workout: 400m steady paced jog → 2 reps air squats and press-ups → 200m run → 4 reps air squats and press-ups → 200m run → 6 reps air squats and press-ups → 200m run → 8 reps air squats and press-ups → 200m run → 10 reps air squats and press-ups → 200m walk → Start EMOMing!
Decide on the difficulty level reflective of your current fitness ability.
Concluding each set of bodyweight exercises there is a cardio bout to complete.
Don’t forget that the workout can be customised on the fly. For example, if you find the rep numbers a bit high (or low), and you’re not getting enough time to recover, adjust accordingly. The trick with EMOMs is to strike a 50:50 balance – that is, 30 seconds working to 30 seconds resting.
Full body EMOM workouts #2: Kettlebell emom
This is my ‘go-to’ 30-minute kettlebell full body EMOM workout. It packs a serious fitness punch and, though super-simplistic, activates all the major muscle groups including the cardio-respiratory system.
And because it consists of just a single kettlebell exercise – the long cycle – you can shorten or expand the number of rounds to suit your training constraints. Here’s how I do this workout.
Related: Need a Competition Kettlebell?
After a good warm-up, and starting a 30-minute countdown timer, I complete four reps. Because the long cycle transitions through such a mammoth range of motion, four reps take about 20 to 25 seconds. At the end of each 10th round, I increase the reps by one. Below is a list of the outcomes that I’ve identified from this workout.
Engages all the muscles of the posterior chain and many more to boot.
Elevates heart rate and respiration. (The last time I completed the workout, I measured my heart rate at four time points: 5-minutes before starting the workout (56 bpm), 10-minutes after starting (128 bpm), after 20-minutes (156 bpm), and after 30-minutes (187 bpm).)
Develops a range of fitness components – specifically strength and muscle endurance.
Consumes calories like they’re going out of fashion.
Enhances physical functionality (the long cycle is arguably the most physically challenging kettlebell exercise).
Noticeable increase of muscular definition in the legs, torso, and shoulders.
Kettlebell EMOM key points
Complete the suggested warm-up: 2000 metres rowing interspersed with a few light long cycle sets.
Prepare your training arena: a pair of kettlebells and a countdown timer.
When you’re ready, hit start and progress through the 30 rounds.
Remember, if you cannot do the long cycle, or you only have access to a single kettlebell, you can replace it with the alternate-arm clean and press cycle.
Full body EMOM workouts #3: Gym EMOM-O-THON
The warm-up is to repeat the workout title 100 times without stumbling over the syllables. Once you’ve given up on that, it’s time to tackle the Gym EMOM-O-THON!
Our first two full body EMOM workouts were crafted for those with access to minimal training equipment. To ensure that all exercise enthusiasts are catered for, this EMOM was created for those that get their fitness fix at the gym. Here’s how it works.
You’ll perform a single exercise on each muscle group. To appeal to a wider audience, you have the option of selecting the round length. The options are as follows: beginners two rounds; intermediates four rounds; and advanced trainers six rounds.
Levels
Beginner: 2 x 1 min Rd + rep range = 4 to 8
Intermediate: 4 x 1 min Rd + rep range = 6 to 10
Advanced: 6 x 1 min Rd + rep range = 8 to 14
In addition to deciding on the duration of the EMOMs, you can also select the rep range. The flexibility of the workout ensures that it can be customised to suit a broad spectrum of abilities.
Gym EMOM key points
Get in the zone with this warm-up: 2000m steady-paced row → ascending repetition ladder of the following exercises: bent-over row and squats. Start at 2 reps and increase by 2 each time until you reach 12 reps.
In comparison to the previous workouts, there’s a lot going on here. Thus, it will help to have the plan to hand as you progress through the exercises.
Put a line through each complete round as you go!
Full body EMOM workouts #4: CrossFit
As the saying goes, save the most physically gruelling workout until last. Our final EMOM is comprised of a compendium of compound lifts. In addition to promoting whole-body strength, the exercises also develop power, muscular endurance, and dynamic fitness. Basically, the workout engages the entire register of fitness components.
But we’d expect little else from a workout that aims to embody the CrossFit training ethos.
Related: Are you ready for these CrossFit AMRAPs?
Following in the footsteps of the previous workouts there are training options to choose from. So, depending on your exercise experience, you can select between a low to advanced level.
Novice: 5 x 1 min Rd + 4 to 6 reps @ 25 to 50% of bodyweight max
Experienced: 7 x 1 min Rd + 6 to 10 reps @ 45 to 60% of bodyweight max
Competitor: 10 x 1 min Rd + 8 to 12 reps @ 55 to 75% of bodyweight max
The differentiating factors that distinguish the levels include the number of rounds and reps and the percentage of bodyweight max applied to each exercise. For example, novices will complete five one-minute rounds of between four to six reps while applying a resistance of 25 to 50% of their body weight.
CrossFit EMOM key points
Don’t go within a mile of the full body EMOM workout until you’ve completed this warm-up: Novice: 2000m rowing – Experienced: 3500m row – Competitor: 5000m row.
Select the level commensurate with your current ability and training experience.
Nasty though the workout is, it can be completed with a single barbell and an assortment of pumper plates.
The EMOMs are interspersed with barbell hop into a burpee, which is performed exactly how it sounds: jump over the barbell, drop down into a burpee, pop back up and jump the barbell. Repeat for 25 reps.
Some of the exercises are technically challenging. If you are less than 100 per cent confident at performing an exercise, simply replace it.
Full body EMOM workouts hint and tips
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, don’t hesitate to reformat any of the workouts to suit your training preferences, fitness ability, and/or exercise equipment availability. The full body EMOM workouts have been designed to be followed as per the plan. But they can also be used as a framework around which you can create a personalised workout.
The workouts are supposed to be physically demanding and present a challenge. However, safe lifting should always be at the forefront of our training focus. Thus, leave your ego at the gym door and prioritise quality over quantity. Bruce Lee put it best when he said, ‘Above all else, never cheat on an exercise; use the amount of weight that you can handle without undue strain,’ (The Art of Expressing the Human Body).
Enjoyed these EMOM workouts?
Well, there’s plenty more where they came from with the Hungry4Fitness Book of Circuits and Workouts Volume 3.
