Many CrossFitters mistakenly believe that sweating off three sweats in the gym until your knees shake is the best CrossFit workout. WOD is why you come to the gym and is also the reason why some athletes idolize and others hate CrossFit.
It is not uncommon, for example, to see the following note on the board:
Strength: 5-5-5 pull.
WOD: half of “Cindy”.
Of course, the strength part of the session is usually “not considered” training. We perceive strength training, or skill development, as an auxiliary job, but WOD is the main task. We want a “workout”, damn it! Let's sweat!
This is not the best approach and is often accompanied by an equally incorrect view of EMOM.
EMOM Crossfit what is it? EMOM is a method of organizing training in the mode of an exercise/series of exercises at the beginning of each minute.
There are several misconceptions about EMOM and its importance that I am going to clear up today.
Not every workout needs to be a killer workout.
Let's look at the entire training session: warm-up, strength training, technique work, endurance block and cool-down - our typical "workout". And I would go even further and suggest that instead of what is called “WOD,” we simply refer to the correct term - “training”.
• We also recommend that you read: “Murph preparation program.”
Sometimes, depending on the program you are training in and the goals you have, you will perform individual blocks of training at 75% or 85% of your maximum intensity. Sometimes the volume will be greater, sometimes less. Some days, especially at the end of a three-day cycle, there will be an easy recovery workout and you may think, God forbid, “That wasn’t even hard.” And finally, one day, you will no longer fall to the floor, gasping and writhing in pain, but will be able to maintain high concentration throughout the entire workout.
Not every workout needs to be a killer workout. If this happens, you need to look for a new program, coach or gym.
Let's stop here. I want to reflect with you. The right training program will have enough difficult days planned. For example, it might look like this:
AMRAP-8 min at 85% of maximum intensity:
1 rope climb; 10 wall balls; 10 kettlebell swings.
In the right programs, you will also find weeks of increasing load and recovery weeks, when you can just come to the gym and work quietly.
About the advantages
The versatility of the format allows it to be used both in the warm-up part and as the main part of the training. The main advantage is the absence of risks for the cardiovascular system. The loads are very high, but the heart is exposed to them for a short period. EMOM does not force you to surpass yourself and set records, forgetting about the health risks.
An equally important advantage is control over the execution technique. Programs are designed in such a way that the athlete in any case has time to complete the required number of repetitions per minute. He can regulate the speed himself, choosing the optimal one for technically correct performance.
This allows you to focus on correct execution rather than speed.
It should be noted that in the EMOM style a person does more approaches, but gets less tired. It’s impossible to overload yourself or get too tired in a minute. This is better than the traditional four-set pattern, where each subsequent set becomes more and more difficult. There is no need to adapt to the load; instead, you can get exactly as much as you need. Hence the conclusion: EMOM is CrossFit with health in mind.
Introduction to EMOM.
EMOM training means “set at the beginning of every minute.” That is, you perform a certain task every time the clock strikes :00. You might have the following task:
10 minutes EMOM:
on even numbers - 7 pull-ups to the chest; on odd -10 wall balls without breaking.
Everything is extremely simple. Nowadays, EMOM CrossFit is rarely programmed as a separate workout. Usually they do a power section, then an EMOM, and then maybe a short metcon.
There are a number of issues that I would like to address in this post, in addition to the assertion that doing EMOM is extremely hard work.
A statement like, “It's too easy to program your EMOM incorrectly, and you'll end up resting too much instead of working up a good sweat,” suggests that rest ruins your workout. I would like to argue: "Rest during exercise is an important part of training."
There is an opinion that EMOM itself is a workout. This is wrong. When used correctly, EMOM is part of a larger training session. Claiming while doing only EMOMs that it is an “easy workout” means that EMOM is all you did that day. And because you include rest, you feel like you didn’t work hard enough. But interval training is just one of many training tools. Not 100% of the entire workout.
We work for strength
The most common and effective way to improve performance in strength exercises is to use the linear progression method. It looks like this: during the strength portion of the workout, you perform several repetitions of the exercise with the heaviest weight, gradually increasing it every week until the moment comes when it is no longer possible to lift more weight. This method is suitable for most beginners, it will allow you to find out what you are really capable of.
What might be the EMOM strength:
- At the beginning of each minute, perform 1 push with the heaviest weight. The complex is performed in 4-6 minutes.
- At the beginning of each minute, perform 1 jerk of the barbell with the heaviest weight. Complex for 4 minutes.
Before you start the timer, do a good warm-up, including performing a basic exercise with a barbell or light barbell.
EMOM is WOD.
If you show up to the gym and the entire training session is just EMOM, the coach may be missing something. I recently saw a post about the 20 minute EMOM. The first minute is a shuttle sprint, at odd minutes one round of “Cindy” is performed, and the rest of the minute is power cleans. It turns out - no rest. Except perhaps a little in the even minutes.
It's not really an EMOM in the workout sense, but a twenty minute AMRAP where you switch movements at a set time. If there is no rest in your EMOM, then it defeats the very purpose. He simply becomes a well-organized AMRAP.
The advantage of EMOM is not the task of simply switching every minute to the next exercise. Its goal is to improve your training program: develop energy systems, improve technique and prepare you for serious volumes.
Efficiency
Such training allows you to increase muscle strength and the volume of training work. There are practically no restrictions, there are countless variations in the ratio of work and rest periods, and this is a big plus for adapting to loads. Efficiency is due to several features.
Efficient use of time
Planning periods of work and recovery allows you to quickly recover and not waste time between approaches. Unlike other systems, the athlete is not required to be in constant motion. With EMOM you know in advance how long your workout will last and how much volume you will cover.
Productivity
In sports, productivity is understood as the ability to perform a specific amount of work over a period of time, then recover and again demonstrate the same result. If you perform a certain volume in EMOM training so that you have a sufficient period of rest, then in another training session you will show better results as your productivity will increase. Physical training will definitely reach a new level.
Group work
The format can be used for personal training and group training. Different intervals allow the coach to keep an eye on each team. Representatives of one team do one exercise in the first minute, then move on to another, this allows the teams to be distributed among “stations”.
Variability of loads and goals
In the best traditions of CrossFit, one team can include people with different physical fitness. Each exercise has easier and more difficult versions, the weight can be higher or lower, due to this individualization is achieved. Adding simple or complex exercises allows you to adapt the program to different goals.
EMOWe are only for skill development.
No that's not true. EMOMs can be used for many tasks, not just for mastering skills. Depending on the rep scheme, it can train your CRF or glycolytic energy supply system.
For me personally, a 10-minute EMOM consisting of one power clean of a 105 kg barbell on the chest is the way to develop the creatine phosphate system. Training this system with heavy weights and an appropriate rest period allows me to increase both the weights and the repetitions at the same time. Also, a 10-minute EMOM of five burpee box jumps and five clean box jumps can be, although not the best, a good aerobic workout.
Training in EMOM mode to develop arm muscles and increase heart rate
The EMOM workout (stands for “every minute on the minute” and translates roughly as “every minute”) came to us from CrossFit. The system is to perform each exercise strictly in 60 seconds. Let's say you need to do 10 pull-ups and 15 squats. You time it, jump onto the bar, and after you complete your set in, say, 40 seconds, rest for the remaining 20 and move on to squats. The faster you complete the exercise, the more time you will have to rest until the end of the minute. This workout from BJ Gaddour is performed specifically in the EMOM system.
Video published by Men's Health (@menshealth.ru) May 16, 2016 at 7:40 PDT
You'll switch between two exercises: dumbbell overhead press and jump rope. The jump rope is very effective for pumping up the legs, burning fat and developing coordination. If you don't have a jump rope handy, you can do simple jumping jacks or jogging in place. The dumbbell press is a combination exercise that works the entire upper body. In addition, when you hold your arms above your head, your core muscles are activated. During the exercise, you will change your grip in order to use all the muscles of your hands and not get bored from the monotony. Here are three dumbbell press variations that BJ suggests you use in your workout:
Option 1: Overhand Press
This movement engages your forearms, specifically the brachioradialis muscle. During this press, your biceps are partially unloaded, redistributing the load on your forearms. Moreover, this exercise works simultaneously on the lower and upper arm muscles. The overhand press also works the deltoids.
Option 2: Hammer Press
Currently reading:
Which sport is best for weight loss?
Yoga for Beginners
This palms-inward motion works the brachioradialis and elbow flexors, which are located between the biceps and triceps. If you do it properly, your arms will become noticeably larger. This press is so called because when you do it, you keep your palms turned up with your thumb, just like when using a hammer. When pushing dumbbells overhead, the triceps also work.
Option 3: Rotation Press
When you rotate your hand, your shoulders and forearm muscles work simultaneously. In the first phase, when you pull your palms towards your shoulders, you really work your biceps and forearm, and when you press overhead, you swing your delts.
EMOM training for arm muscles
Take a watch or stopwatch. Perform the exercises in the order shown in the video, following the instructions above. If you finish the exercise before 60 seconds have passed, rest until the end of the minute, and switch to a new movement from the beginning of the next one.
- 1 minute: jump rope, 50 reps 2 minute: overhand grip press, 10 reps 3 minute: jump rope, 50 reps 4 min: hammer press, 10 reps 5 minute: jump rope, 50 reps 6 minute: rotational press, 10 reps.
This is one approach. Complete 5 sets for this explosive 30-minute EMOM cardio workout that pumps up your arms.
Source material:
EMOMs work alone.
EMOMs improve you if you don't mix them with anything else. This is an important point for progress. As I said above, doing 10 minutes of EMOM (five box jump burpees and five clean box jumps) is only beneficial when it's a stand-alone workout. It will bear fruit with regular weekly repetition, but it is important to gradually increase repetitions and/or time.
Once we separate EMOM from WOD, we can start training.
You could, say, do 12 minutes of EMOM in the second week with the same number of reps per set, and then the next week go back to 10 minutes, but increase to six reps instead of five.
Gradually increase the volume of EMOM to 12, then to 14, then to 16 minutes, persistently improving in the same exercise. Ultimately, this will allow you to work longer during long metcons.
EMOMs are a highly effective training tool when used correctly. And as soon as we separate EMOM from WOD, we can start training.
We work for endurance
After a few minutes of rest, we perform EMOM with exercises for endurance and explosive strength. Remove a few plates from the bar so that the weight is about 60 percent of the heaviest you can do the exercise with. Start the timer again and perform 4 repetitions of the same exercise every minute. The complex lasts 10 minutes.
As your strength and endurance improve, you can change the conditions by using a heavier implement or performing more reps each minute. It is important to give your muscles time to recover. Such strength complexes can be included in training twice a week, but the rest of the time you need to make sure that you do not perform similar movements in complexes with heavy weights. These functional CrossFit workouts give the muscles the opportunity to recover, which is very important for the effectiveness of the training.
Materials used for this article: boxrox.com
The history of crossfit
In 2000, Greg Glassman and his wife Lauren Janay created their own corporation, CrossFit Inc., and the training method became not just a brand, but a separate competitive sport. From that moment on, specialized gyms began to open all over the world, which can only exist with a CrossFit Inc. license. CrossFit trainers are also certified to protect their right to teach this technique.
What is CrossFit for?
The direction is designed in such a way as to develop as quickly as possible all the physical indicators of the body - strength, power, speed and endurance. CrossFit exercises also help improve coordination, balance, flexibility, and agility. A CrossFit trainee will be adapted to all loads and living conditions in any situation, compared to powerlifting, where the athlete mainly develops only strength.
This sport develops the functions of the cardiorespiratory system, increases the tone and elasticity of muscles and ligaments, and improves general physical condition.
Pros and cons of CrossFit training
The main advantages of the technique:
- Improves the physical fitness and appearance of the athlete: men develop sculpted and voluminous muscles, women develop beautiful athletic forms.
- The technique will allow you to lose weight and reduce fat tissue.
- Improves overall health: physical and mental, increases the body's resistance to stress in the face of various factors.
- Increases all indicators of physical development: strength, power, endurance, speed, flexibility and coordination.
- Allows you to train frequently without taking up much time.
- Simplified techniques and complexes allow you to start training using the method from scratch.
- With proper training, it allows you to recover faster without overwork.
- A huge variety of complexes allows you to maintain interest and motivation for training.
- Anyone, amateur or professional, can try their hand at CrossFit competitions.
Disadvantages of the technique:
- Traumatic sports - if the correct technique is not followed and overestimation of one’s own strengths can lead to serious injuries, since CrossFit is not a rehabilitation exercise.
- It has contraindications for training, as it involves a high-intensity load - on the verge of one’s own capabilities.
- High speed, jerks, deadlifts, squats and other shock and compression loads can lead to injuries to joints, vertebrae and tension in internal organs.
- Some exercises can put pressure on the pelvic organs, which can negatively affect a woman's menstrual cycle.
