These two acronyms are your tickets to a fitter you. The secret? They are quick and efficient and essentially variations of HIIT workouts with two very different focuses.

EMOM:

EMOM stands for Every minute on the minute and allows for roughly 30-40 seconds of training followed by rest. Once the 60 seconds is up, you continue on to the next portion of the workout for the next minute and so on.

What’s the point?

The key with an EMOM is to practice a specific skill with quality repetition. Over-exerting yourself and performing the workout with bad technique is exactly what EMOMs aim to avoid. Instead, focus is placed on quality rather than quantity, allowing overlooked skills to be worked on.

Take a minute and think of what movements you hate doing in a workout class or want to improve on…

Do you loathe goblet squats, ketllebell swings and running? Perfect, because that is your workout plan done.

12 minute EMOM:

1. 10-15 goblet squats
2. 10-15 Kettlebell swings
3. 100 meter sprint

Repeat these three workouts until minute 12 has been reached. And, while the aim is to work on quality rather than quantity, there is no rest until the last 20 or so seconds of each minute, enabling you to ramp up those energy systems.

AMRAP

AMRAP stands for As Many Reps as Possible. Similar to an EMOM, there are 3-4 movements to cycle through, but instead of focusing on each minute , the focus is on seeing how many rounds can be quickly completed in a given time frame.

What’s the point?

This one is all about mental toughness. When starting an AMRAP, the first question is: how much do you want it? A workout that focuses on conditioning, whether it’s 5,10, or 15 minutes, AMRAPs will gas you out and whip you into shape. It’s terrific for all levels of fitness as well. If you can do 10 pushups or just one, you will be challenging your own level of fitness without overdoing it.

According to Personal Trainer and CrossFit coach Mike Lee,

“If I come in and I’m tired, sore. I can still do an AMRAP and keep moving for the specified time and get a good workout.

Alternatively I can come in feeling like the bee’s knees and decide I’m going to see how much work I can actually perform today.”

What kind of workouts does an AMRAP call for? It’s as simple as transferring the EMOM workout mentioned earlier to an AMRAP one. The choice is yours.

What’s more, EMOMs and AMRAPs can be done anywhere and you can become your own personal trainer. Whether at the beach, a hotel room, or home if the mood for a workout strikes, you can do it then and there.

Mix-and Match:

There are plenty of basic body weight movements that you can do with an EMOM or AMRAP. See below for some ideas. Pick one workout from each section or really hone in on one portion of the body to really feel a targeted burn.

Core:

1. planks
2. v-ups
3. crunches
4. Russian twists
5. bicycles

Lower body:

1. lunges
2. squats
3. wall-sits
4. pistol squat
5. single-leg deadlift
6. step-ups

Upper body:

1. push-ups
2. tricep dips
3. donkey kicks
4. handstand pushups
5. superman
6. arm circles

Full body:

1. burpees
2. tuck jumps
3. inchworms
4. mountain climbers
5. prone walkout

Words by Victoria Engelmann

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