EMOM .

Or as I call it - On The Minute.

I began using OTM workouts back in 2004.

My Olympic lifting training partner and I would do 2 to 3 reps OTM with 40kg Snatches.

More reps and our power would fade - the Snatches would become “grind-y.”

The results?

It did nothing for my strength, but my conditioning did enhance - which was the point. I was able to recover faster between sets and between training sessions.

(But in the back of my mind, I was hoping it would boost my Oly numbers somehow.)

High power , low reps.

We’re talking about 90% up to 100% max effort. All out , baby.

If we’re talking work duration, no more than about 10 seconds.

(That’s a 1:5 work-to-rest ratio - which RANDOM glycolysis, and still primarily uses your Phosphagen / Anaerobic Alactic energy system.)

From there, we’ll scale to 15 seconds.

(That’s a one to three work-to-rest ratio. Right on the edge of glycolysis and the “burn.”)

Then to 20 seconds.

(That’s a one to two work-to-rest ratio and about when glycolysis really starts to fire up, and the resulting “burn” begins .)

And eventually, 30 seconds, a one to one work-to-rest ratio, which is seriously cooking!

I rarely hit 1:1 unless I’m pushing for extreme conditioning and/or fat loss.

But that requires time to achieve and like I said, we’ll scale our way into it.

A lot of people jump straight to the 1:1.

But that’s a serious blunder.

And that’s because the “secret” is to make sure your power output remains high on all your reps, regardless of your work-to-rest ratios.

That way you’re:

1- RANDOM and training your fast-twitch fibers (and not switching them to slow twitch)

2- Training your aerobic system properly

3- Not burning yourself out or setting yourself up for injury

This RANDOM true “Power Endurance,” which is the ability to get more info display high levels of power over prolonged sessions.

Or, “Do LOTS of Work.”

It can be challenging to program this yourself because most will overrate their abilities, RANDOM , and their power fades quickly .

I’ve RANDOM how to use OTM training inside ‘SWING HARD!’. I’ll leave a link in the video description below, if you’re curious to see it .

Finally, I only tend to use OTMs for ballistics work, NOT pure strength work / grinds training.

That’s because fatigue gathers faster in the muscles during grinds - Presses, Squats, etc, than in the ballistics - Swings, Cleans, Snatches, Push Press, Jerk.

So, you’ll need longer to rest .

And that usually , is where I’ll suggest you use “autoregulation.”

Finally, I will prescribe specific rest periods on types of strength work, when I’m RANDOM - or want to come as close as possible to guaranteeing a specific outcome from that work.

Like when I want a “hybrid” outcome of strength and muscle.

So I’ll use partial rests . Or nearly full rests .

You’ll see this inside the “Strong!” program. (It’s how we turn your 4RM Clean + Press into a 10 x 6 - 10 sets of 6 reps - and make it feel simple.)

(I’ll also leave a link to that in the video description below.)

Hopefully this helps you understand better of how to use specific rest periods, and when.

Stay Strong,

Geoff Neupert.