Finish The Week Strong With This CrossFit-Style EMOM Session
Work hard before you rest harder with this half-hour full-body burn
If there’s one thing we look forward to while working out, it’s the upcoming rest; it drives us to work that little bit harder.
So in this workout, the quicker and harder you work, the longer you’ll have to reset and catch your breath.
CrossFit coach and PT Jamarle Warby has devised this 30-minute EMOM workout which will push you to your limits, working the entire body: lower, upper, core and cardio. It offers a mix of strength and stability work, with some conditioning thrown in for good measure.
EMOM stands for “every minute on the minute” and it requires you to complete a given number of reps in a minute, before going on to the next exercise and set of reps in the next minute. Once the reps are done, you rest for the remainder of the minute. The quicker you work, the more rest you get.
You need a set of dumbbells and a rowing machine. Warby recommends 15kg dumbbells for men and 10kg dumbbells for women, but feel free to go heavier or lighter according to your level of experience and strength.
Set a timer for five minutes and work your way through the moves, one each minute. Then take a one-minute breather. Aim to complete five rounds in total.
1 Row
Calories 15 male, 12 female
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Row on a rowing machine until you hit the calorie target. Aim to reach it in 45 seconds. If you rarely use a rower, brush on your form with these rowing technique tips.
2 Burpee over rowing machine
Reps 10
Stand side-on to the rowing machine’s rail, squat down and place your hands on the floor, then jump your feet back to land in a high plank position. Lower so your chest touches the floor, then push back up. Jump your feet forwards again to your hands, then jump over the rail. Perform another chest-to-floor burpee, then jump back over the rail.
3 Dumbbell snatch
Reps 16
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in an overhand grip, palm facing you. Keeping your back flat and chest up, push your hips back and bend your knees to lower into a squat, letting the dumbbell hang down, touching the floor between your feet. Push through your heels explosively to rise and as the dumbbell reaches hip level, use your arm to pull the dumbbell up to your shoulder, flipping your elbow underneath the dumbbell, then press the dumbbell overhead, locking out your elbow. Swap the dumbbell to the other hand, then lower the dumbbell back to the start and go again on the other side. Your lower body should be producing most of the momentum to lift the dumbbell.
4 Overhead lunge
Reps 16
Stand holding dumbbells overhead, with palms facing. Take a step back and bend your knees to lower, stopping when your back knee is hovering above the floor and your front thigh is parallel to the ground. Push through your front heel to return to standing. Alternate sides with each rep.
5 Renegade row
Reps 16
Get into a high plank position, with your hands holding dumbbells on the floor directly under your shoulders. Engage your core and keep your body in a straight line from head to heels. Drive the left elbow straight up past your torso, lifting the dumbbell to your ribs. Pause, then lower the dumbbell under control. Alternate sides with each rep.
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- This dumbbell HIIT workout pushes you harder than other home sessions
- CrossFit workouts to try in your next gym session
Lucy is an experienced health and fitness journalist, and was formerly health editor for TI Media’s portfolio of women’s titles. Lucy qualified as a level 3 personal trainer with Train Fitness in 2016, and also holds qualifications in pre- and post-natal fitness, as well as in nutrition for exercise.