Ensure unexpected muscle growth with 60-second intervals!

Metabolic load is a crucial aspect of hypertrophy. In this article we will discuss the EMOM (every minute on the minute) method. It is a simple principle. You will always have an interval of 60 seconds where you work out a series of one exercise and the rest of that minute is for rest.

Here are some notes on this method:

• You can use it at the end of a workout to increase mechanical load, muscle damage, and metabolic stress.
• It will make it easy for you to track your progress, not only by weight, but also by number of reps and work capacity.
• It will be something new for those who are tired of the standard counting sets and reps.
• You can easily adjust the work volume and load, but the metabolic stress will always remain high.
• Your aerobic fitness will improve as this method locally increases muscular endurance. You'll also be more resistant to lactic acid buildup, allowing you to get more work done with less local fatigue.

Pitfalls of the interval method

We will focus on metabolic loading, using smaller exercises that target local fatigue. You don't want to make the interval unnecessarily hard.

For example, let's compare a push-up and a thruster exercise (a combination of a front squat and overhead press). The push-up engages fewer muscles overall, which may sound like a disadvantage, but hang in there.

The increase in heart rate will be relatively lower, but you'll be able to focus on local muscular endurance as a result. With complex exercise, you will be fully occupied trying to control your heart rate between sets. After a series of push-ups, you won't spend the rest of the minute gasping for breath.

To make a long story short, the choice of exercise will be quite crucial for intervals. An improperly chosen exercise will knock you out of the saddle before you ever get to the actual work.

Interval squats and push-ups

Try to include it at the end of your upper body workout. Practice a variation of reverse lunges and go straight to push-ups.

Work out every 60 seconds:

• 10 reverse pull-ups.
• 10 push-ups

It will be about 25-30 seconds of work in total, if you can do it without stopping. This will give you 30-35 seconds of rest before the next set.

Work off as many rounds as you can. However, should you get over 10, don't practice any further.

10 rounds is 100 repetitions of each exercise, a lot of work. If you can't do 10 rounds, no problem. Write down where you stopped and try again in 4 weeks.

If you're on the opposite side of the spectrum where a sequence like this is too easy for you, make the pull-ups harder with a different angle and add an element of instability to the push-ups.

Inverted pull-ups and push-ups on the single-arm

TRX pull-ups and kettlebell push-ups

A heavier version is not necessarily better. You will probably reach failure much sooner. But that is not the purpose. It's to accumulate workload.

Since we are combining pushes and pulls, resting one part is always part of the complex. You might be surprised how much work you can actually do.

Another method of approaching intervals

Remember that your ability to sustain multiple sets (4 or more) is key. Just approach it simply and don't try to overcomplicate it. Otherwise, your 60 second interval might be unreasonably difficult.

For example, incorporating EMOM for lower extremity training presents a whole different challenge! In that case, I would recommend doing only one exercise because the muscles you are working are larger. This will significantly increase your heart rate.

Here's an example:

Heavy Russian Kettlebell Swing

Practice 15 reps every minute in 5-10 sets. It will take 5-10 minutes and you will accumulate 75-150 reps. Over the course of 4-6 weeks, add on the volume of work.

Intervals are an incredibly effective method to add volume to your work and improve your fitness!

Remember, you should be more or less consistent in all sets. If you're completely dead after two rounds, you're doing too many reps. It needs to be adequately hard, but you need to be able to work it off, rest for half a minute and work again. If you can't do it, be more conservative with the number of reps next time.

Source: www.t-nation.com - 4 EMOM Challenges for Unexpected Muscle Growth
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