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EMOM Workouts with a Weighted Vest: Boost Strength and Endurance
EMOM workouts, short for “Every Minute on the Minute,” are a highly effective and time-efficient way to build strength, endurance, and focus. Adding a weighted vest takes this workout style to a higher level by increasing resistance, making it a powerful tool for athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and anyone looking to challenge themselves physically and mentally. This guide explores what EMOM means, its benefits, how to perform an EMOM workout with a weighted vest, and provides detailed examples and tips to help you succeed.
What Does EMOM Mean?
EMOM stands for “Every Minute on the Minute.” It’s a workout structure where you perform a designated exercise or set of exercises at the start of each minute. The remaining time within the minute serves as your rest period. Once the next minute starts, you repeat the exercise.
EMOM in Fitness and CrossFit
EMOM workouts are widely used in CrossFit due to their ability to build strength and conditioning simultaneously. The intensity of these workouts depends on the type of exercise, the number of repetitions, and the duration of the workout. They are scalable, allowing athletes of all levels to tailor the workout to their fitness needs.
Benefits of EMOM Workouts
1. Time Efficiency
EMOM workouts are structured to fit into a short time frame while still delivering significant results. Whether you have 10 minutes or 30 minutes, EMOM workouts allow you to maximize your training time.
2. Improves Strength and Endurance
The combination of high-intensity effort and short rest periods challenges your cardiovascular system while building muscle strength. Over time, this improves both aerobic and anaerobic capacity.
3. Encourages Consistency
EMOM workouts force you to maintain a steady pace. This consistency improves work capacity and teaches you to manage fatigue effectively.
4. Adaptable for All Fitness Levels
EMOMs can be scaled to suit beginners, intermediate athletes, and advanced fitness enthusiasts. Adjusting repetitions, exercise difficulty, or workout duration makes this style accessible to everyone.
5. Builds Mental Toughness
Pushing through fatigue to complete each round builds resilience. This mental toughness translates into other areas of fitness and life.
Why Use a Weighted Vest?
A weighted vest is a fitness tool that adds extra resistance to bodyweight exercises. Incorporating a weighted vest into an EMOM workout amplifies the intensity and benefits of the routine. Here’s why it’s worth trying:
1. Increases Resistance
The additional weight makes your muscles work harder, resulting in faster strength and endurance gains.
2. Enhances Core Engagement
The extra load requires greater core stability, improving balance and overall functional strength.
3. Boosts Calorie Burn
With more effort required for each movement, your body burns more calories during and after the workout.
4. Improves Bone Density
The weighted vest applies more stress on your bones during movement, encouraging increased bone density over time.
EMOM Workout Structure
Step 1: Set Your Time Frame
Determine the total duration of your EMOM workout. Beginners may start with 10 minutes, while advanced athletes can aim for 20-30 minutes.
Step 2: Select Exercises
Choose exercises that align with your fitness goals. Compound movements like squats, push-ups, and burpees work well. Include a mix of upper-body, lower-body, and full-body movements for balanced results.
Step 3: Determine Repetitions
Decide how many reps you can complete in 40-45 seconds, leaving time to rest before the next minute begins.
Step 4: Wear the Right Weighted Vest
Start with a vest weighing 5-10% of your body weight. As you progress, you can increase the weight for added intensity.
Sample EMOM Workouts with a Weighted Vest
Beginner EMOM (10 Minutes)
•Minute 1: 8 push-ups
•Minute 2: 10 air squats
•Minute 3: 6 burpees
•Repeat for 3 rounds.
This workout focuses on simple movements to build a foundation of strength and endurance.
Intermediate EMOM (15 Minutes)
•Minute 1: 12 push-ups
•Minute 2: 15 air squats
•Minute 3: 10 burpees
•Minute 4: 12 mountain climbers (each leg counts as one rep)
•Repeat for 3 rounds.
This routine increases intensity with higher reps and an additional exercise.
Advanced EMOM (20 Minutes)
•Minute 1: 15 push-ups
•Minute 2: 20 air squats
•Minute 3: 12 burpees
•Minute 4: 8 pull-ups
•Minute 5: 10 lunges per leg
•Repeat for 2 rounds.
This workout maximizes effort by incorporating pull-ups and lunges, challenging both strength and stamina.
Best Exercises for EMOM Workouts
1.Push-Ups: Strengthen your chest, shoulders, and triceps.
2.Squats: Target your quads, glutes, and hamstrings while improving mobility.
3.Burpees: Provide a full-body challenge, boosting cardiovascular endurance.
4.Pull-Ups: Develop back and arm strength.
5.Lunges: Improve balance and target lower-body muscles.
6.Mountain Climbers: Engage your core and elevate your heart rate.
7.Plank Rows: Combine core stability with upper-body strength.
Tips for Success
1. Warm-Up Properly
Start with a 5-minute warm-up of dynamic stretches and light cardio to prepare your muscles and joints.
2. Focus on Form
Maintain proper form throughout each movement to prevent injury and maximize effectiveness. Quality matters more than speed.
3. Start Light
If you’re new to weighted vest training, choose a lighter vest and gradually increase the weight as your strength improves.
4. Hydrate and Recover
Stay hydrated before, during, and after your workout. Stretch post-workout to enhance recovery and flexibility.
5. Challenge Yourself
Progress by increasing the number of reps, extending the workout duration, or adding more weight to your vest.
How EMOM Workouts Enhance Fitness
EMOM workouts are unique because they create a balance of effort and recovery. The structured format keeps your heart rate elevated while allowing just enough rest to sustain high-intensity efforts. Over time, this trains your body to recover faster, improve work capacity, and perform better under fatigue.
Adding a weighted vest amplifies these benefits by engaging more muscle groups and increasing the overall workload. This combination builds strength, boosts endurance, and burns more calories than traditional bodyweight exercises alone.
EMOM Workouts in CrossFit
CrossFit EMOM workouts are popular because they integrate high-intensity functional movements with a time-based structure. EMOM WODs (Workout of the Day) often include a mix of strength exercises, gymnastics, and conditioning movements to test and improve overall fitness.
Why You Should Try an EMOM Workout with a Weighted Vest
EMOM workouts with a weighted vest are an excellent way to elevate your training. They combine time efficiency, scalability, and high-intensity effort to deliver results. Whether you are a beginner looking to build strength or an advanced athlete aiming to improve endurance, these workouts provide a flexible yet challenging option.
With a structured plan, the right weighted vest, and a mix of exercises, you can achieve your fitness goals effectively. Start with one of the sample routines provided and experience the difference that EMOM workouts can make in your training. (1,2,3)
Need more information? Check out our Simple Guide to EMOM Workouts.
