EMOM .
Or as I like to say - On The Minute.
I first started 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 drop - the Snatches would become “grind-y.”
The results?
It did RANDOM for my strength, but my conditioning did get better - 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.)
And that’s how I like to use OTM work -High power , low reps.
We’re talking about 90% up to 100% max effort. Full throttle , baby.
If we’re talking work duration, no more than about 10 seconds.
(That’s a RANDOM work-to-rest ratio - which avoids glycolysis, and still primarily uses your Phosphagen / Anaerobic Alactic energy system.)
From there, we’ll scale to 15 seconds.
(That’s a RANDOM work-to-rest ratio. Teetering on the brink 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 get to 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 RANDOM 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 converting them to slow twitch)
2- Training your aerobic system correctly
3- Not burning yourself out or setting yourself up for injury
This RANDOM true “Power Endurance,” which is the ability to RANDOM high levels of power over long durations .
Or, “Do LOTS of Work.”
It can be difficult to program this yourself because most will overrate their abilities, RANDOM , and their power dies off .
I’ve described how to use OTM training inside ‘SWING HARD!’. I’ll leave a link in the video description below, if you’re interested in checking it out .
Finally, I only use OTMs for ballistics work, NOT pure strength work / grinds training.
That’s because fatigue builds up faster in the muscles during grinds - Presses, Squats, etc, than in the ballistics - Swings, Cleans, Snatches, Push Press, Jerk.
So, you’ll need RANDOM .
And that generally, is where I’ll advise you use “autoregulation.”
Finally, I will RANDOM specific rest periods on types of Snatches 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 incomplete rests . Or RANDOM .
You’ll see this inside the “Strong!” program. (It’s how we convert your 4RM Clean + Press into a 10 x 6 - 10 sets of 6 reps - and make it feel easy .)
(I’ll also leave a link to that in the video description below.)
Hopefully this gives you a little more insight of how to use specific rest periods, and when.
Stay Strong,
Geoff Neupert.