The 20 Minute Workout: EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute)

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If you are limited on time but still want to make an impact with your training time EMOM workouts might be the answer you are looking for.

When it comes to learning a new movement or wanting to improve how you move, you need to practice. The problem with practicing and refining a specific movement during a total body strength day or after an intense cardio session is that your body will be more fatigued. To become efficient at a movement and to ensure that your form and technique are not lacking you need to practice quality repetitions.

Most of us to do not have extra time in the week to devote to our movement patterns when we are already exercising several hours each week. The majority of us, myself included, want to feel like we gave it our all when we workout, dripping with sweat, and like we pushed our  bodies until we had nothing left. The older I get the more I realize how important it is to balance these high intensity sessions with movement specific focus sessions.

If you are looking for an efficient way to add movement training into your week EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute) workouts are a great starting place.

While there are many different ways to do an EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute) workout today I am mainly focusing on 1 movement pattern with very few reps performed each minute.

HOW TO DO AN EMOM WORKOUT

  1. Pick one movement. This movement needs to be a total body movement. Examples – Turkish Get Ups, Pull-Ups, Box Jumps, Pushups, or Burpees.
  2. Pick your total reps. How many reps do you want to do? Start with 20 if it is a new to you movement. Your total reps can be 20, 40, 60, 80, or even 100. It really depends on the movement.
  3. Each minute you perform 1-5 reps of the movement you selected. The goal here is to make sure that the during the minute you are only working for about 15-20 seconds.
  4. Rest during the remaining time. The beauty of these types of workouts is that you are allowing your body ample time to recover so you are never overly fatigued while performing the movement.
  5. Repeat for 20 minutes.

BENEFITS OF AN EMOM WORKOUT 

  • You don’t have to think about the workout. You can focus on form and technique. The pace is set for you by using the clock.
  • EMOMs are super versatile. You can program these with many different exercises. Keep reading for examples.
  • Built in rest. You should be resting more than you are working during an EMOM workout. If you can keep the movement to 15 seconds to perform all your reps for the minute you are looking at a rest to work ratio of 3:1. This is a very good ratio. The recovery will allow to complete your next set without being fatigued.
  • You will feel it. By focusing all your energy on practicing one movement not only will you become more efficient but you will also be feeling your effort within the next day.
  • Did I mention it is only 20 minutes?!?

EXAMPLES OF EMOM WORKOUTS

Like I mentioned earlier there are so many ways you can do an EMOM workout. Below are 6 examples of different 20 minute EMOMs.

20 Minute EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute) Workouts

It wasn’t until a few months ago that I was able to do a pull-up. I followed a 12 week strength training program and was super consistent with my workouts. I am still working on building up strength and working on my form. When I perform pull-ups in an EMOM workout I try to do as many as I can without assistance. When my form starts slacking or I can’t get my body up I use thick resistance loop bands to assist me. I just wanted to share that in case pull-ups are challenging for you also.

To time these workouts I like to use either the Seconds Pro App on my iPhone or my Gymboss.

Get creative with EMOMs. These are just examples and are by far not the only way to do these. Have fun working on a more balanced and stronger body!

PS…In case you are looking for some new workout gear check out the Reebok One Series Tights. I love these pants! I wear them at least twice a week. I also have worn my ASICS Women Gel Fit Sana Cross Training Shoe for every workout I have done since I received them in the mail last Fall. This shoes fit like a sock and are so light! Hands down my most favorite shoe. EVER.

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3 Biblical Reasons to Take Care of Your Body

What motivates you to take care of your body? Here are 3 biblical reasons to take care of your body that personally motivate me. Fitness, just like anything, can become an idol if you allow it. By shaping your worldview around what the bible says,taking care of your body can be another act of worship.

3 Biblical Reasons to Take Care of Your Body

TAKING CARE OF OUR BODIES GLORIFIES GOD.

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. -1 Cor 10:31

God created your body. He wants you to take care of it. Illness, disease, and death are going to happen. No one, not even Christians are immune to it. It doesn’t matter if you tithe your 10%, give a little extra, serve in a ministry, and honor your spouse. Life happens, everyday, all the time. There is only so much we can do to take care of the bodies we have.

Self care is a discipline. It takes dedication, time, and effort to grocery shop, cook healthy meals, and workout. Just like reading the bible, praying, and tithing are considered spiritual disciplines, the process of taking care of your body to glorify God is also a spiritual act. More on this also in the next section.

JESUS DIED SO YOU COULD LIVE.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. -Romans 12:1

This reason is super important so don’t miss it. Your life has a purpose (Jer. 29:11). It is easy to go through seasons of our lives on autopilot missing all the good God has placed around us. I am totally guilty of this. Any other moms to little ones agree? I can become so consumed in my own little world that I miss opportunities that I could have been used by God to bless another person.

God is whispering to us all the time. It is a matter of deciding who we will pay attention to. God’s whispers or the enemy’s lies. I have battled with anxiety and can happily say that God has given me the power to overcome my anxious thoughts by leaning on Him and being in His word daily. Read my post 10 Bible Verses for Anxiety. Doing this wasn’t easy and it took time, prayer, and effort on my part to say NO to lies I was hearing and to start allowing God’s truths to permeate my life. By listening to the enemy’s lies I was not being able to live out my purpose for God, instead I was in a place of constant fear.

By taking care of our earthly body we have the potential to be God’s hands and feet here on earth. Our spiritual, physical, and mental health need to be aspects of self care that we evaluate on a regular basis. Exercise for the purpose of maintaining the health God has given you is not vain. It is one of the ways we can show God, and be a witness to others, that we care enough about the body we have. By keeping God at the center of everything we do, even exercising and at meal times, we are ensuring that our bodies do not become a stumbling block for us but another way to give glory back to God.

Make no mistake about this. Living an unhealthy lifestyle has the high probability of ensuring you less time with your loved ones and less time to make an impact for Christ to others.

THE BODY IS GOD’S TEMPLE.

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. -1 Corinthians 19:20

The Holy Spirit lives in you. Our bodies are a gift from God and do not belong to us. As Christians we need to realize that our bodies are on loan to us until heaven. If a friend loaned me an item that they greatly valued, they would expect me to return it to them in the same condition. They would be hurt and disappointed if I returned it to them destroyed. Shouldn’t we as Christ followers view our bodies with the same care and respect we would for a friends treasured belonging?

With social media and fitness magazines constantly blasting us with before and after pictures and telling us about the latest diet craze it can be challenging at times to remember that taking care of your body needs to remain rooted in God. NOT what the media says. If we rely on the quick fixes of this world we miss out on the power that comes from asking God to give us the spirit of self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

Today is the perfect day to start making healthy changes. Start small and don’t try to do everything all at once. Get out for a walk everyday, drink more water, up your veggie intake, or eat your meals at home. And just to clarify, eating meals at home means cooking the meals, not ordering in ;). Small daily changes over time can add up to huge health benefits a year from now. Most importantly remember this about your body…

God created. Jesus died for it. The Spirit lives in it. So we better take care of it. -Pastor Rick Warren

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How I Got a Flat Tummy in 30 Days!

Want to know how I got a flat tummy in 30 days? Me too! I would love to know when the results shown in the photo below never happened to me in 30 days.

Over the weekend I received an email from a fellow blogger, thank you Sia, notifying me that another blogger was using one of my before and after photos to promote a 30 Day Ab Challenge for a flat tummy. The image was quickly gaining traction on Pinterest.

How I Got a Flat Tummy in 30 Days!

This made my jaw drop. I felt like I had finally made it as a “blogger”. My work was stolen and used without my consent.

And just so we are all clear on my work here, I mean selfies taken on my iPhone in the bathroom mirror.

I know it is probably lame that I got excited about this, but what is it that they say about flattery? 😉

Anyway, as flattered as I am that someone used my photo to promote their fitness challenge, I wish that my image had not been used in this way.

THIS FIRM FLAT TUMMY IS NOT FROM A 30 DAY AB CHALLENGE

I highly dislike the idea of people seeing that picture of my midsection and thinking that by doing a 30 Day Ab Challenge they can achieve those same results. Let’s chat about the photo for a second. Here is the original. As you can see the dates had been cropped out.

Before-After

These two photos were taken 18 months apart. Not 30 days. This before and after photo was 547 days in the making.

In October of 2011 I had just found out I was pregnant. There was no flat tummy happening for numerous months between these photos.

I exercised throughout my entire pregnancy and my diet was very healthy. I also taught several group fitness and yoga classes weekly.

After my son was born I updated my progress monthly but two years ago decided to remove most of those posts for fear of my images being stolen to promote products I don’t use or believe in. My 10 Month After Baby Stats post is still published if you would like to read it.

On a side note, this photo created quite the controversial stir back in May of 2013 when I guest posted on FitLife.Tv. The majority of the comments about my article were not about the article itself but targeted this same photo. You can read all about this in my post The Problem with Body Bashing.

I did not do a 30 Day Ab Challenge for these results. When I workout I don’t ever focus on only my “abs”. I do however work my core and focus on all the muscles from the shoulders down to the quads.

I do NOT think there is anything wrong with my before picture. I love my flat tummy in both photos and I love my tummy now.

HOW TO SPOT A FAKE

I also really dislike the fact that the image was used by another “personal trainer” to promote themselves. There are tons of fitness bloggers on the internet who claim to be a personal trainer yet do not share how they are certified. This is a huge red flag. If a trainer is not forth coming in a Bio or About Section of their blog or website on the certifications they hold do not look any further into buying a program from them or paying for online coaching. This industry is super competitive and trainers pay $$$ each year to keep their certs current and have liability insurance. Legit trainers have certs and will place that information in an easy to find location on their website.

The next time you see a before and after picture that looks a little to good to be true, it is probably because it is too good to be true. Many supplement companies and fitness brands grow because of the success they have with sharing before and after photos. While reputable trainers and fitness bloggers use their own clients before and afters there are many Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook accounts who are looking to promote their at home business by “stealing” someones hard earned before and after photo.

Before you Pin, Share, Double Tap, or Buy when you see another before and after photo determine first if it is from a legitimate source. Please remember, a firm flat tummy happens over time and with consistent effort and dedication both in the gym and in the kitchen. Not from being able to copy and paste a photo of another persons hard work.

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