The Second Layer

Welcome to this week's Fit Tip Friday!Last FTF we reviewed Circuit Training, and this week we will talk about Endurance Training. If Circuit Training was the base layer clothing, Endurance Training is the clothing layer next to go on.  

Like Circuit Training, there are countless programs and workouts that utilize Endurance Training. We will focus on one application this week, that is easy to remember and easy to implement: EMOM training. EMOM Training"Every Minute On the Minute", or EMOM for short, is a type of endurance training that requires you to complete exercises at a defined time interval for a defined duration. I was first introduced to EMOM training through CrossFit. I never did CrossFit for a prolonged period of time, but I periodically accompanied family and friends to their local CrossFit gym for workouts.One on of these occasions, we did a workout called "Chelsea", which is as follows:30 minutes, EMOM, of:

• 5 Pull-Ups

• 10 Push-Ups

• 15 Air Squats/Body Squats

This was, and is, an absolute roaster of a workout (and here's an even harder EMOM workout from CrossFit!). For Chelsea, every minute on the minute you are completing 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 air squats, and then resting for whatever time you have remaining in the minute, until the new minute starts. The longer you take in your minute, the less time you have to rest. This was intensity at its finest. In that workout, I gave it everything I had for a full 30 minutes and was completely spent at the end of the workout. After that experience, I was completely hooked on EMOM training. I was soon writing my own EMOM workouts, substituting different exercises, changing the rep ranges, etc...But after a few months, my excitement and motivation for EMOM training dropped as I started to notice pains in my joints. My left knee started bothering me, as did my right shoulder. My energy levels dropped, and it seemed like my body wasn't fully recovered before I did the next EMOM workout.What happened? I forgot another key variable: RestGetting EMOM Training RightEMOM training is an incredibly efficient way to test and build your muscle endurance. Each workout, you have the opportunity to push your muscles as far as they can go. For months, I tried some iteration of the "Chelsea" workout, trying to mimic the burn I had with the first one. But with exercise programming, you shouldn't perform at 100%, maximum, intensity each and every workout. For my over-ambitious self, this wasn't a reality I was willing to accept. After all, muscles are built by tearing & repairing, right? What about "no pain, no gain" and "give it all you got" fitness self-talks? High-intensity training, all the time, will eventually lead to some type of injury. With exercise programming, the better approach is to modify intensity as an exercise variable, so over days, weeks, and months you cycle through different intensity ranges. This modification can help you build muscle endurance while helping avoid injuries. With EMOM training, here are two variables you can manipulate that will get you started. And both of these variables are controlled in the following 4-week EMOM program. Density: Density refers to the volume of work completed in a period of time. For EMOM training, instead of completing exercises every 60 seconds, try completing them in 90 seconds, 120 seconds, etc... This extends your breaks and allows your body to replenish its energy stores before you restart. Repetitions:  This refers to the number of movements completed per exercise. Increasing the number of repetitions completed per EMOM workout increases the intensity and lowering the number of repetitions decreases intensity. 4 Week EMOM Training ProgramThe goal of this 4-week program is to build and develop full-body muscle endurance, using just one kettlebell, a pull-up bar, and your bodyweight.  

This image can be saved to your smartphone's pictures for ease of use

For the KB swing, here's my recommended progression: 

• 16kg 2Hand KB Swing, then

• 16kg 1Hand KB Swing, then

• 24kg 2Hand KB Swing, then

• 24kg 1Hand KB Swing, then

• 32kg 2Hand KB Swing, then

• 32kg 1Hand KB Swing

You'll need to figure out where you land on this. For guys who are new to or getting back into exercise, I'd recommend starting with a 16kg 2Hand Swing. If you exercise regularly and know how to swing a kettlebell, try starting with the 24kg 2Hand KB Swing. If you are a Kettlebell pro and none of this seems challenging to you, substitute KB Swings for KB Snatches.For the 1Hand swings, keep the same repetition and density ranges, but alternate hands after each sequence. For instance, if you are doing 10 1Hand swings every 2:00 minutes for 16 minutes, do 10 1H swings with your right hand at the start of 2:00 minutes, at the top of the next 2:00 minutes do 10 1H swings with your left hand, and continue alternating until the 16 minutes are finished. Whatever you pick, stick with that movement and weight for this program, and do it until it 'feels' easy. Then move up to the next progression. EMOM Program Construction & Variables 

Time

# of Exercises

Dan John

Density

Rest

at least

you won't harness

"Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest". 

A 4 Week Circuit Program for the Home Gym

This content was shared on the last Fit Tip Friday. The web link to this article is here. Summary:Circuit Programming is a basic skill, that if learned, will be a valuable tool for your fitness arsenal. This article contains a 4-Week circuit program that you can do at home (with just a kettlebell and bodyweight), along with explanations for each variable baked into circuit program design. The program is challenging but can be scaled for any level of difficulty.