EMOM stands for every minute on the minute: you start a set amount of work at the top of each minute and rest whatever time is left, so the burst and the recovery are built into the clock. I am 182 days into Matt Fraser's HWPO program, and the EMOM is apparently his favorite tool, because we use it every week, working from ten-minute pieces all the way up to forty minutes. In this Physical Friday I break down the four-station format and how to build your own with zero equipment.
Watch now: press play on the video above and follow along.
EMOM is an acronym for every minute on the minute. You pick an exercise and an amount of work, start it at the top of each minute, and rest for whatever remains of that minute before the next round begins. The format builds work and recovery directly into the clock, keeps you honest about pace, and scales to any fitness level: the fitter you are, the more work you fit into each minute and the less rest you get.
On the HWPO program, Matt Fraser builds EMOMs from four exercises rotated station to station, one per minute. Two stations are cardio based, such as rowing and biking, biking and ski erg, or running and jump rope. The other two are strength or gymnastics based, like sandbag cleans paired with pull ups, ideally with opposing movements such as a pull and a push. Over 182 days we have progressed from ten-minute EMOMs up to forty minutes.
Aim for thirty to forty five seconds of hard work, leaving roughly twenty to thirty seconds of rest before the next station. Before you start, test your numbers: if you can do ten burpees in thirty seconds, that is your burpee station. For a run, pick a landmark that takes about thirty seconds to reach and return. The short burst followed by built-in rest is what makes the format so effective and so repeatable.
Absolutely, and it is also a great way to train a group. Meet at a park with nothing but a phone timer: running and burpees cover the two cardio stations, then add dips on a park bench and flutter kicks for strength and core. Rotate the four stations every minute for twenty or thirty minutes and everyone gets an incredibly good workout. If you have a dumbbell, a kettlebell, or a jump rope, throw it in.
Because the clock manages your intensity for you. The repeating bursts keep your effort high while the built-in rest lets you recover just enough to hit the next round hard, so you accumulate a huge amount of quality work without blowing up. The format also removes decisions: when the minute beeps, you go. It has worked for Matt Fraser, the five-time Fittest Man on Earth, so I think it is going to work for you.
This is the format from Matt Fraser's HWPO program that I have been running for 182 days. It works at a park with nothing or in a fully loaded gym.
I walk through each of these in the episode. Press play above.
I have been following Matt Fraser's Hard Work Pays Off program for 182 days, and the EMOM shows up every single week. We started with ten-minute pieces, then twenty, twenty five, thirty, and now we have worked up to forty-minute EMOMs. Watching the progression taught me how to scale the format for anybody. I share what the buildup actually felt like in the episode, so press play above.
One of my favorite things about this format is training a group with zero equipment. Everybody meets at the park, someone's phone beeps every minute, and four simple stations, running, flutter kicks, burpees, and bench dips, deliver a workout that humbles everyone. No gym membership, no money, no excuses. I walk through setting one up step by step in the episode, so press play above.
The genius of the EMOM is that the clock makes every decision for you. It tells you when to start, it punishes you for sandbagging by shrinking your rest, and it rewards smart pacing with recovery. You stop negotiating with yourself and just work. I explain how to pick numbers that keep the whole session honest in the episode, so press play above.
The EMOM is the most flexible tool in my training: ten minutes or forty, a park bench or a loaded gym, alone or with a crowd, the formula is the same.
Try a four-station EMOM this week, and if you come up with a good format I want to hear about it. Text me at (305) 930-7346. Press play above for the full breakdown.
EMOM (every minute on the minute) · Matt Fraser · HWPO (Hard Work Pays Off) · CrossFit Games · rowing · ski erg · double unders · sandbag cleans · flutter kicks · bench dips · park workouts
Physical Friday is my weekly fitness series for fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen — the training, nutrition, and mindset to stay in the game for life. Watch and listen to every Physical Friday episode from Tom Rowland.
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. Physical Friday is my weekly fitness series for fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen, where I share the training, nutrition, and mindset that keep me ready to fish, hunt, and live hard for the rest of my life.
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