Yesterday’s workout in my CrossFit box looked like this:

EMOM 14
Odd: 12 Calorie Row
Even: 12 Shoulder to Overhead (S2O)

EMOM stands for Every Minute On the Minute. The number ‘14’ to the right of ‘EMOM’ in the title signifies that this workout is a total of 14 minutes long. This means, every minute is one round and we start work every time the clock hits :00, for 14 full minutes. The idea is that we complete the work specified (either the 12 calories on the rower, or 12 shoulder to overhead) within that minute and then rest for any remaining time before the start of the next minute. At the start of the next minute, we start working again. If at any point during the workout we are unable to complete the specified amount of work within the same minute, we keep working into the following minute to complete the work. We then take the full remainder of that next minute to rest, before starting again when the clock hits :00.

When an EMOM shows different types of work or skills next to the words ‘Odd’ and ‘Even’, it means we are alternating the skill/movement each minute – one movement on odd minutes, the other on even minutes. So in yesterday’s workout for example, we rowed on minute 1, and then did S2O on minute 2, back to rowing on minute 3, and S2O on minute 4. We continued like this for a total of 14 minutes (so 7 total rounds of each movement).

EMOM’s are scored based on how many rounds you complete the work in time. So in the above workout, the maximum score possible is 14. If for example at round or minute 7, an athlete is unable to finish the rowing within that minute, they will keep rowing into round 8 until the rowing prescribed for them is done. They will then rest until the start of round 9 when they start working again. They will start work on the rower, having forfeited their round 8 which otherwise would have been S2O. If they complete the work within all subsequent rounds within the minute time limit, the athlete will have achieved a final score of 13.

Note the subtle difference between a workout written as today’s shown above, and the below format (that we will often see as well):

E3MOM x 4 (or E3MOM 12)
12 Calorie Row
12 Shoulder to Overhead (S2O)

When the workout is written like this, it stands for Every 3 Minutes on The Minute for 4 rounds (or 12 minutes). This means, we have three minutes to complete the work prescribed, and we will do a total of 4 rounds. At the first :00 we do our 12 calorie row and then transition without rest into our 12 S2O. When both movements are complete, we rest for the remainder of the three minutes, until the next round starts.

EMOM’s are programed frequently in a CrossFit gym. The purpose of an EMOM is training. EMOM’s for Olympic lifts allow you to do a single or a few perfect rep attempts, with forced rest built in so you recover before attempting perfection again. In workouts like the above, the aim is to train or strengthen your energy systems, allowing you to do longer bursts of intense work with short periods of rest in-between.