TUES: Intensity 101 – The EMOM

(Tuesday workout below.)

There are two important things to be aware of when it comes to understanding the concept of intensity.

  1. It is always context specific.
  2. It is non-negotiable for results.

We’ll go backwards and answer number two, first. The reason that intensity is non-negotiable is because our body only adapts when it’s placed in a state of stress. It’s the reason we’d never sculpt big guns if we curled ten pounds everyday. We must progressively overload our body if we want it to continue to change the way it looks, performs, and feels. That’s science, and it goes as far back as sixth century ancient Greece with the tale of Milo and the Calf.

Milo, a Greek champion wrestler and metaphorical forefather to modern day progressive overload, is said to have achieved his legendary strength by starting as a child alongside a newborn calf of the same age. Everyday he would lift and carry the calf around the farm, continuing this routine until both he and the calf, later a bull, were full grown and Milo was able to still lift him. He got a tiny bit stronger each and every day, progressively overloading his system with gradually increased doses.

Take this and apply it to any endeavor. We must always increase the intensity if we wish to continue to see adaptation.

Now to point number one. What is intensity?

A few things.

  1. Heavy weight on a bar.
  2. Fast pace in a conditioning workout.
  3. Max power bursts in a plyometric set.
  4. As many body weight reps as possible.
  5. A 500m row time.
  6. A 5,000m row for time.

It is load, pace, power, speed, rest dosing. It is one, some, or all.

The list goes on and on, each one of the workouts above requiring a different type of high intensity. For the purpose of today, we want to understand the context of intensity and how we achieve the most out of our outcome, but I’ll start with a pop quiz.

Knowing that we only have about 20 seconds of actual work per minute in an EMOM, where do we think that we achieve intensity?

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If you said, load, you are correct. We cannot accrue enough volume to get an effective dose, so in an EMOM, it’s always important that we challenge the weight when we have weighted movements. Otherwise, it’s just a 1:3 work to rest ratio that won’t challenge us.

Get proficient. Then go HEAVY.

Happy EMOM’ing.

-Dave

Tuesday, 12.19.17

First, 21’ EMOM
Minute 1: 2/s Heavy DB Jerk
Minute 2: 10 Plate Pull Through
Minute 3: 5/s Lateral Plyo Skaters
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Then, to Finish:
w/ a Partner
A: 20” Quick Feet
B: Max OH Plate Flutter Kicks
(x6 Minutes)