Overview
Gaining lean muscle and reducing body fat is the main goal for most people going to the gym, both male and female. If you are female, you may not be as worried about gaining muscle but you might still want to have a toned figure. Every minute on the minute (MOTM) workouts are a great way to achieve lean muscle mass while reducing your body fat percentage. They will also stop you from wasting time in between your sets. For example, when you’re talking to others or staring at the women squatting in front of you.
When you look at marathon runners and sprinters they have very different physiques. Sprinters are ripped with very dense muscle whereas marathon runners are usually just thin. Sprinting involves short powerful bursts of energy and this is what high intensity interval training (HIIT) replicates. HIIT is a technique which is associated with getting lean; people usually use this when doing cardio. MOTM workouts are like HITT but with the incorporation of weights rather than pure cardio. To gain that dense muscle with low body fat like a sprinter you need to do high intensity workouts and activate your fast twitch fibres. One of the main benefits of doing minute on the minute workouts is that you won’t have to do any additional cardio to burn fat because you will be dripping in sweat by the end of it!
How does it work?
The main philosophy behind the every minute on the minute workout is that you start your set at the beginning of a minute, once you have finished your set you have until the end of that minute to rest. Then, once the next minute starts you do the set again. So for example you start your set at :00, lets say you finish your set and the clock is on :30s this means you have 30 seconds to rest until you start your next set and so on.
The number of reps you choose to do for different exercises will vary. For example, for deadlifts you might want to do 4 reps per minute but for bicep curls you might want to do 6 reps per minute as they are not as fatiguing on the muscles. When choosing your weight pick a weight that you can comfortably do more reps with than you intend to do. So, if you are aiming to do 4 deadlifts per set then pick a weight you can comfortably do 6 reps with.
I usually do 10 minutes worth (10sets) for each exercise but you can alter this however you like. Once you get past the 5th set you will feel really tired and usually you will be sweating a lot. This is because your rest periods will decrease on each minute as you take longer to do the sets, due to fatigue. The first couple of sets may seem really easy because the reps you are doing are less than what you would usually do for that weight. However, don’t get complacent because the further you get into the workout the tougher it will get!
Benefits
- By doing MOTM workouts you will remain focused because you haven’t got enough time in between sets to wander away and have a chat with someone, or check Facebook on your phone. This workout requires 100% focus and dedication.
- It’s fast! The workout will fly by and if you are only doing four exercises at 10 minutes per exercise, that is only 40 minutes a day for a great workout.
- You can adjust the weight or rep range to ensure you get the best burn possible. If you have been doing the same weight for a while and you are feeling stronger, then you can up your weight or add an extra rep onto each set to keep the intensity up.
- You can do this workout at home with not much equipment and still get into great shape. Using exercises like push ups, lunges, squats, burpees and so on, you can create a high intensity workout at home. Just increase the rep range per minute and you’re good to go.
Tips
Have a goal: Before you start doing this workout set yourself a goal for the future. Make sure you set a specific time-frame too. This goal can be in relation to strength, reps, body fat percentage or anything else you think is relevant. Keep track of your weekly progress towards your goal, once the results start to show you will feel even more motivated to keep going.
Be smart: These workouts can be very high intensity. I would advise switching between pull and push muscles on opposite days. So if you did chest one day, train your back the next day and then do your shoulders on the following day. This is better than doing chest on day one followed by shoulders on day 2, because your chest, shoulders and especially your triceps will not have had a rest.
Volume: Build up the number of reps or weight slowly. The aim is to last for the entire 10 minutes without going overtime or missing out sets.
Get creative: This workout can be done with pretty much any exercise so switch it up every couple of weeks to keep you interested; this will also help to shock your muscles.
I hope you found this article informative and you are now at a stage to incorporate every minute on the minute workouts into your gym routine. Share this article with your friends and family so that they can integrate MOTM into their workouts too!
Author: Dillan Patel
I am a fashion enthusiast and the Fashion Director at Bon Vita. My vision is to spread Good Vibes Only #GVO through the faculty of fashion.
I believe that looking good plays a critical role in feeling good; when you feel good you’re in a better state of mind to manifest your desires!
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