TIMED Rest Periods vs. Autoregulation - When to Use Which?

‘SWING HARD!’
👉https://salutis.kartra.com/page/SWING-HARD-2
Kettlebell STRONG! (includes the “Strong!” program)
👉https://cart.chasingstrength.com/strong4
EMOM - Every Minute On The Minute.
Or as I prefer - OTM - On The Minute.
I first started using OTM workouts back in 2004.
My Olympic lifting training partner and I would do 2 to 3 reps OTM with 40kg Snatches.
More reps and our power would drop - the Snatches would become “grind-y.”
The results?
It did zero for my strength, but my conditioning did improve - which was the point. I was able to recover faster between sets and between training sessions.
(But secretly, deep down inside, I was hoping it would boost my Oly numbers somehow.)
And that’s how I like to use OTM work -
High power, low reps.
We’re talking about 90% up to 100% max effort. Full throttle, baby.
If we’re talking work duration, no more than about 10 seconds.
(That’s a 1:5 work-to-rest ratio - which avoids glycolysis, and still primarily uses your Phosphagen / Anaerobic Alactic energy system.
From there, we’ll scale to 15 seconds.
(That’s a 1:3 work-to-rest ratio. Right on the edge of glycolysis and the “burn.”)
Then to 20 seconds.
(That’s a 1:2 work-to-rest ratio and about when glycolysis really starts to fire up, and the resulting “burn” starts to kick in.)
And eventually, 30 seconds, a 1:1 work-to-rest ratio, which is seriously cooking!
I rarely get to 1:1 unless I’m pushing for extreme conditioning and/or fat loss.
But that takes awhile to achieve and like I said, we’ll scale our way into it.
A lot of people rush to get to the 1:1.
But that’s a BIG MISTAKE.
And that’s because the “secret” is to make sure your power output remains high on all your reps, regardless of your work-to-rest ratios.
That way you’re:
1- Using and training your fast-twitch fibers (and not converting them to slow twitch)
2- Training your aerobic system properly
3- Not burning yourself out or setting yourself up for injury
This builds / develops true “Power Endurance,” which is the ability to display / produce high levels of power over extended periods of time.
Or, “Do LOTS of Work.” 🙂
It can be tricky to program this yourself because most will overestimate their abilities, start too hard, and their power dies off.
I’ve detailed how to use OTM training inside ‘SWING HARD!’ . I’ll leave a link in the video description below, if you’re interested in checking it out.
Finally, I only tend to use OTMs for ballistics work, NOT pure strength work / grinds training.
That’s because fatigue accumulates faster in the muscles during grinds - Presses, Squats, etc, than in the ballistics - Swings, Cleans, Snatches, Push Press, Jerk.
So, you’ll need longer to rest.
And that typically, is where I’ll recommend you use “autoregulation.”
Finally, I will prescribe specific rest periods on types of strength work, when I’m looking for - or want to come as close as possible to guaranteeing a specific outcome from that work.
Like when I want a “hybrid” outcome of strength and muscle.
So I’ll use incomplete rests. Or almost complete rests.
You’ll see this inside the “Strong!” program. (It’s how we turn your 4RM Clean + Press into a 10 x 6 - 10 sets of 6 reps - and make it feel easy.)
(‘ll also leave a link to that in the video description below.)
Hopefully this gives you a little more insight of how to use specific rest periods, and when.
Stay Strong,
Geoff