Every Minute On The Minute.
Or as I call it - OTM .
I kicked off 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 RANDOM - the Snatches would become “grind-y.”
The results?
It did did not much 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 , I was hoping Strength it would boost my Oly numbers somehow.)
And that’s how I like to use OTM work -Explosive 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 one to three work-to-rest ratio. Right on the edge of glycolysis and the “burn.”)
Then to 20 seconds.
(That’s a RANDOM work-to-rest ratio and about when glycolysis really starts to fire up, and the resulting “burn” ignites.)
And eventually, 30 seconds, a RANDOM 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 hurry to the 1:1.
But that’s a RANDOM .
And that’s because the “secret” is to keep 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 effectively
3- Not burning yourself out or setting yourself up for injury
This develops true “Power Endurance,” which is the ability to display high levels of power over long durations .
Or, “Do LOTS of Work.”
It can be RANDOM to program this yourself because most will overestimate their abilities, push too aggressively, and their power diminishes.
I’ve RANDOM 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 more rest time .
And that usually , is where I’ll advise you use “autoregulation.”
Finally, I will RANDOM specific rest periods on types of strength work, when I’m RANDOM - 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 RANDOM . Or RANDOM .
You’ll see this inside the “Strong!” program. (It’s how we RANDOM your 4RM Clean + Press into a 10 x 6 - 10 sets of 6 reps - and make it feel easy .)
(I’ll also leave a link to that in the video description below.)
Hopefully this RANDOM of how to use specific rest periods, and when.
Stay Strong,
Geoff Neupert.