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Stand in front of the whiteboard at any CrossFit gym and you'll see what looks like a secret code: "12-min AMRAP", "EMOM 10", "21-15-9 For Time". For new members at our Balcatta box, this is often the most confusing part of the first few weeks — not the movements, the language. The good news? There are really only a handful of formats to learn, and once you know them, every workout instantly makes sense.
An AMRAP gives you a fixed amount of time — say 12 minutes — and a short circuit of movements. Your job is simple: keep cycling through the circuit until the clock runs out, counting your rounds and reps as you go.
What makes AMRAPs brilliant for beginners is that the clock is fixed, but the output is yours. A first-timer and a five-year veteran do the same 12 minutes; one might finish four rounds, the other nine, and both get exactly the workout they need. There's no "finishing last" in an AMRAP — everyone finishes at the same moment.
In an EMOM, a new task starts at the top of every minute. For example: 8 calories on the bike at minute one, 10 kettlebell swings at minute two, repeat for 10 minutes. Finish the work quickly and the rest of that minute is yours to recover.
EMOMs teach one of the most valuable skills in fitness: pacing. Go out too hot and the rest disappears; move steadily and the format almost coaches you itself. They're also great for skill work, because the built-in rest lets you focus on quality movement every round.
"For Time" flips the AMRAP: the work is fixed and the time is yours. A classic example is 21-15-9 — 21 reps of two movements, then 15 of each, then 9 — done as fast as you can move with good technique.
This is where CrossFit's famous intensity lives, but here's the part newcomers miss: your coach scales the workout so the intended time frame is realistic for you. If the workout is meant to take around eight minutes, a lighter barbell or a simpler movement keeps you in that window. You're racing your own clock, not the person next to you.
The variety isn't random. Each format develops a different quality: AMRAPs build engine and grit, EMOMs build pacing and skill, For Time workouts build speed and intensity. Rotating through them is how CrossFit builds broad, well-rounded fitness rather than making you good at just one thing. It also keeps training genuinely interesting — no two weeks at TandEm look the same.
Here's the reassuring bit: at TandEm CrossFit, every class starts with the coach walking the whole group through the day's workout — the format, the movements, and the scaling options for every fitness level. And before you ever join a group class, our Fundamentals program (three one-hour sessions, scheduled around you) covers this language so your first WOD feels familiar, not foreign.
So next time you hear someone say they "got seven rounds on the AMRAP", you'll know exactly what they mean — and soon you'll have scores of your own on our Balcatta whiteboard.
Curious to try your first AMRAP with a coach in your corner? Book your free fitness consultation at TandEm CrossFit in Balcatta, Perth, and we'll take it from there.
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