MetCon... What does it mean?

Over the last 5 years functional fitness has grown in popularity all around the world, specifically Crossfit style workouts. In the last two years, the amount of Crossfit style workouts, gyms and training facilities have increased significantly in England (especially London). We have seen more and more gyms who focus on “body building” and “Bro-Split” style training lose popularity, the new trend is functional training.

These functional training facilities are focused on working at a high intensity to bring the best results possible (dependent on client target). You may be one of these people who is a member of a similar facility and loves the class you go to; but if you are not a member, a relative newbie, you might be struggling to find a class for you.


First lets address a key word which is flying around at the moment… Met Con.

What is a metcon? What does it mean? How do metcons work?

Here at NRG we are here to explain what a metcon is, and give a couple of examples of what they are!


Metcons or Metabolic Conditioning is a classic Crossfit approach to training. These metcons tend to be at high intensity for short periods with little to no rest in between movements. A typical Metcon is two or three exercises repeated for rounds. Cindy is a great example of a metcon, one round of 5 pull ups, 10 press ups and 15 air squats. Cindy can be repeated for either rounds or for time - e.g. 10 rounds as quick as you can or as many rounds in 10 minutes. So when you see gyms that advertise classes such as metcons, don’t be intimidated, simply see it as a couple of exercises repeated for a sustained period of time. This is a really effective way of targeting strength, muscular endurance, conditioning and over all fitness.

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Other Example of MetCons:

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5 Rounds for Time
400m Run
30 Box Jumps
30 Wall Balls

21-15-9 for Time
Thrusters + Pull Ups

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20/20 for 20
20 Calorie Row
20 Hand Release Push Ups
AMRAP 20 min

EMOM for Reps
Every minute 5 wall balls + as many burpees as possible with remaining time
Keep going until 100 burpees completed


At that concludes our articles on Metcons! We hope that has cleared up any grey areas you have had and inspires you try a different method of training. If you have any questions with regards to training or want to try a different metcon, then simply leave a comment or sign up to our email list below! Signing up for the email list will give you all this amazing free content as soon as it comes out. So don’t miss out! Interested in training, injury assessment or massage? You book now via email or phone! We look forward to hearing from you.