How is fifteen different from ten?

The last five minutes. At ten minutes a slightly greedy rep count is survivable; at fifteen it is not, and the session ends early.

What rep count should I use?

Cut whatever you would use for ten minutes by about a fifth. Work that takes thirty seconds fresh at minute one takes forty-five by minute twelve.

Should I split it into blocks?

Not at fifteen. It is short enough to run unbroken, and splitting it removes the fatigue the last third is there to create.

Timer · preset of emom timer

15 minute EMOM timer

Fifteen minutes on the minute. Long enough that the last five change the session, and the point where rep choice stops being forgiving.

Open the full emom timer to change anything this preset fixes

The timer

Lead-in

Minutes: 15

Stations, one per line

Named stations appear on the clock as they come up. Leave it as it is to run one unnamed block.

The clock runs fullscreen and keeps the screen awake. It needs JavaScript, so with scripting off the plan below is the whole session written out.

Total: 15:10
Working: 15:00
Periods: 16

01ReadyGet ready0:10
02WorkWork1:00
03WorkWork1:00
04WorkWork1:00
05WorkWork1:00
06WorkWork1:00
07WorkWork1:00
08WorkWork1:00
09WorkWork1:00
10WorkWork1:00
11WorkWork1:00
12WorkWork1:00
13WorkWork1:00
14WorkWork1:00
15WorkWork1:00
16WorkWork1:00

How it works

Fifteen minutes is where an EMOM stops forgiving an optimistic rep count. Ten minutes lets you get away with work that takes thirty-five seconds fresh. Fifteen does not, because by minute twelve that same work takes fifty and the rest has gone.

The fix is to choose reps off the end of the session rather than the start. Pick work you could still finish comfortably at minute thirteen, and accept that the first five minutes will feel too easy.

Fifteen minutes of five burpees is seventy-five burpees, and it is much harder than it reads. Fifteen minutes of three power cleans at a moderate weight is a genuine strength session run on a clock.

Run it unbroken. Fifteen minutes is short enough not to need blocks, and the accumulated fatigue in the last third is exactly the part worth training.

Questions

How is fifteen different from ten?: The last five minutes. At ten minutes a slightly greedy rep count is survivable; at fifteen it is not, and the session ends early.
What rep count should I use?: Cut whatever you would use for ten minutes by about a fifth. Work that takes thirty seconds fresh at minute one takes forty-five by minute twelve.
Should I split it into blocks?: Not at fifteen. It is short enough to run unbroken, and splitting it removes the fatigue the last third is there to create.