Personal Experience: Is EMS Training Effective?

So it has been ten weeks since I started EMS training, and I would like to share a little more about this topic. What is it? Is it worth a hefty price tag? You may have heard about this new trend in fitness, especially if you are from Europe. EMS is also known as Electro Mayo Stimulation, it is frequently used in physiotherapy to stimulate muscle growth in patients. Rehabilitation is popular with this device. You may have heard about this phenomenon from home based electro stimulating vest or a belt. They promise results without an actual workout. The newest trend is working out while being compressed into a suit filled with electrodes to stimulate a muscle increase.

One session of such an experience is approximately twenty minutes long. The whole session is directed by a fitness trainer with special qualifications. You will be provided with skin-tight fitness clothing. They will strap you up in your suit on top of the exercise gear. The set consists of the vest, leg straps, arms straps, and buttcheek belt. These are wettened and then small electrodes are placed in their appropriate place. They connect you to the machine via a large cable. The machine is going to show when you are supposed to hold your muscles tight and when to relax. The trainer is instructing you on what to do. The whole process is quite pleasant and motivating.

My setting was put quite high. You are meant to push your personal limits. They are going to slowly add intensity. I was told to say stop when the pain reaches eight out of ten. While working out you cannot fully stretch, you have to stay at least slightly bent. The exercises are core basics at first to make sure you are doing them correctly. In such strong impulses, it actually turns out to be quite hard. Later on, you might start doing more complex and difficult exercises. The aftermath of exercise differs individually. Some might be hammered with sore muscles, some might be completely carefree. Reconvalescence might take anywhere from a day to a week. Before your exercise, you are supposed to drink a lot of water and get enough carbohydrates. You should not drink any alcohol a day before.

What about the results? To be honest, I would say that is quite individual. I can see no difference after ten weeks. Without changing my diet, results are not visible or minimal. It might be different for each person. My goal was to get stronger and tighten my muscles.

If you would like to know more about the science behind EMS, stay tuned.

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This article is about my experience, therefore it does not have any links.