Research has proved that EMS works. Positive results support the use of EMS for strength enhancement and performance gains.
Like any training tool, you will achieve optimal results when using the technology appropriately in terms of specific settings, timings, frequency, and overall volume of work. In cases where EMS did not produce performance gains in trained athletes, the researchers did not use the technology appropriately in conjunction with a well-organized training program. This is the key. Simply slapping on the pads and turning up the current is not enough.
You must have clear goals and objectives for EMS, as well as a plan for how and when to use the technology. Coaches maximize EMS benefits when they integrate the units with well-planned conventional training.
Many research studies say the use of EMS alone, at best, provides the same benefit as voluntary training; that EMS is no better than regular training methods. Because EMS requires no central nervous system input, it will not fatigue the brain of an already over-taxed athlete.
The combination of conventional training and EMS provides a significant advantage over either method alone because the cumulative effect of both methods provides a boosted training scenario with less energy cost to the athlete. EMS delivers a clean, complete muscle contraction. If we rely solely on voluntary strength training to prepare athletes, we are selling them short.
Using an EMS, an athlete can contract a muscle group more completely and cleanly than by lifting weights. This is particularly important when targeting fast-twitch muscle fiber, which you can preferentially target with the correct stimulation frequency.
If you plan to use EMS as a sole means of eliciting strength gains in muscle, you can be certain you will get a more effective muscle contraction—albeit using an appropriate amount of current—than when training three times per week. However, I do not recommend that you rely exclusively on EMS for your strength training unless you are using it for rehabilitation purposes, or you are trying to reduce wear-and-tear on a specific joint structure.
EMS works best when integrated with a conventional training program that requires a coordination component for more efficient transfer of the training adaptation.
You will achieve the best results by supplementing conventional voluntary training with EMS sessions in proper proportions, supported by general conditioning and recovery. Using EMS makes us more intelligent coaches and rehabilitation professionals. Not only does the use of EMS make us think more about the recruitment characteristics of skeletal muscle, but it also helps us to diagnose problems related to fatigue and injury in both the peripheral and central nervous systems. When an Olympic weightlifter suffered a significant knee injury, voluntary strength training was not restoring the atrophied quadriceps muscle.
Because the message from brain to muscle was not getting through, inhibition was dominating the program. Even when my team started using EMS, the amount of current required to contract the quadriceps muscles on the injured leg was two to three times that of the healthy leg.
A muscle injury damages the connections between mind and body and thus disrupts the brain. In the case of the Olympic weightlifter, the use of EMS was essential in moving past the obstacles and inhibitions to provide maximal recruitment of that muscle group on the injured leg, particularly since we could strengthen the quads without stressing the knee joint.
Once recruitment patterns were re-established and, the quadriceps muscle was fully restored through both isolated EMS use and superimposed EMS training, the knee did not present any further problems for the athlete. In cases of both fatigue and injury, the signals between the brain and the body are easily disrupted. EMS can not only restore, but also enhance those connections.
Additionally, EMS can help assess the neuromuscular system by monitoring the amount of current required to contract the muscles in question. As the neuromuscular system improved through the rehabilitation process, less and less current was required to attain a full contraction.
Monitoring the levels of intensity on the EMS unit can show the progress of muscle rehab and the central nervous system in injured states. EMS facilitates recovery. In tight schedules, when athletes might not have the time or energy to implement recovery and regeneration protocols, EMS is an extremely useful tool.
Active recovery protocols that encourage circulatory mechanisms within the body help facilitate a more complete and expedient recovery. Optimally, athletes can implement tempo running, but sometimes stationary bike intervals or swimming-pool exercises can hasten recovery. Because not all situations are optimal, other tools can aid recovery.
Athletes can take the EMS units home after training and apply them while riding home not while they are the driver, of course , or when sitting down and reading or surfing the web. Typically, an athlete places the EMS pads on larger muscle groups and employs a pulsing program not only to promote circulation, but also to loosen muscle and reset tone.
EMS is effective in situations where athletes must travel. Long trips and waits in airports can be not only exhausting, but can also lead to the stiffening of muscles and joints. If athletes perform periodic recovery protocols with an EMS unit, they can keep their bodies supple and well-maintained, in terms of oxygen circulation and the removal of waste products.
Athletes report feeling significantly better after using the EMS unit on their trip, and some sleep better when they arrive at their destination. It is also important to note that athletes using maximal strength, power, and speed protocols with EMS have reported feeling more recovered the next day in terms of muscle looseness and joint mobility.
EMS has the ability to essentially reset muscle tone and provide athletes with not only the means to contract muscle more efficiently, but also to relax and de-contract muscle more effectively.
This benefit is critical in explosive cyclical movements, such as sprinting, where the nervous system is required to contract and de-contract muscle in a very short amount of time, at very high speeds.
EMS can help these athletes minimize muscle stiffness, cramping , and general peripheral fatigue. Current portable EMS devices are exceptionally convenient. My first EMS was a large device that fit in a medium-sized suitcase.
EMS devices now are slightly bigger than a smartphone and can pack a pretty good punch. The portability of the devices, combined with easy-to-use adhesive electrodes, make them a strength training and recovery tool that you can carry in your pocket. As mentioned previously, the travel benefits of EMS are obvious. The portability, power, and efficacy of these devices are indisputable. The schedules and demands of the regular season are so stressful that every athlete needs help with their recovery and the maintenance of strength.
EMS provides a simple, convenient solution to this problem. Older post. Newer post. Most Recommended. Unicare Unicare is the new addition Fleur Toning Balls Fleur is a set of pelvic fl Uniglo From face to thighs, Uniglo Nailit NailIt is a new generation Liquid error: Error in tag 'section' - 'anmegamenu-vert-1' is not a valid section type. Liquid error: Error in tag 'section' - 'anmegamenu-vert-2' is not a valid section type.
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A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning looked into whether or not EMS could help elite athletes gain a performance edge. Instead of fitness levels, this study looked into whether EMS could help you lose body fat. In this study, a group of subjects received 30 minutes of high-frequency current therapy via a series of electrodes placed on their stomachs. The subjects did these sessions three times per week for six weeks.
Other studies have shown EMS to be helpful for everything from pain management to helping increase muscle blood flow for warming up prior to performance-related activities. Already a subscriber? Sign in. Thanks for reading Scientific American.
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