Electrical muscle stimulation (EMS), also known as neuromuscular electrical stimulation or electromyostimulation, is a protocol that triggers muscle contraction using electrical impulses that directly stimulate your motor neurons. An EMS unit is a device that provides this from the comfort of your home.
How electrostimulation works ?
During a normal exercise session, your brain sends signals to your muscles to voluntarily contract them. With the muscle stimulation, these are the electrical impulses sent by a device which cause the involuntary contraction of your muscles.
These contractions can be quick, long, or floating. It is the type of contraction that determines whether the session will result in a better warm-up, an increase in strength, or a better recovery.
Before I continue, I want to clarify one thing: a TENS unit is often confused with an EMS unit, but make no mistake: they are not the same thing. TENS is the abbreviation for "transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation" and it's a measure of nerve stimulation, not muscle stimulation.
While TENS may seem like a cheap alternative to EMS, it's actually more of a non-drug pain relief solution.
- EMS technology uses electrical impulses to cause muscles to contract in order to strengthen them
- TENS stimulates the nerves in order to reduce the ability to transmit pain, thus providing relief to the user.
When you want to perform an electrostimulation session, conductive, rubbery gels are placed on the skin at each end of the muscle area you want to stimulate.
When the program starts, very small amounts of electrical current pass from one pad to the next, completing a circuit using your muscle tissue as a conduit. The motor neurons found in this circuit are stimulated and contract.
The current flows at specific frequencies (Hz) and pulse durations (microseconds) depending on the program you choose. Muscle stimulation acts directly on the muscles, bypassing the body's energy conservation system, so there is no limit to the percentage of fibers that can be activated.
Varying frequencies can change the types of muscle fibers that are stimulated. Three frequency ranges stimulate the 3 types of muscle fibers that make up most skeletal muscles, namely slow twitch (Type 1), medium twitch and fast twitch (Type 2) fibers.
This stimulation creates muscle contractions that can be rapid and frequent, rapid with long pauses, or contractions that are maintained for several seconds or minutes at a time.
Normally, it is your body that fires your muscles by sending electrical impulses from your brain through your central nervous system (SNC). But one electrostimulation device allows you to trigger deep, intense and complete muscle contractions without actually activating (or stressing) your CNS, which is also beneficial for your joints and tendons.
While electrostimulation devices won't let you sit on the couch eating candy while building biceps like an Avenger, they can help with warm-up, recovery, relaxation, strength, and yes, even fat burning.
Interestingly, your body doesn't know the difference between a voluntary contraction and an electrical contraction. Your body only recognizes that there is a stimulus and reacts accordingly. If this sounds a little far-fetched, don't worry, it exists. scientific data to support this.
Electrostimulation : What Use ?
Warm-up: increased blood flow which increases the temperature of the muscle and allows it to work more efficiently.
Toning: Muscle stimulation tones your skin and helps combat the orange peel appearance. The results have prompted professionals in the field of beauty To exploit these benefits, electrostimulation is now used as a real anti-aging treatment for the face.
Strength: Stimulation of Type IIb muscle fiber and its creatine phosphate energy delivery system. This trains the muscle fibers to provide energy anaerobically and generate much more force during efforts lasting up to a minute.
Resistance: This program trains type IIa fast-twitch muscle fibers, which can provide energy both aerobically and anaerobically. Endurance: This program stimulates type I slow-twitch muscle fibers, which are used most in efforts lasting several minutes to several hours.
Recovery: This use involves rapid contractions that pull blood from the capillary beds and make room for fresh blood, providing the muscle with the delicious oxygen and nutrients your muscles need to recover.
Massage: Probably the most popular program of all. This program is dedicated to the production of endorphins. The varying pulses and flutters increase blood flow and circulation to reduce pain, stiffness and soreness.
Fat burner : Electrostimulation will help you achieve your fat loss goals. Below are the results of a study on the subject.
Does electrostimulation work? ?
In order to answer the frequent and legitimate question, namely whether electrostimulation is effective or not, below is the result of two studies on the subject.
A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning has investigated whether EMS could help elite athletes gain a performance advantage. They concluded that "the analysis shows that trained, elite athletes, despite their already high fitness levels, are able to significantly improve their strength levels to the same extent as is possible with untrained subjects.
"At the end of this study, the researchers stated that "EMS offers a promising alternative to traditional strength training for improving strength parameters and motor skills in athletes."
EMS offers a promising alternative to traditional strength training for improving strength parameters and motor skills.
Another one study French has used an electrostimulator to study the effect of a 5-week electrostimulation training program on muscle strength (quadriceps), kicking speed, sprinting, and vertical jump performance in soccer players. 20 male soccer players were randomly assigned to two training groups:
1. EMS Group : The first group stimulated the quadriceps muscles for 5 weeks (3 sessions of 12 minutes per week) in addition to their usual football training.
2. Group without EMS : The second group did not use muscle stimulation; they only practiced their usual football session. The athletes were tested after three weeks and five weeks of training, and in both assessments, the first group that used electrostimulation showed significant improvements in quadriceps muscle strength parameters as well as ball speed performance.
These improvements were not observed in the second group. The results confirm that muscle electrostimulation can indeed lead to significant improvements in cardiovascular and musculoskeletal fitness.
Does electrostimulation help you lose weight? ?
In order to answer the common question, namely, is it electrostimulation allows you to slim down ?
A 2015 study titled " Effects of high-frequency current therapy on abdominal obesity in women » provides a different example of the effectiveness of EMS.
Instead of fitness levels, this study looked at whether the muscle stimulation could help you lose fat body. 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 a week for six weeks.
After the six weeks, the researchers measured the subject's waist circumference, body mass index, subcutaneous fat mass (fat under the skin), and total body fat percentage.
Surprisingly, without modifying their lifestyle or diet, electrostimulation has actually caused significant effects on the reduction of waist circumference, abdominal obesity, fat mass subcutaneous and body fat percentage, leading the researchers to conclude: "The use of current high-frequency therapy may be beneficial to reduce levels of abdominal obesity."
Good news if you want to use electrostimulation For lose belly fat ! 😉
Other studies have shown that EMS is useful for everything from pain management to increasing muscle blood flow for warming up before performance-related activities. If you're still wondering
How to use electrostimulation during fitness ?
1. Exercise + EMS
Although most electrostimulation devices discourage you from using them during a workout, Elec'Tonic advises you to use them before and after. This can be used as a warm-up and cool-down or as part of the workout itself.
For example, you can position the electrostimulator on your pectorals, set to a lower setting (such as a massage or recovery program) before you start lifting the weights.
Then do your workout, immediately followed by an electrostimulation session. Because EMS works directly on muscle fibers, bypassing your body's natural energy storage system, it would be a great way to "finish" your workout.
2. Isometrics + EMS
Combining EMS and isometrics (holding a muscle in a static posture) is an effective way to increase the amount of lactic acid that builds up in a muscle. And probably because it's extremely uncomfortable, it can help improve your ability to tolerate lactate buildup during hard workouts or intense competitions.
To use muscle stimulation in this way, start by getting into an isometric position, then begin your electrostimulation session. For example, you can lean against a wall while sitting with your stimulator on your legs or combine EMS with a lunge exercise, push-up holds, etc.
3. EMS + Rest
If you're suffering from an injury or watching a great new series on Netflix but you want to train!
Most of the time, I recommend simply getting up and moving your body, stretching in front of the TV or turning it off and going outside to move around. Another option is to use your new electrostimulation device sophisticated.
In a sedentary position, you can use EMS to keep your muscles activated without even lifting a finger (You will need your finger to turn on the device) 🙂.
In addition to working your muscles while you recover from an injury (or watch your favorite movie), you can use an EMS device on long car rides, while doing homework, or even stimulate your leg muscles while working at your standing desk.
Some tips for use
Train a specific muscle group three times a week. If you train a muscle group once a week, you'll relax between sessions. Twice a week is sufficient, but three is ideal. Wait at least 48 hours between workouts.
Training three times a week will leave 48 hours between two of the sessions and 72 hours before the remaining session. Remember, even if you're not "doing the work," EMS strength programs provide a training load, muscle recovery is therefore important.
Stimulate the muscle groups that will benefit you the most. To be efficient with your schedule, prioritize the muscle groups we call the “prime movers” of your sport or favorite activity.
If you're still skeptical, remember that this type of muscle stimulation has been used in physical therapy clinics and labs for years, and EMS training is quite safe for the majority of people and uses. That said, it's always a good idea to consult your doctor before trying anything new with your body.
