I was wrong about EMS.

When I first encountered whole-body electrical muscle stimulation (WB-EMS), I dismissed it as a gimmick. Another fitness fad. I couldn't fathom how a 20-minute workout could rival an hour-long gym session. However, all it took was one session, and some very sore glutes to pique my interest and delve deeper into the science behind WB-EMS. I realized how powerful the EMS technology can be, mostly around making exercise more accessible.

When I first became a personal trainer, I felt very insecure because the certification only taught me how to train healthy individuals with healthy bodies. How do I train someone with a knee injury? Someone with diabetes? Someone with lower back pain? To answer all these questions, I aimed to get as educated as possible to train special populations which quickly became my “niche”. Over my career of over 16 years, I’ve identified major obstacles that prevent people from starting or continuing an exercise program.

The main obstacles around exercise:

Here are the most recurrent themes that keep people from working out consistently. Note: these are generalizations based on my anecdotal experience, and conversations with clients, gym goers, friends, and colleagues, but also corroborated by many surveys (here’s one from the American Heart Association).

• Time: When life takes over, exercise gets squeezed out of a busy schedule. The standard unit of time for exercise has become an hour, and if you’re going to a gym, you’ll have to account for some more time around it. The other time-related concern is how long it takes to start seeing results, strength improvements, body composition, etc.
  
  
• Motivation: This one is a big sticking point for many people, even fitness professionals. The trick is to make it a habit, like brushing your teeth, so you keep consistently exercising despite not wanting to sometimes.
  
  
• Knowledge: I’ve seen many fitness enthusiasts getting paralyzed because they don’t know if their exercise routines are the “most” effective or where to begin. Quick recommendation: start with an exercise program you enjoy, build the habit, then worry about tweaking to make it “the most effective” - spoiler alert, you’ll have to change it every 4-6 weeks anyway.
  
  
• Pains and aches: Nobody likes to move a joint if it hurts. The inclination for many is to stop exercising altogether. An alternative is to switch to low-impact activities and classes.
  
  
• Injuries: Similar to pains and aches, injuries can be debilitating physically and mentally. When untreated, injuries can linger for a long time, creating fear and aversion towards physical activity.
  
  
• Access: Not everybody has access to a gym, group classes, or weights, or heavy enough weights to get strength results.
  
  
• Fears/insecurities: This is an all-encompassing category, but fears of injury, fears of falling, fear of getting bulky, fears of feeling out of place in a gym, insecurity around a toxic gym culture, and many more. Here’s an interesting article on how these fears affect women predominantly.
  
  

Why whole-body electrical muscle stimulation is an ideal solution:

• Short: EMS sessions are around 20 minutes long, making them a lot easier to fit into most schedules. Strength results also come faster because WB-EMS engages both fast and slow-twitch muscle fibers from the first session. In traditional training, it can take a few weeks to start getting into real strength-building weights if you’re a beginner.
  
  
• Guidance: EMS workouts are conducted by an EMS-certified personal trainer so they can help with motivation, knowing what to do, and accountability. There are also two options for doing EMS on your own with Katalyst and Visionbody. If you want to learn more about the differences between them, please read this blog.
  
  
• Alleviates neuromuscular pains and aches: WB-EMS finds its roots within the physical therapy world with a TENS unit, designed to reduce pain in certain tissues. The electricity running through the body can have therapeutic effects. You can read more about WB-EMS and TENS units here. EMS workouts are also low-impact, so it’s easier on the joints.
  
  
• Injuries: We’ve talked about the low-impact aspect of EMS sessions which also applies to dealing with injuries. The other main benefit of WB-EMS is that the electrodes are placed directly on the muscles they stimulate so if you’re injured you don’t need to move through the whole range of motion; in fact, you could avoid moving the affected joint altogether and still get strength benefits.
  
  
• Just the EMS suit: Traditional weightlifting will require equipment, weights, accessories, and so on. As you get stronger, you’ll need more weight. You can go to a gym, have a home gym, or invest in something like a Tonal. EMS workouts only require the suit, and maybe some accessories to help guide the movements. It can be done in most spaces as long as there’s enough room to stand for you and the trainer.
  
  
• Addresses most fears: If you’re afraid of lifting heavy weights, getting injured, don’t like going to a gym, are not sure where to start your fitness journey, and so on, then EMS fitness might be an ideal option. It is also very safe to use. I currently use Wiemspro, which is an FDA-cleared device.
  
  

Bonus benefits WB-EMS presents:

• Intensity: EMS workouts can be as intense as you can handle. Want to go easy on certain muscles but hard on others? No problem, we can adjust the levels of each muscle group independently. You’re injured but you still want to make progress in strength? No problem, we can limit the range of motion of that joint.
  
  
• Train with your partner: Many of my clients are couples that train together. This is usually very difficult to do in traditional gym settings as everybody is at different fitness levels, require different weights, heights of the bar on the squat rack, etc.
  With EMS, we can train a professional athlete at the same time as a complete beginner without skipping a beat. It’s all about adjusting the intensity for each person and each muscle and choosing appropriate exercises.
  
  

In my over 16 years of experience in the fitness and wellness industry, I have always looked for ways to make exercise more accessible, especially to people that have injuries, medical conditions, and specific needs. The healthier you are, the more fitness options are at your disposal. However, once you have to make big modifications to exercise, your options start reducing.  There are options for low-impact exercise, or high intensity, or short duration, or a combination of two of these elements. However, nothing combines all three and has even more benefits than electrical muscle stimulation.

If you’re interested in EMS training with me and live on the West Side of Los Angeles please send me an email at conradfitness@gmail.com or book a 15 min call with me.

If you are looking for an EMS trainer in other cities, please check my trusted network.

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