One of the big surprises from my recent trip to ESPN Wide World of Sports and Clermont’s NTC was how little Electrical Muscle Stimulation is used for training or recovery. They are using it mostly for rehab and that seems to be the common thread.
I have lived in Rome for 3 years now and I can assure you EMS is used widely in training and recovery throughout Italy. Why the disconnect to North America is beyond me.
I wrote about Electrical Muscle Stimulation Benefits last November and Derek Hansen wrote a great review last month. See Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) Research Review.
Now it’s time for videos!
Live Training Session with EMS
Since everyone loves “reality TV”, here is a recent session with Derek and Cedric Unholz for speed and strength development. The video will add some clarity on the benefits of EMS in topping off your training. It should never be the one-all be-all for training.
The first 4 minutes has Derek giving a short explanation of the EMS, then we get a short peek of Cedric’s weight training session.
This is followed by a real EMS session with the Globus SpeedCoach EMS unit, along with a Q&A with Cedric himself.
The athlete can set up the pads alone for some body parts, but it does require a second person to help out with other parts. Since this a family friendly website, we omitted the video where we apply the electrodes to his glutes!
NOTE: if you think the EMS settings were for a relaxing health spa, think again. This is TRAINING.
Here is Part 1 on YouTube:
Here is Part 2 on YouTube:
I’ll critique more of this EMS session at a later date, but you can add it to the comments below. (I still have tons of video to process and upload from Florida!)
Click here for more information on the Globus SpeedCoach EMS unit.
If you want to learn more about the Electrical Muscle Stimulation, there are 3 free ebooks you can download to get you started.
