Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) is gaining popularity as a quick and efficient way to build muscle. But does it live up to the hype? We explore the science behind EMS, its potential benefits and risks, and whether it can truly replace traditional weight training.
In a 1993 film Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story there's a scene where the main character sits at a typewriter wearing electrodes strapped across his chest and biceps.Loading YouTube content
EMS proponents say that the technology, which sends electric impulses through skin and into muscle below to make them contract, "bypasses" the brain, triggering muscles to work and grow in a "smarter and more efficient way". The larger units use more energy but can generate more force. These are the ones that we use to build strength over time.When we voluntarily activate our muscles — by lifting weights, for example — our brain activates the smaller slower motor units first before activating the larger faster ones, says Swarup Mukherjee, a sports and exercise physiologist at Nanyang Technological University of Singapore.
And since muscle is one of the most energy-hungry tissues in the body, building them should also help burn fat, Dr Mukherjee says.But, he cautions, building bigger muscles does not necessarily translate to the sort of strength that will make gym exercises or everyday activities easier."There isn't enough body of data to convince us that it is an equivalent of voluntary resistance training," Dr Mukherjee says.
Traditional muscle building involves progressively — and carefully — adding heavier weights to a training regimen over time as your muscles adapt and get stronger.
ELECTRICAL MUSCLE STIMULATION EMS MUSCLE BUILDING FITNESS WORKOUTS
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