• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

  • Fitness
  • Workouts
    • Best Shoulder Workouts
    • Best Chest Workouts
    • Best Leg Workouts
    • Best Leg Exercises
    • Best Biceps Exercises
    • Best Kettlebell Exercises
    • Best Back Workouts
    • Best HIIT Workouts
    • Best Triceps Exercises
    • Best Arm Workouts
  • Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Pre-Workouts
      • Best Whey Protein
    • Equipment
      • Best Home Gym Machines
    • Certifications
      • ISSA Review
  • News
  • Exercise Guides
    • Legs
      • Back Squat
      • Bulgarian Split Squat
      • Goblet Squat
      • Zercher Squat
      • Standing Calf Raise
      • Hack Squat
    • Chest
      • Bench Press
      • Dumbbell Bench Press
      • Close-Grip Bench Press
      • Incline Bench Press
    • Shoulders
      • Overhead Dumbbell Press
      • Lateral Raise
    • Arms
      • Chin-Up
      • Weighted Pull-Up
      • Triceps Pushdown
    • Back
      • Deadlift
      • Trap Bar Deadlift
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Inverted Row
      • Bent-Over Barbell Row
      • Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
      • Pendlay Row
Fitness

Electromyostimulation Increases Strength in Athletes

You may have experienced electrical muscle stimulation as a part of injury recovery, but did you know it can also be used to enhance performance? New science looks at how and how much.

Joshua Wortman

Written by Joshua Wortman Last updated on September 4, 2012

Previously we’ve covered research here on Breaking Muscle that indicated electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) can speed recovery. More recently, the first part of what will be a two-part study was performed, focusing on the effects of electromyostimulation on strength enhancement. The second part of the study will deal with the influence of the training regimen and stimulation parameters on EMS training effectiveness.

The first part of this new study was a review of approximately 200 previous studies conducted between 1968 and 2008. The studies were analyzed and 89 trials were selected for inclusion according to certain preconditions: subject age (>35 years old), health (unimpaired), EMS type (percutaneous stimulation), and study duration (>7 days). The trials were classified according to the type of EMS method.1

There were three types of methods of EMS: local EMS methods, whole-body methods, and combination methods. The local EMS method was the stimulation of defined muscle groups with single electrodes. The whole-body EMS method was stimulation and activation of several muscle groups simultaneously through an electrode belt system. The combination method was a combo of local and whole-body.2

Each trial was also classified based on the type of muscle contraction (isometric, dynamic, isokinetic). The study also differentiated between the fitness level of the subjects: untrained, trained, and elite athletes. Next, the most relevant strength parameters for high-performance sports were established. These parameters were maximal strength, speed strength, power, jumping ability, and sprinting ability.3

The results of this study revealed EMS is effective for developing physical performance. After a stimulation period of 3-6 weeks, significant gains were evident in maximal strength (58% for isometric and 79.5% for dynamic), speed strength (37.1% for eccentric isokinetic, 41.3% for concentric isokinetic, 74% for rate of force development, 29% for force impulse, and 19% for Vmax). A significant increase in power was also shown (67%). Developing these parameters increased vertical jump height by as much as 25% (squat jump 21.4%, countermovement jump 19.2% and drop jump 12%), and improved sprint times by as much as 4.8% in both trained and elite athletes.4

This analysis shows untrained, trained, and elite athletes were still able to significantly enhance their level of strength. EMS is a promising alternative to traditional strength training for enhancing performance. There are some distinct advantages that EMS offers, time management being possibly the biggest one. It is safe to hypothesize that EMS use will begin to increase in high-performance sports in the future.5

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

Joshua Wortman

About Joshua Wortman

Joshua began lifting in high school, but really doesn’t consider his effective training to have begun until the last few years. Joshua was always very strong for his bodyweight, but he didn’t just want to be strong, he wanted to look strong. At 140 pounds, no matter how strong he was for his age and weight, the size wasn’t there.

During his last year of college, Joshua began research on bodybuilding, and since his graduation, he has taken his bodybuilding to a whole new level. Josh experienced a minor setback in 2009 when he experienced an L5-L6 disc herniation while doing deadlifts. Consequently, his lower body training was very limited for almost a year. Thankfully, he has self-rehabbed his back to pretty much full strength.

Since he graduated from NC State University with his Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering, Joshua has taken his bodybuilding to a whole new level. His knowledge has increased ten fold since when he began, and both his knowledge anpersonal progress have also bred success in the fact he started up Get Right Get Tight Fitness.

View All Articles

Recommended Articles

Method Man Incline Dumbbell Presses December 2022
Check Out Rapper Method Man Cruising Through 120-Pound Incline Dumbbell Presses for 10 Reps
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson Leg Workout
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Crushes 5 “Monster Sets” of a Leg Workout
Michael B. Jordan poster for Creed III
Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors Look Like Shredded Boxing Stars in “Creed III”
person running on road
How to Run an 8-Minute Mile Pace

Primary Sidebar

Latest Articles

Phillip Herndon Squats 412.7 Kilograms (910 Pounds) For New Massive Personal Record

Justin Medeiros Walks Through a Full Tour of His Home Gym Before CrossFit Season

Powerlifter Jimmy Kolb Logs 612.5-Kilogram (1,350.3-Pound) Equipped Bench Press World Record

The Ultimate Back and Biceps Workout for Every Lifter From Beginner to Advanced

Latest Reviews

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

Best Whey Proteins for Packing on Muscle, Shredding Down, Meal Replacement, and More

Best Pre-Workouts for Building Muscle, Running, Taste, and More

Best Home Gym Machines

Best Home Gym Machines

woman lifting barbell

Be the smartest person in your gym

The Breaking Muscle newsletter is everything you need to know about strength in a 3 minute read.

I WANT IN!

Breaking Muscle is the fitness world’s preeminent destination for timely, high-quality information on exercise, fitness, health, and nutrition. Our audience encompasses the entire spectrum of the fitness community: consumers, aficionados, fitness professionals, and business owners. We seek to inform, educate and advocate for this community.

  • Reviews
  • Healthy Eating
  • Workouts
  • Fitness
  • News

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed

© 2023 · Breaking Muscle · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy · Affiliate Disclaimer · Accessibility · About