Great Article on Muscle Stimulators and Fitness
How our Electronic Muscle Stimulators (EMS) help you Reach Your Fitness Goals.
The benefits of EMS have been discussed extensively in terms of rehabilitation and pain relief. In addition, many atheletes incorporate EMS into their training program.
There are four main uses for Electronic Muscle Stimulator Units as part of your fitness training program:
1. Enhancement of Maximum Strength
2. Faster Recovery
3. A Rehabilitation Tool
4. Motor Learning and Muscle Recruitment Tool
Maximal Strength Enhancement
EMS is the single most intense strength building method and has the briefest improvement period of all training modalities. Kots’ literature describes a maximum strength gain plateau after twenty-five treatments (which could be administered over four to seven weeks).
Long-Term Planning
Strength is the foundation for sport-specific tasks, therefore it must be established early, in both general and specific terms. Generally, strength improvement needs are very high in the early stages of a career and diminish through the years until the athlete fulfills his strength requirements and merely must maintain them (keep in mind that this point applies to non-strength training athletes).
Strength gains on the order of 25% per year, or even higher, may be required in the first few years, though the requirement drops rapidly until top international athletes factor in improvements of 6% per year or less. This leads to the question: why don’t athletes continue to push their strength work to the limit throughout their careers?
High intensity training elements must compete for central nervous system energy. A novice sprinter can’t tax the CNS significantly no matter how hard he tries, but as he improves, the CNS demand rises exponentially, even if the volume of sprinting remains constant. Therefore, the degree of intensification of other factors must be reduced over time if speed is to improve further.
As a result, EMS should be used for strength development as soon as fitness fundamentals are in place, with a diminishing role in routine strength enhancement as the career advances. A quadrennial plan for a top sprinter might include EMS strength building twice per year during years one and two, reducing to once during year three and only if needed in year four.
Special strength requirements, such as secondary hip extension by the hamstring, must be in place early to facilitate the correct technique needed for the development of top speed. These special strengths can be developed even before the athlete is fast enough or skilled enough to develop them through voluntary means. EMS also facilitates the optimal fiber-type ratio, which should be in place early to aid in performance over time.
Incorporation into the Training Plan
EMS strength training should coincide with maximal strength weight lifting. The two modalities are synergistic, though the introduction of EMS must be phased in to allow a smooth progression of the workload. Modern sprint training uses a triple-periodized annual plan, with three maximum strength phases, though only the first two include EMS. The third maximum strength phase is shorter, with a more moderate strength improvement goal.
In our case, the first two maximum strength weightlifting phases lasted seven weeks with a “313” loading system, that is, three weeks of high intensity lifting, followed by one week of medium intensity, followed by another three weeks of high intensity lifting to maximize adaptation.
Apply EMS work during the second and third weeks of each three week high intensity block. As our speed work, followed by lifting, occurred on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, with speed endurance work on Saturday (Tuesday and Thursday were reserved for low intensity work, with Sunday off), we used EMS on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, which gave us a total of twelve EMS sessions during the whole max strength phase.
This sequence allowed for the optimal number of EMS sessions in the phase with optimal recovery. (EMS doesn’t require 48 hours for recovery, as it bypasses the central nervous system; however, this schedule optimized the recovery for the other training elements). The volume of explosive power and sprint work must increase seven to ten days after completion of the max strength/EMS phase for the optimal incorporation of the new abilities and to compensate for the drop in CNS stress.
When adding EMS to a program, expect your peak performance up to two weeks later than before, as you’re now tapering from a much higher workload.
Selection of Muscle Groups
Maximum strength EMS is applied to the quads, hamstrings, glutes, and the erector spinae. These muscle groups play the main role in power development around the hip joint, where, at maximum speed, the power output is seven times higher than around any other joint. The abs play a major role also, and they can be treated as well, but their rotational movement and primary support, rather than power role, favor traditional high rep training. More on this later. The soles of the feet can even be treated in cases of insufficient foot strength.
Individual Sessions – Preparation
EMS works best as the last training element of the day, separated from other work by at least two hours. This is usually done at night before bed, as it can be done at home and the supra-maximal stimulus it provides is excellent for promoting the release of growth hormone during sleep.
Use a hot shower as warm up preparation, being careful to remove any oils or creams from the areas to be treated to ensure proper conductivity (oils left on the skin can cause the current to jump around the skin surface causing considerable discomfort). The increased blood flow in the muscles after the shower heats the muscle motor neurons, lowers electrical resistance, and makes them more receptive to EMS.
Start the EMS session with a gentle pulsing mode for three to five minutes to complete the warm-up before starting the maximal contractions. Warm down using the same pulsing method.
Contractions – Timing
Each muscle group is stimulated maximally for ten reps of ten seconds duration with a fifty second rest period between contractions. It’s critical to maintain the rest periods as prescribed as this is the absolute minimum recovery time needed to maintain a maximal contraction on the next rep. A shortened rest period may, in fact, change the nature of the exercise so that it enhances the wrong fiber type.
Sprinters use the full ten second contraction time, though shot putters and linemen find that six seconds is about the longest they can maintain a maximal contraction. In either case, the same fifty second rest period must be maintained.
Procedure
Though modern stim equipment allows for a number of muscle groups to be stimulated simultaneously, never work more than two muscle groups at a time. The athlete must be able to determine where the stimulus is coming from. Keep the limbs straight and unsecured. Never stimulate antagonists at the same time for safety reasons. This also allows the athlete to concentrate on the contraction in isolation for learning reasons.
When stimulating the soles of the feet, have the athlete stand on the pads to prevent cramping. The athlete must always control the intensity of the contraction as the amount of current necessary for a maximal contraction varies widely between individuals depending on fiber type, fat distribution (fat is an insulator), muscle size, and injury history.
As a rule, sprinters require much less current to achieve a maximal contraction because their higher percentage of white fiber provides less resistance. The better the sprinter, the more this is so. EMS units have a “rise-time” feature (the time it takes to ramp up the contraction from zero to max) that is either preset or adjustable. Where it’s adjustable, choose the shortest time the athlete can tolerate, usually half to three-fourths of a second.
Crank It Up
Most users never come near the level of contraction they need for best results, especially in clinical settings. To understand the intensity the athlete needs to experience, have him contract the quads as hard as he possibly can voluntarily, and then have him imagine a goal 30% higher than that! The contraction is massive, and it feels that way! Don’t worry about “burning” the muscle though, as it takes only five-millionths of an amp to maximally contract the quad.
Finally check out our Additional Pain Relief units, such as the LG-US1 Portable Home Ultrasound Unit. Ultrasound Units help speed the healing process by reducing inflammation and swelling. The LG-US1 Ultrasound Unit and LG-R2500 Russian Muscle Stimulator make for excellent combination therapy. Many of our customers like to utilize both.
Whether you are using a TENS Unit for Pain Management, or a Muscle Stimulator to help Build and Re-educate Muscles, LGMedSupply offers the Best “Drug Free” Solutions for You!
Let LGMedSupply’s Proven Products help you “KNOCK PAIN OUT!”