EMS, or electrical muscle stimulation, was originally used as a supplement to a regular workout. However, as time went on, it became clear that EMS had the potential as a suitable alternative to typical gym training.
According to emerging studies and clinical trials, EMS is a fantastic alternative for resistance and strength training. In this article, we explore how wireless EMS differs from high-intensity resistance training (HIRT), particularly in terms of body composition and strength.
Revisiting EMS
Wireless EMS is a novel way of exercising that minimizes the time you have to spend working out by a significant amount. You can expect to see notable improvements in your body with just one or two 20-minute workouts each week.
It works by contracting your muscles with low-frequency electric impulses while you exercise. This makes EMS a workout that’s three times as efficient for half the time required—something that’s worth considering when building up strength and muscle mass.
How Does HIRT Work?
Any exercise that causes the muscles to contract against an external force with the goal of increasing strength, tone, mass, and endurance is known as resistance training.
Dumbbells, rubber exercise tubing, bricks, tires, your own body weight, or any other object that causes the muscles to contract can be used as external resistance.
High-intensity resistance training is a type of workout that combines strength training with vigorous exercise, where you move swiftly from one cardio activity to the next to keep your heart rate high.
To grow and build lean muscle, HIRT focuses on high-intensity workouts done against resistance. The exercises are still tough and require a lot of effort, with a focus on repetitions and proper form when lifting weights.
The workouts are frequently planned as circuits with a series of strength exercises done without rest before the next circuit, and with a short pause before the following session.
How does EMS fare against HIRT?
Aside from being convenient, something which makes wireless EMS training highly appealing to those conscious about their fitness and health but simply do not have enough time to focus on it, EMS training is promising in terms of having a better figure and developing strength.
We sifted through some scientific studies that deal with the effects of both EMS and HIRT on body composition and muscle strength to determine just how revolutionary wireless EMS training is!
Body composition
In a 2020 study, it was found out that the experimental group that was subjected to weeks of HIRT presented a significant rise in body weight due to an increase in lean body mass, as compared to the group that underwent traditional resistance training.
Since the HIRT technique breaks down the typical set of 10-12 repetitions into smaller sets (or “cluster” sets) with short intervals, it increases the body’s hypertrophic response to mechanical stress.
In simple terms, due to the rapid but frequent succession of resistance activity, your body (and muscles, in particular) obtains both higher volume and intensity.
A study on the effects of EMS on body composition, meanwhile, revealed that EMS training produces striking results.
Participants in the said study were randomly assigned to several groups, with one group being subjected to whole-body EMS training. On the other hand, participants from the other groups were made to undergo normal physical activity and high-intensity training, respectively.
A significant decrease of fat body mass and visceral adipose tissue was observed in all experimental groups as compared to the control group (or that which did not undergo any kind of physical activity).
Although there was an increase in lean body mass in the high-intensity training group, an increase in lean body mass index was only observed in the whole-body EMS group. Moreover, a significant increase in bone mineral content was also observed in the same group.
Taken together, these studies prove that EMS training is shaping up to deliver more in terms of improving body composition.
Muscle strength
Of course, body composition is nothing without functionality, which is why developing muscle strength is equally important.
An American study showed that individuals experience significant strength gains after going through some high-intensity resistance training. Data from the research subjects also demonstrated that trainees can safely tolerate HIRT on a progressive basis.
In fact, the muscular strength of older people subjected to HIRT continued to increase throughout the training period with very minimal plateaus.
Another interesting finding is that there seems to be no limit to maximal strength increases that these subjects can achieve with this type of training, provided, of course, that their workouts are of sufficient duration.
Conversely, a recent study on the efficacy of EMS training on muscle strength in non-athletic adults revealed that trainees experienced significant effects on muscle activation when whole-body EMS was conducted during movements.
In this particular study, trainees were subjected to moderate to high impulse intensity while undergoing low to negligible voluntary activity. Simply put, the effects seen from the trial were mostly due to the introduction of EMS impulses while the trainee was doing virtually nothing.
The bottomline
As something that has emerged only recently as an alternative method for fitness and health, wireless EMS training is showing clear signs of being a viable mainstream workout routine for an individual to achieve their desired body composition and muscular strength.
While it cannot be denied that HIRT delivers visible results to an extent, certain factors also need to be considered, such as the aggregate time required before the desired outcome can be observed.
On the other hand, we at We202 offer a ready alternative for you to meet your target body mass without sacrificing strength. Moreover, our technology does so in under half the time!
Without a doubt, EMS is the fitness industry’s future. It opens the door to a whole new world of productivity and body optimization that may be attained by combining hard work with cutting-edge technology.
Send us a message at We202 if you’d like to learn more about how to get started with this unique way of keeping your body fit and healthy.
