Best Way to Build Muscle with Electronic Muscle Stimulation
Studies have shown that if utilized correctly and consistently, EMS can play an important part in training and has many benefits. Increases in muscle strength, size, and athletic performance have all been attributed to EMS technology.
Back To The Basics:
Can Electrical Stimulation Build Muscle?
In order for your muscles to grow stronger, you must apply a load of stress that is higher than what your muscles have previously adapted to. Lifting heavier weights or increasing reps and sets can accomplish this. Either way, the common denominator is progressive overload of your muscles.
This can be accomplished through Voluntary Muscle Contraction OR Involuntary Muscle Contraction.
Voluntary Muscle Contraction
- When you perform any exercise, your brain sends a signal down your spinal cord through the nerves to your muscles causing them to contract
- This is referred to as voluntary muscle action
- Your brain is essentially controlling the muscle
Involuntary Muscle Contraction
- With electrical muscle stimulation, an outside electrical source - instead of your brain - stimulates the nerves to send these signals to your muscles to contract
- This happens by passing electrical currents through electrode pads placed over targeted muscle groups
- The currents pass through your skin and onto the nerves in the immediate area, stimulating the connected muscles to contract
Maximize Your Workout:
How to Build Muscle at Home
EMS is widely used by professional athletes and bodybuilders to supplement their regular training in order to fully exhaust muscles and speed recuperation to enhance maximum growth.
To the right: Former Mr. Olympia Competitor Henderson Thorne
"The Tone-a-Matic system helped me to obtain strength, endurance and to get the edge!" - Henderson Thorne
Benefits of Using Electronic Muscle Stimulation for Muscle building
- Increases your heart rate, body temperature and metabolism, thereby promoting energy and fat loss
- Increases blood flow to the muscles. This helps deliver nutrients necessary for recovery and growth.
- Helps to remove lactic acid from muscles, and can reduce swelling or fluid that occurs after intense workouts.
- It is common for muscles to become scarred from heavy training. When scar tissue is formed there can be a loss of muscle elasticity and maximal force potential. EMS may help prevent such adhesions from occurring and can possibly stretch old scar tissue.
- If you’ve experienced an immobilizing injury, EMS can effectively reduce muscle atrophy and improves nerve-muscle interactions necessary for a speedy recovery
Overall, Electronic Muscle Stimulation is a valuable tool used for bodybuilding training and has a positive influence on muscle strength and growth.