I first came across EMS training in a scientific journal; I remember reading it and thinking it sounded interesting. I then met Dr Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt, who was using it in Munich in Germany, when I went there to recover from an injury. That was about eight years ago. I immediately invested in my own miha bodytec i-body device, and I have been using it ever since.

Over those eight years, EMS has become an important part of my training for rehabilitation from injury, strength and conditioning and to help stimulate my clients in a different way to ensure they achieve the required results. In professional sport, as well as in any health and fitness, having a well-rounded programme makes all the difference. I recommend a combination of factors: getting enough sleep, detoxification, adequate nutrition, water intake and recovery time. I focus on attitude, happiness and the right frame of mind and lastly a mix of strength, conditioning, sport specific training and EMS training.

With all of these factors in place, I can train any sports man or woman, no matter their discipline, to make them fitter, faster, stronger and healthier for their sport, and bring longevity to their career.

I attended the Royal Ballet from the age of seven until I was 14, was an England international 400m hurdler at 15 and GBR International and European champion at the age of 18. I then went on to study nutrition, sports therapy, strength and conditioning and anatomy and physiology. I’ve been training athletes for just over 20 years and all of my clients use EMS with me.

I use it with athletes from every discipline as well as other clients depending on their needs. After an initial adaptation period, once I feel the client is ready, I put all of my clients through an EMS programme to strengthen tendons, ligaments and fascia.

EMS helps my clients improve mobility, as well as health in general, plus it’s fun and something different to do, which has proven results. Previously I’ve used EMS as part of my training with Dina Asher-Smith (the current 200m world champion and British record holder) and Nya Kirby, the England International footballer currently signed professionally to Crystal Palace. I have trained multiple world champions across many sports and using EMS training alongside everything else I do; it completes the picture.

As a performance coach, it’s my job to help clients improve their conditioning and cognitive skills as well as make sure they’re bullet proof when it comes to injuries – and enjoying themselves whilst they are doing so. I feel EMS training contributes towards those goals.

Claire Worman is an osteopath, Pilates tutor and EMS trainer. She first encountered EMS at Tribal in Chertsey.

My first experience of EMS was at Tribal 18 months ago, when I was training for a triathlon, and I took to it straight away. My strength improved noticeably with each session and, although EMS was the only thing I’d added to my routine, my waist was getting smaller. Plus, it had a hugely positive effect on other training – my running, cycling and swimming all improved.

I’ve always worked in the fitness sector. I began as an exercise to music teacher before moving on to teacher training and assessing exercise to music, gym instructor & PT courses. I also trained as an osteopath 21 years ago. I knew from the offset I wanted to use EMS with my patients and invested in a miha bodytec i-body system in September 2020. I use EMS as part of rehabilitation and osteopathic treatments, as well as for standalone general fitness sessions. It’s like missing link for my patients – getting their brain and muscles to connect.

I treat new patients with osteopathy first, to see what’s not working. If the problem is muscular, I then suggest EMS and 90% of clients have tried. Sometimes I combine both in a single session. From a practitioner point view, EMS is hugely successful in rehab; I’ve often felt I needed something like EMS to help clients connect with muscles groups that have become lazy or inhibited & who have poor motor control. EMS addresses this perfectly – it’s an automatic, pain free wake up for muscles – and for clients suffering with joint pain, scared it’ll hurt to do convectional exercise, EMS strengthens the soft tissue without unnecessarily over loading the joints & creating pain.

My patients love it. As sessions are 20-30 minutes max, they can arrive ready and off they go – many can now exercise without rushing during their lunch hour, even more so since the pandemic with people working from home. Just in the last 12 months I’ve helped alleviate lower back pain in a horse rider and fixed what I call ‘lockdown dining room chair syndrome’, both using EMS.

Another client is an ex air stewardess – a career in heels contributed to chronic lower back pain, which cortisone injections and shockwave therapy had failed to relieve. She couldn’t do any exercise as it would increase the inflammation and aggravate the pain. She’s now on her 16th week of EMS training, she’s no longer apprehensive of movement and she’s never been so mobile.

The success rate for pain relief has been through the roof; EMS is just a perfect solution. It has everything … it’s affordable, it’s not time consuming and it works for anyone.

Personal trainer Sarah Biker, from Bedale in Yorkshire, invested in miha bodytec’s i-body EMS system in December 2020, and is already seeing improvements to her business, despite the pandemic and lockdowns.

“I’ve always loved sport and was a massive gym junkie, but my career was in sports massage. When, after 15 years, I developed quite serious eczema from doing so much massage, I retrained as a personal trainer, working with clients in a converted barn at my home. I’ve never looked back.

“The first time I tried EMS for myself I absolutely loved it. The effects on my body were almost instant – just one session made my abs pop out. I remember thinking ‘I can’t live without this!’ From a personal point of view, I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep doing six hours of exercise a day forever – I worked out alongside each client and was getting joint and knee issues. Using EMS with them would make me stand back and give my body a breather while still giving them an effective session.

“Plus, I wanted more time to spend with family – I have three young children – without reducing my weekly revenue. Offering EMS means I can charge a higher price for a session that lasts half the time. Win win. I calculated it will take me a year to earn what I’ve invested in miha bodytec’s i-body system and, after that, it’s all profit. There and then I decided to go for it.

“Because of my background in sports massage I have lots of injury prone clients; EMS is the ideal solution for their rehabilitation, plus it’s much easier on me than doing endless massage. Offering EMS has enabled me to appeal to huge range of new clients, unfit and fit, old and young. I have gained new customers even in lockdown, all set to begin when the restrictions lift.

“I haven’t found anyone who doesn’t love it. My really fit clients love the challenge and newer customers who’ve come to me to get fit rave about it; they find it much less intimidating than using weights or even body weight exercises. I have lots of clients with impact issues who can’t do HIT and I think they love EMS more than anyone – all the benefits with no jumping! Most of my clients do one PT session as well as one EMS session, so I’m getting them for an extra session a week too.

“EMS has already made a difference to my business and I think that’s only going to keep improving when lockdown ends. It’s new and it’s exciting, so few people have heard of it up here in Yorkshire so it feels exclusive, and most importantly it works and gets results.”

Industry reports show that when gyms reopened, fitness enthusiasts flocked back to their local gyms. While this is encouraging news, the one thing these reports often miss is that large numbers of people are still looking for suitable workout options to meet their specific needs.

Despite the myriad of digital options available, older groups or those recovering from childbirth or injury often struggle to find fitness options or PTs who can develop safe, effective workouts for their needs. The interest is there, but the options are limited.

Electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) training is perfect for these sorts of clients. Used for decades by sports scientists and experts for rehabilitation, this form of training is also perfect for postnatal and injury recovery.

EMS devices offer the same benefits as a high-intensity workout, but without the impact or stress on the joints.

Using electrical impulses, an EMS device does this by mimicking the natural signal sent by the brain to the muscles, but more powerfully. One 20-minute session, once per week, can activate up to 98 per cent of muscle fibres, compared to just 60 per cent in conventional training methods.

For those older groups who may be new to exercise, EMS is a full-body, low impact workout using simple bodyweight movements that anyone can do.

With a dedicated EMS PT, there is a very short learning curve and a very low chance of injury in a workout that uses slow, controlled movements while a machine activates the muscle fibres. There is no additional stress on the tendons, ligaments or joints, also making EMS a perfect workout option for those recovering from injury, helping them quickly get back to the activities or sports they love.

These same benefits are also perfect for any woman recovering from childbirth. EMS is proven to help increase pelvic floor strength, a key area of concern for postnatal women. It can also help with diastasis recti, the partial or complete separation of the “six-pack” muscles, which is very common during and following pregnancy by quickly strengthening the abdominal muscles and closing any separation.

In addition to the body-sculpting benefits of EMS, these short, time-efficient workouts can be an incredible advantage for busy new mums over traditional postnatal exercise options.
The pandemic has heightened people’s awareness of the importance of health and physical activity and as a result, we’re seeing more people look for fitness solutions who would otherwise not have considered stepping into a gym.

EMS has been thriving in the rest of Europe for many years with over 80 studios opening in Germany last year alone, and the UK is starting to follow suit. Since lockdown, the EMS market is developing at pace.

Across virtually every industry, business models are changing, and forward-thinking operators and PTs are adopting new practices.

miha bodytec’s I-body system has a small footprint and only needs a simple plug socket so it’s perfectly suited to a health club looking to increase revenue by attracting new clientele, or for a PT who wants to diversify their offering by catering to special populations.

See how EMS could fit into your business – miha bodytec is offering UK operators and PTs a free demo, book yours here.